Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eINTERVIEW e B Donn Maeda IY 24 Race promoter Ron Henricksen • t a ll began 23 years ago, wh en Ron H enricksen bought a Briggs a n d Stratton-pow ered m inicycle for his seven -year-o ld so n to ride near hi s house in Milwaukee, Wi sconsin . H en ricks en a nd h is so n spent ma ny aftern oo ns riding th eir m inicycle. often in vacant lo ts and on th e grass at a nearby school yard . In 1969, bu sin ess mailers brought th e H enricksen fa mi ly to Woodla nd H ill s, Ca lifornia, a nd the father a nd son duo set o ut in search o f a ridi ng spot. After o n ly a few minutes in a ch u rc h parki ng lo t, the surpri sed H enricksens were expelle d by loca l po lice. S hor t l y t he reafter, H en ri c ksen found h is wa y to Sad d lebac k Park in Orange, Ca lifornia , a nd began to meet with o the r father-and-son enth us ias ts o n a weekl y bas is. Since there wa sn't a separa te minicycle track, th ey would use tra sh barrels to mark a cou rse in th e pits. After a few week s of this, th e group co nv ince d the managem ent o f Saddl eba ck to build a special track, just for th e minis to race on. It was not long after that H enricksen formed th e National Minicycle Associa tion in 1970, which is n ow known as th e Na tiona l Motosport Associ a tion. In its ea rly yea rs, th e NMA ran min icycle-only races a t Indian Dunes but today has expanded nat ionwide, a nd a ttracts co mpetitors from arou nd th e glo be to its premier events. T he two h ighligh ts in th e NM A rac e season in clude the World Mini G rand Prix held in Las Vegas, Nevada, a nd th e Gra nd Na tiona l Cha m p ionshi p s held in Ponca City, O klahoma. O ver the yea rs, ma ny o f th e nation 's to p a ma teurs ha ve use d th ese two NMA events, as we ll as th e GNC International Motocro ss Final s in Wh itn ey, T ex as, a n d th e AM A A mat e u r Nati onal Ch ampi on ship s . h eld a t Loretta Lynn 's Dude Ranch in T ennessee, to exh ib it th eir talent and ca p ture t he attent ion of potential sponsors . Firs t held in 1971, th e NMA World Mini G ra n d Prix is approaching its 20th anniversary. The event has go ne from a sm all , o ne-da y gathering o f j ust over 300 m inicycle rid ers to a three-da y a ffair that this year will at tra ct a n estima ted 1200 to 1300 ent ra nts a board machinery o f a ll sizes. " We had been running regular Friday ni ght races on o ur mi n icycl e track a t Indian Dunes for a few months wh en I 'go t th e id ea of ha ving a regular da y race o n Sun day," said H enricksen , " I app roache d the managem ent o f Indian Dunes, a nd th ey agreed to let u s have th e International track to o urse lves for one Sunda y. To th e kid s on minis, th e International tra ck was huge in co m pa riso n to th e o ne we had been racing o n , a n d seemed mor e lik e a gra nd prix co urse. Thusly, we named the event th e 'World Mini Grand Prix.' T ha t fir st eve n t dre w a bo u t 35 0 ent ra nts , a nd everyone had so much fun that we decid ed to mak e it a n an n ua I event." In 20 yea rs, th e World Mini Grand Prix h as see n a few chan ges. Fi rst held in J anuary, th e event ha sbeen moved to th e Eas ter vacation month of April. "For th e first four yea rs, I held th e race in early J anuary. To me, being able to ride in J anuary seeme d like a novelty, since Wi sconsin wa s usuall y bu ried in snow a t th at time o f yea r," sa id H enricksen . " Bu t in 1974, we go t six in ch es o f snow a nd abo ut four inch es o f ra in . All 857 entrants raced th ei r firs t mo tos before I decided tha t i t wa s too m iser abl e to go o n . I ca ncelled the ra ce a n d to ld everyo ne th at we wo u ld reschedule th e race. We Grassroots MX, NMA style rescheduled th e race in Ap ril th at year, an d were su prised when not on ly did every origina l entry show u p , but we ga ined a bo ut 250 more!" Indian Dunes in Val en cia , Ca lifor ni a , pl a yed host to the World Min i G rand Prix for six years, until th e race wa s mov ed to Escape Country in T rabuco Ca nyon , Ca liforn ia. A yea r lat er , Hendricksen moved th e event to Orange, Ca liforn ia 's Sadd leback Pa rk, but was again for ced to reloca te when th e p ark was closed. It now seems as if th e race has found a pe rmanent home in th e desert city o f La s Vega s, Nevada. " T h e race o r igi n a ted a t Indi an Dunes, but as we began to dra w more racer s from further a way, we needed a tra ck th at co u ld o ffer ove rn ight ca m p in g , " ex p la i n ed H en ri ck sen. " Ind ia n Dunes didn 't provide th is, so we mov ed th e race to Escape Country. We mov ed to Saddleba ck th e following yea r because Escape Country closed, but Sadd leba ck su ffered th e same fat e on ly a few yea rs la ter. I decided to take the race to Las Vega s for a few rea sons. The tra ck is mor e cent ra lly locat ed . a nd closer to racers from ac ro ss the n at ion. T he a ll u re of La s Vegas a n d th e ni gh t life th ere ad "to the a tmospher e o f th e weeke nd , and I feel tha t th e track is th e best we've competed on." .