Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

DIRT TRACK , AMA -Amateur Dirt Track Nation.als 1-96 Speedway 500cc heats on Tuesday, with Bigelow posting the fastest time of the night out of 36 heats. While Brian Shirley went unchallenged in his heat, Bigelow cruised to a half-track victory in the second heat. The final would prove to be just as uneventful with the win corning smooth and easy to the Marine Transport rider. The Open class would see Bigelow face some stiffer competition from the north. Canadian rider Royal Adderson left a trail of dust an eighth of a mile long in heat two, while Bigelow would taste his only defeat of the night following Pennsylvanian rider Thomas McGrane around the thin blue groove to the finish line. The chase was on from the get-go in the final as Bigelow launched the Rich King Rotax off the line with Adderson in hot pursuit. The two would steadily increase their advantage on the rest of the field with Bigelow ever so slowly increasing his own advantage on Adderson to the wire. (Left) Bryan Bigelow added two more Amateur National titles to his credit after taking wins in the 500cc and Open classes during the AMA Amateur Dirt Track Nationals at I· 96 Speedway. (Below) T41ny "The Tiger" Meiring (center) proudly displays his 85cc (12·15) Modlfledclass number-one plate. By Grace DIBenedetto Photos By Doug Link and Mike Nelligan 14 LAKE ODESSA, MI, JULY 2-4 ryan Bigelow has amassed 21 National Titles in his eight-year climb to the top in the Amateur Dirt Track ranks. He will add two more National titles to that list before waving goodbye to his childhood and joining the Professional ranks when he turns 16 in September. ' Bigelow came to the 1996 AMA Amateur Dirt Track Nationals at 1-96 Speedway for the last time with his dad and supporter Wayne Bigelow. Along with them came Bigelow's own 500cc Rotax and a special 600cc Rotax courtesy of Rich King, who also came along to do the wrenching. The ride came complete with a brand-new, state-of-the-art frame built by John Kite of Missile Engineering. Boasting virtually no welds in the main engine-cradle compartment, the frame's main attribute is its strength. While the frame had already been tested by a select group of professional riders, Missile Engineering needed to j>ee if it was suitable for amateurs and chose' Bigelow and the Amateur Nationals to put it to the test. Bigelow proved himself and the bike up to the challenge, sweeping the Open division clean. Whether it was handling the tight-eircle racing of the short track, the bumps and twists of the TT or the fast, icy-slick blue groove, the bike negotiated each course smoothly and triumphantly with plenty of room to spare. The Marine Transport / Missile Engineering / Saddlemen / Marshall Distributing-sponsored Bigelow left nothing to the imagination, outdistancing the field in race after race. The 500cc class would prove to be the icing on the cake for the 15-year-old as he boarded the 500cc Rotax for that class and put as much distance on the field in that division as he did in the Open class. In the end, Bigelow would walk away with six first-place trophies and be the only rider of .the 600-plus entries to capture two Grand National Amateur Titles. While Bryan was saying goodbye to the Amateur ranks, Mike Babka bid farewell to the 30+ class, retiring undefeated for the last three years in a row. Babka will now enter the realm of the Super Senior (40+) division. Riders came in from all over the country and Canada for the Nationals, but the most visible was a youngster out of California sporting' orange-and-black tiger-striped leathers and the nickname "Tony the Tiger." Tony Meiring did more than capture the attention of the crowd with his fashionable leathers. His styUsh riding and sheer determina tion captured the SOcc (12-15) Modified honors. Meiring picked the co'mpetition clean, capturing the checkered flag in all three races for the title. Danny Kauffman picked up several checkered flags during the three days of competition but will be remembered for the one he missed picking up, literally. After winning the 250cc Modified class on the short track, Danny failed to complete the hand-off of the checkered flag from starter Larry Schmid for the victory lap. He did, however, successfully complete the hand-off of the numberone plate in that division during Saturday night's victory presentation. SHORTTRACK Almost six seconds separated the two The 'SOcc (12-15) Modified class would pro"vide the only real peg-to-peg action of the night. As the classes whittled down to the end, the groove got a bit wider, providing some passing room. Meiring grabbed a tiger by the tail and twisted for all it was worth, keeping Kurtis Hawk at bay. Hawk who hails from Preston, Washington, swooped down from high and low but each chailenge was met and .shot down by Meiring. Jacob Holden added some teeth to the battle when he brought his Honda alongside the leaders for a threeway battle for the lead, but Meiring stayed tight, holding off the combined assault, to the wire. The Over 30-class riders clocked in only a few hundredths of a second apart, with Babka the defending two. time Amateur National champ edging out Mike Belliel for the pole position. illinois rider Jeff Miller would position himself between the two heat winners in the final as he waited for Bab~a to slip off the groove, but the Mike's Cycle Station / Marshall Distributing-sponsored Babka stuck to the IQw blue line like a fly on a No-Pest strip, never giving Miller an opportunity to take advantage of him. . The British came, saw and triumphed in the Vintage class as six Triumphs finished in the top ~even places. Only a Suzuki ridden by Scott Foutch to a sixthplace finish prevented a complete Triumph sweep of the class. After gett.ing away third off the line Bill Wertz worked the groove till lap five when he found an opening on the inside and' squeezed through. With nothing but a clear view in front of him, Wertz put 10 lengths on the rest of the British troops, deserting brother Skip well behind him and leaving him to do battle with John Skinner and Rich Reed. Danny Kauffman held fast to his position while holding off a continued assault in heat one of the 250cc Modi fied class. Jeremey Deruyter and Thomas McGrane both tried and failed at several takeover bids through the six-lap heat. Roger Lee Hayden had an easier time of it, cruising to victory in his heat without even breaking a sweat. The final would be a follow-the-Ieader affair with Kauffman parading around the track till the checkered flag. . Defending Champ Tom.Link took on a multi-National field in the 60cc DTX class. The out-of-towners quickly found out why Link owns the title as he red them on a guided tour of the short track. A staggered restart wouldn't even give them a reprieve as Link blasted off the line with a twist of the wrist. The 50cc classes attracted several out-

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