Briefly...
A Tribute: Bernie Yelin
The spo rt of motocross has suffered the loss of a
I
great champ ion. H is laurels were not ones mounted
on a bike, but in a lifelong series of challenges to assist
his fellow man .
Bernie Yelin, a founder of Motocross 338 in
Southwick, M assachuse tts, was a dim inutive man in
physical sta ture, but a giant in battle. To report simp ly
that he passed away at age 84 on Thu rsday, March 18,
seems so inadeq uate to tho se w ho knew him . Yet that
-OUR DEDICATION1l\1\~~S
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would be Vintage Bernie as he woul d want to be
remembered "without a great fuss."
But today, tomorrow and in the future we will not be
Mission Motorsports, a Yamaha, Kawasaki and KTM mo torsports
dealers hip in O range Co unty, California, bro ke ground o n its new
facility on Sunday, March 2 1. The new shop will be a 40,000 squarefoot, two-story facility in Irvine. California, that it will move into
late r in the year.
able to say "O kay, Bernie, we 'll do it your way, as usual."
Indeed , it is mo re importa nt and equally fitting that
we honor this man and his deeds. H is causes were
almost too many to mention, but his legacy is the
motocross track built by him and other members of
the American Legion Post 338, the track's namesake,
in 1972.
Bernie would protest loudly if I failed to include the
other Post mem bers - Joe Bogie , Moe Rutherford and
Sam Smith - who we re among the first volunteers who
"" . , lile " OT~:,( ~ us c..,
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Hue t. darticipation , Awesome Orphan
and Daily Rider making up the 12 judged categories. For more
information on California Speedway's Ya
maha Superbike Challenge
weekend visit www.californiaspeedway.com or call 800/944-7223.
M any of them are gone now .
But we are bett er
beca use of men like Be rnie, Ray Peeb les, Bill Alanned ,
and Pat Smith, who have dedica te d thei r lives to the
code of duty, honor, count ry and family.
www.us.pirellimoto.com .
The Women's School of Motocross (WSMX) has annou nced the
following sessions: April 10 - Daniel Boone MX, Londo n, KY; April
2 1-23 - DeseretSports-Complex-Boot Camp, Tooele , Utah; April
24 - Hollister OHY, Hollister. California. For mo re infor mation, call
949/837 -2206 .
RepairManual.com Racing has announced new partn ers hips with
GEICO's Cycle- Gard motorcycle insurance , GIVl U.SA., and Autodata Publicatio ns to field C,R. Gittere in the AHA Chevrolet U.S.
Superbike Series for the 2004 seaso n. The blue-live ried No . 8 1
Suzuki GSX-R I000 will be graced with GEICO's gec ko mascot ,
accor ding to a teann releas e. Gitter e, of Charlotte, North Carolina,
has been racing for five years . For the 2004 season, he will race in
the seven AHA Superbike rounds that will be staged on the East
Coast. Five of those rounds will be doubleheade r weekends. "I'm
happy to be working w ith thes e com panies," said Gittere . "It elevates our racing program both for my sponsors and for me . I
couldn't have do ne so well at the Daytona 200 without the support
of my sponsors."
OMS Sports has announced that it has signed MotoworldRaci ng.coml
Suzuki's Andrew Short to its stable of premier supe rcrossl
motocross racers. "Th is is a good step for me at this point in my
career," said Short . "O MS Sports gives me a good sense of direction
while allowing me to completely focus on my racing." For mo re
information, contact Pat Schutte at 734/222-0688.
George Thorogood and the Destroyers will headline Harley
Fest on Sunday, September 12, at the Frank G. Bonelli Park in San
Dimas, California. Harley Fest is the official Harley-Davidson festival
in Southern California. For more information, call818/7S9-5099 .
Bern ie was prou d to serve as a Selectm an on the
Southwick town boa rd, was equally proud to be a me mber of the National Promoters Group, the A MA and
the New England Sports Committ ee .
Like so many othe rs, I ann tru ly sorry that I was
unable to say good bye to Bernie personally Eve ry time
.
we talked , he always close d the conve rsation by saying:
"Take care of yourse lf, kid" (eve n though I'm ove r 60
years old).
How do you say goodb ye?Word s like God speed and
farewell just don't cut it.
I'll just do it the way he would when he left a telephone message on my answering machine. "T his is
Be rnie. Over and out."
Frank Gerace
www.cyclenews.co m
Eddie Mulder will hold a two-day dirt track school at Willow
Springs in Rosamond , California, April 3-4. For more information ,
call 661/268 -0105 .
Three-time AHA Superbike Channpion Reg Pridmore has
announced his 2004 CLASS MotorcYcle Schools schedule. The
school will follow the Road America AHA Superbike National this
year, with a session scheduled for June 7-8 at the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, facility. Pridmore will also do the a Two-Up Class, a pilot
and passenger course sciheduled for the Streets of Willow Springs in
Rosamond, California, on October I. In addition, Pridmore will hold
a regular CLASSsession at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabanna, October 18-19. For a full schedule and for more
infonnation, call 80S/933-9936 or visit www.c1assrides.com.
CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 31, 2004
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