- For th e past 18 yea rs, a highlight o f th e World Mini Grand Prix has been a specia l race, dubbed "T he Race of Ch ampions," in which th e top riders from each mini class are pi lied against eac h other o n eq ua l machinery . Three mot os a re run, and to ens u re fairness th e bik es are traded between motos. " With th e event draw in g th e best min icycl e rider s fr om around the wo rld , I began to wonder how th e kids would fare aga ins t each other if they were all o n simi la r bikes," said Hen. ricksen. " In 1973 I ap pro ached Kawasaki with th e idea , and th ey loved it . Ka wa saki pro vided u s with 90 cc end uro bikes, co m p lete with headl ights a n d turn s ign a ls . Yam ah a a p pa re n t ly lik ed th e id ea , and approached u s th e fo llowing year. Yamaha YZ80s were used in the Race o f Ch a m p io ns fo r II years before budget cu ts excl uded the program. Ka wa saki has sponsored the R O C for th e past six years, but th is yea r it looks like budget cu ts will again excl u de th e race." The World Mini Grand Prix attracts th e a tten tio n of th e entire motocross industry. It is co m m on to see potential sponsors and race team managers at the event, scouting the field for future tal ent, Man y manufacturers offer sizeable contin gencies and prizes at th e event, rewarding those rid ers who represent th eir products. "While th e contingency program is great for th e riders, I'm worried that ' in th e long run it could be a deterrent," says Henricksen. "T here are so many seri es goin g on that offer co ntingency prizes, th at many riders probably won 't go to a non-paying event. The lack of entrants will for ce promot ers to run less events, on ly those that the factories will sponsor. Race tra cks can 't afford to stay open for just one or two races a month, so in turn could close down. I don 't think that contingency pay is an effective too l for improving motorcycle sales, direct contact with th e riders is far more importa nt. But I have a d ifferent sta ndpo int; I' m n ot a motorcycle rider, I'm a bu sinessma n , a nd I' m worried. " Co ntingency or no contingency, the Wo rld Mi ni Grand Prix has continued to draw one of th e largest amateur crowds over the years, and appears to have a permanent spot in the fu ture of amateur motocross. " T he number of entries has come down, but it seem s to hav e leveled off in the past few years," said H enricksen: "We had our best yea r in 1976 when we had 1210 entrants. Last year we had 1170, and I expect this year to be much bigger since we are running at a brand new facility in Las Vegas , Nevada:" " I feel that we are at a precarious point, as far as th e future of the sport is co ncerned , " says H enricksen. " Mo tocr oss ca n su sta in its current popularity, but we must cat er to -the grass-roots level. I would hate to see motocross take th e same route that kart ra cing ha s, with fewer involved but more enthused. I plan to contin ue to provide activities that will support and ' showcase the g ra ss-ro o ts level of racing. T he future o f th e sport lies wi th th e amateurs, and we must sustain their level," said Henricksen. "T he great infl ux of pee wee racers that we've had la tel y will he lp , bu t the lack of riding areas still p resents a problem. If there is nowhere to ride, why bo ther to buy a mo torcycle? In the motorcycle in dustry, it seems as if every thing begins in Ca lifornia. The rest of the country emula tes what happens here. What California needs is a new ridi n g facility located in O ra n ge County. All of the manufactu rers, with the exception of H onda , who is sti ll in nearby Torrance, are located in Orange County." Although th e National Minicycle Association began as a minicycle-only organization, th e National Motosport Association as it is now known, has expanded into all classes. While the minicycle classes remain as popu lar as ever , the programs at both the World Mini Grand Prix and the Grand National Championships at Pon ca City are filled with 85% motorcycle entries. " In the last few. years, th e most popular classes seem to have been th e Vet a nd Pee Wee classes," says H endrickson. " A lo t of racers that had to leave th e sport fo r one reason or another are returning, a nd they're bringi ng their kids wi th them ." In 1990, the number o f entrants at th e NMA's Grand Na tio nal Championships a t Ponca Ci ty seemed to drop, and the general feeling in the air was one of di sappointment. Fou l weather and a suspected lack of preparation by th e promoters dampened the spirits of the racers, parents and sponsors alike.

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