VINTAGE
Round 1: Municipal Stadium
AHRMNCLASSIC BIKE
MAGAZINE DIRT TRACK SERIES 1'-'- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - '
By Matt Benson
DA¥rONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 3
··eorgeRiChtmeyerJr.enteredthe
1998 season carrying a trio of
number-one plates. And if his performance this night was any indication,
Richtmeyer's competitors have their
work cut out for them if they intend to
dethrone him from atop any of the classes. The New Yorker swept to wins on
three very different maChines - a brakeless, rigid-frame Triumph 500cc twin in
Classic 500/75Occ; a Montesa two-stroke
single in Sportsman 250cc; and a big-gun
Yamaha 750cc twin in Sportsman 75Occ.
More than 90 entries turned out to do
battle on the slick Daytona Municipal
Stadium short track in the first of two
AHRMA Bike Week nationals. Normally,
the vintage program here is mixed in
with the large AMI-sponsored southeast
regional event on Sunday evening. But
for '98 it was moved to Tuesday and run
alone during the evening after the other
AMA Amateur, Youth and Pro classes
were finished. The Vintage competitors
were pleased with the change, and a fair-
@
sized crowd turned out to watch the old
bikes:
Manhattan, Illinois, racer George
Wills has dominated the pre-1952
Dinosaur class on his hand-shifting
Harley-Davidson WR, but Winder, Georgia's Beno Rodi is stepping up as a serious challenger. Rodi and his 1950 Royal
Enfield got the holeshot in the final and
held off Wills for several laps. After the
hard-charging Harley rider finally got
past, Rodi continued to hang close all the
way to the checkered flag.
While Classic 25Occ-class champ John
Bova of Wadsworth, Ohio, had his Bultaco out front from start to finish, there was
a good three-way race for second behind
him in this pre-'67 brakeless class. Duel(Above) George Richtmeyer Jr. (1) swept
to wins in three classes at Day1ona'S
Municipal Stadium, round one of
AHRMA's dirt track series. Here, winner
Richtmeyer leads Brad Holt (50S) in
Sportsman 25Occ. Holt finished second,
but won the Sportsman 600cc race.
(Left) George Wills topped the Dinosaur
class on his old Harley.
