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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128371
'AHRMA AMS Racing National Vintage MX Series r DC 'ell Oul Tuckers A I Proximatel Y 250 Vintage entries turned out for the third and final day of AHRMA National competiion at Gatorback, again held under sunny skies and pleasant temperatures. The track was toned down just slightly from the previous day's Post-1974 National MX. Quebec's Steve Tucker was the class of the old-bike divisions, winning three Classic and Premier classes on his BSA, while Travis Blackburn of Citra, Florida, dominated two of the Sportsman classes. Tucker's first race was Premier 500 Expert. In the first moto, he had no difficulty running away from the field on his 1964 BSA B40. The second time out, however, Robert Poole from Tiburon, California, made a race of it. Poole and his '65 BSA Gold Star hounded Tucker, coming up only about four bikelengths short at the checkered flag. Next up for Tucker was Classic 250 Expert, and in the first moto he was hounded by New York's Paul Havir. Tucker just held off his fellow BSA B250 rider at the finish. The second race was all Tucker, ahead of Havir and Ossamounted Andy Blackburn. Tucker's final race was Classic 500 Expert, and this one featured a deep field of fast riders. Wesley Poole, Robert's son, grabbed the early lead, but that was short-lived as his Triumph twin began experiencing problem. That left Tucker and his '67 BSA B44 out front, chased by newly crowned AHRMA Sportsman of the Year Mark Skarpohl of Mankato, Minnesota, on a twin-pipe CZ. Skarpohl, however, fell just before the finish, handing over second place to BSAmounted James Smith. Skarpohl recovered to finish third, ahead of Havir and Jay Stuiso. Classic 500 moto two saw Skarpohl jump to the lead from the start and never relinquish it, despite Tucker's pressure. Tucker earned the overall win by virtue of his 1-2 finishes over Skarpohl's 3-1. Smith's 2-3 was good for third place, ahead of Havir's 4-5 and Robert Poole's 6-4. Robert and Wesley are just half of the Poole racing family. Wesley also rode to 38 MARCH 30, 2005 • STORY AND PHOTOS BY MAn BENSON the win in Sportsman Open Twins Expert and third in Sportsman 500 Expert. Mother Debbie and daughter Emily went one-two in Women Intermediate, while Debbie also won Premier 500 Novice on her Gold Star and got second in Classic 250 Novice, and Emily rode to fifth in Classic 125 Novice on a CZ. The family even managed to get interviewed for Speed's 2 Wheel Tuesday program that aired during Bike Week. As for Blackburn, he dominated the Sportsman 500 Expert field on a Penton provided by Peter Villacaro. He rode uncontested in the first moto but was pressured for a time in the second race by Wesley Poole on a BSA B50, until Poole faded back. Other than Blackburn's I-I, however, there was little consistency in the class as Rhett Smith was second overall, with 5-3 scores, followed by Poole in third, with 2-4 finishes, and Robert Neeley fourth, with 3-7 scores. Blackburn also rode to a pair of moto wins in Sportsman 250 Expert, this time on a '74 Montesa from Villacaro's stable. Fellow Floridian David Ellis was runnerup both times on his Yamaha, followed by Bob Speiss on a Kawasaki and the CZmounted Rhett Smith. The Plus-60 Expert class got a lot faster this year with the addition of Michigan's Tom Boyd. In the opening moto, he worked his '74 Husqvarna around the CZ of Henry Gref to take the win. The Ohio rider kept Boyd on his toes in the second moto, again finishing second. Third both times was perennial class winner and former two-time World 500cc MX champ Jeff Smith on his BSA. Loyd Morgan and Jean Ramsay traded fourth-place finishes, with Morgan's 5-4 besting Ramsay's 4-5. Another former pro had a day he'd probably rather forget at Gatorback. Tom Benolkin got a midpack start on his '72 Penton in the Sportsman 125 Expert class and, in his usual on-the-edge style, jammed his way to the front before the end of the first lap. He went on to win handily over the Hondas of Jeffrey Simonds and Carl Mabry. Benolkin had the Penton on the track two races later in Classic 125 Expert, with the same CYCLE NEWS