Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

friendships. Perhaps you can imagine a van full of 40-, 50-, 60- and 70-year-old guys traveling across country. The stuff really can get deep. Camping is sometimes an option, but on this trip the wind made it impossible to bed down on a cot, so the local motel got some business all three nights. The Over 50 Masters put on a great show. Charlie Marshall from the Sacramento area took five wins out of five molos raced, but not without serious arguments from Washington's Garry Roestel and Sierra's Bob Bland. Roestel and Bland were tied at the end of the first day, but Roestel seemed to get his act together better than Bland on Sunday and. while giving Marshall a bad time. went on for second over· all. Those who've been racing long enough may remember the name Charlie Marshall. who won the inaugural District 36 Blue Plate Number One Sportsman in 1973. ahead of Danny Turner. Michael Jennings, Carl Cranke and Bill Grossi Jr. Marshall rode a 400cc Maico out of Jim Saitone's shop in Petaluma. but he went on to ride cross country as a factory rider for Husqvarna for three years. He retired from all racing for 27 yea.fs and just recently began again, this time as an oldtimer. It's great to have these stars from the past come out to have fun again with the oldtimers, where fun is the key motivation. In the Over 50 Experts class. it seems that there's going to be a knock-down. drag-out series race for the championship between Jim Harris and Jerry Winkelbauer. They are receiving a lot of ink, but they are putting on amazing shows at each round. Harris was the Over 50 Expert-class champion in 2001, but he sat out the 2002 season with an injury. Winkelbauer is the 2002 Over 50 Amateur champion. and he moved up to challenge the Experts this year. In moto one, there was some very close racing between Harris, on his big-bore fourstroke KTM. and Winkel bauer, on his 450cc Yamaha. Winkelbauer came in for the checkers first, with Harris second. In motos two and three. Harris chipped away at Winkel bauer's newly gained confidence. whipping him in both motos. Winkelbauer had all Saturday night to think about having to win both motos on Sunday to garner the overall. Harris was confident he could handle the challenge he knew was coming. Both got lousy starts in the first moto on Sunday but worked themselves to the front, after which Harris led lap after lap. With a couple of laps to go, Winkelbauer took an inside line for a pass that he made stick and took the win; meanwhile, Harris was also passed by Mark Melehes and wound up third. The winner of the last-moto tie breaker between the two would determine the overall. Lousy starts again caused both of them to have to work their way up to the front. Winkelbauer found a way around Harris and was looking good, but they were both still behind Melehes. Winkelbauer chose to not follow Melehes through a corner on the inside, but Harris did; Winkelbauer ended up third with the Harris block-pass. With about three laps to go, both Harris and Winkelbauer got past Melehes. with Harris leading. but Winkelbauer was showing him a front wheel at every opportunity. As both came over the finish-line jump leading into the straightaway with two double jumps and a step jump, Winkelbauer grabbed a bigger handful of throttle than Harris did and made the pass over the second double. He made it stick for the win and the overall. Idaho Falls Noise Park Idaho Falls, Idaho Results: May 17·18, 2003

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