Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127218
A lan Ber luti (15) leads Mark White (7 7) at the start of the first Vet Pro class moto. Sean Reis (9) beat Ern ie Becker (8 ) in the first 25-29 Novice D iv. 2 class moto on Sunday, but Becker won moto two for first overall. 2nd Annual White Bros. Veterans World MX Championships Reid rides for 'fun, , profit at Perris Vet MX By Donn Maeda PERRIS, CA, NOV. 4-5 When I took the assignment to cover the Veterans World MX Championships a t Perris Race way; I wasn't quite sure what to expect. At only 21 years of age I wasn't eligible to compete, and except for my older brother, I didn' t really know a ny vet 18 racers. "I wasn 't ' too 'sure how much I'd enjoy standing around watching a bunch of " old guys" race around for two days. However, after watching the action, I was impressed. There were o lder guys out there with gray beards, and som e were even obviously over- weight, and while som e took this event quite seriously, most of the vets were th ere to have a good time and are some of the most friendly racers you 'll meet. , The vet races continue to grow in popu larity and prestige. Many former G P stars travelled.to Belgiu m earlier in the year to com pete in ,a special vet race held in co njunction with the Belgian 500cc MX G P at the famous Citadel circuit. But 'here in America nearly 500 en tran ts tra veled to southern California for th e Whi te Bros. event. They didn 't hav e to be former stars either, as there were classes for th e 25-29 yea r-o lds, vets (30-39, 40-49), old timers (over 50) and even vintage riders. Many ca me from out of state, not o nly from neighboring states but from Idaho , Illino is , T exas, Washington, South Carolina and Cana da . " I had so much fun last year th at I ca me back," said 40 P lu s Expert class rid er Gary Peak from Marshall, Illinois. " It 's co ld back home now. " Last year's event drew approximately 350 ent ra nt s, far more than ex pected . This year 's even t wa s expa nded from a one-da y affair to a two-d ay on e with approximately $7000 in cont ingency prizes up for grabs. Five-time 500cc World Champion Roger DeCoster was on hand to demonstrate the new Hondas and answer questions, although a sche du led riding seminar Saturday night was ca nce led because the trophy presentation ran too long. It even drew media coverage from two of the biggest dai ly newspapers in the region, the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register. Among the entra nt s were many figures in th e motorcycle industry who came out of the woodwork to co mpe te. T ed DeVol of DeVol Engineering came down from Washington so he could " race against guys who have jobs a nd ride a little smarter " than th e younger racers. Jim H ale ofAXO Sport, Pro Circu it's Jim "Bones" Bacon, ATK founder Horst Leitner , Clark Jones of Nol een Racing, editors of several enthusiast magazines, and the White brothers th emselves, Tom and Dan, were among those spotted on the starting lines. Twenty-eight Vet Pros filled the starting gate, each hoping to earn a chunk of the $3500 purse. Looking at th e starting line was like flipping through back issues of old motocross magazines. Among the riders wer e former 250cc National and Superrcross ch a m p Donnie Hansen, Warren R eid, Gary Jones , R o n Turner and a few other former National MX competitors. , Alan Berlutti jumped out of the gate in the first moto to lead Mark White and Brent Wallingsford, while T urner tangled wi th another rider and was o ut of contention. White swapped out on lap two and dropped to ninth , whi le Wa lli ngsford began to pressure for the lead. Wa llingsford took the lead from Berl utti at th e hal fwa y point, and began to build a lead that he would hold to the finish. Meanwhile, a heavy dice was going on between Pete Murray, a recovered Whi te, and Reid, who ha d worked u p from a 15-place start. Murray dropped from the battle when he jumped sh ip on the down hi ll. This left White in the ru nnerup position with Reid a hard-earn ed third. ' Turner roared back in moto two, and led Murray, Wa llingsford and Ron Sun around the track. Turner, who suffered a broken leg earlier in the year , rode like a teenager and pulled out to an immediate lead over Murray and Wallingsford. As the race progressed, Murray ate away at T urner's lead and swooped past in a n uphi ll turn . Once in front, Murray pu lled out to a comfortable lead and won. Wallingsford went down early in th e race and lost his clutch lever, leaving Sun and Reid to a rg u e over third p la ce. Reid prev ai led, a nd although he made a n in credible charge, Turner held on to tak e the runner-up position. Reid's consistent 3-3 scores, how, ever , earned him the title of the 1989 World Veteran MX Champion. "I though t I had a good chance of winning," said 31-year-old Reid , "but I just ca me out here to have a good time. I didn't prepare like I wanted to, but once 1 got out on the track my ' natural ra cing iristin cts took over and I was able to push." , And how well did the forme r factory rider who now has a cabinet business, prepare? " I picked up J eff Ward's o ld practice bike a nd rode i t aro u nd for abo u t 15 minutes las t night," said Reid , " I got pretty darn tired though , let me tell you! " 'After his surprise seco nd moto, Turner said, " My leg still isn 't 100 per cent, but I got a good start and felt pretty good. " With a big smile on his face, R on exclai med, " It' s sure good to be back! " ' Although Reid wo n th e cro wn , it was Murra y corning away as the day 's big money winner. "Uncle Pedro" ea rn ed more than $600 for his combined moto fini shes . "T his is like winning a National!" said Mur ra y as he tried to ignore his friends ' suggestions of a complimentary dinner. A special class was run on Sunday for vintage machinery. Nearly 20 racers entered, eager to pound both their machienry and them selves around th e rough and dema nd ing co urse. Moto one saw Murray power his old Maico down the start straight ahead of the rest of the field . Murray pulled out to a comfortable lead, taking th e Expert class win over Rick Doughty and Duane Quale. In the Intermediate class, Gerald Fasold and David Dewhurst argued over first, with Dewhurst coming o ut on top. Jeff Pugh topped the novices, just ahead of his bro ther Lewis and Roo Alan Kirkbride. The start of moto two was delayed as many of the competitors had to push start 'their bikes. Once underway, Murray duplicated his first moto disappearing-act and hid from the rest of the pa ck. Once agai n Fasold and Dewhurst battled for the Iritermediate class glory, bu t this time Faso ld came out on top. Jeff and Lewis Pugh topped Jim Pierce in the Novice class. As the 40-49 Novice class took to the track, many watched in anticipation a nd hoped for a top finis h by Dan White. Prior to the day 's event, tra ck promoter Goat Breker and Dan made a bet over Da n 's finishing position. If Dan finished in the to p three, Goat woul d have to take a dip in a large mud puddle behi nd the track. If Dan didn 't, he'd be the one to swim. Whit e holeshot the first moto, but Adrian Mesh found his way into the lead on th e second lap. White tried