Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128603
Sen Bernel"'dino. CA • Fe'bruery 20. ecx:x:J Maico Championships Glen Helen Raceway (Left) Gary Egloff just couldn't get enough of the mud during the rain-saturated Maico Championships at Glen Helen. He won three classes, including the Maico Champion8Lship Intennediate division. (Above) Scott Dotty took runner-up honors in the Maico Intennediate class. (Below) Fonner Supercross Champion Mike Bell dominated the Evolution 2 class. make for a So. Cal. MX promoter race or cancel. "Hey, this is a vintage race," Doughty thought as the large droplets of water fell all around him, "and what would they have done back then? Race, of course." BY KIT PALMER PHOTOS BY MITCH FRIEDMAN outhern California is a great place to be a motocross promoter, especially if you promote vintage racing: You never. have to worry about rain. After all, it never rains in Southern California, which is a good thing when it comes to vintage bikes, because old motorcycles and water mixed with plastic-gouging grit - go together about as well as straight gas in a CZ. So when Mother Nature decided to wring out her thick, black rain clouds over Glen Helen Raceway, Vintage Iron's Rick Doughty who promoted the inaugural Maico Championships for the Southwest Vintage Racing Group was, well, hung out to dry and left with a rare decision to S 26 MARCH 8, 2000' cue I And that's exactly what they did at Glen Helen. Still, the decision-making wasn't quite over. After Doughty had made up his mind to go on with the show (which included regular vintage-class racing), the riders in the show now had to make up their own minds as to whether or not they wanted to thrash their beloved, not to mention delicate, vintage machinery in the soupy mess that was once a typically dry and hard-packed Southern California motocross track, in this case, the .. ne""s usually vintage-friendly REM track at Glen Helen. Most of them understandably chose to leave their machines in the safe confines of their trucks, or vans, and return to the comfort of their homes, but a little over 50 "hardcore" souls decided that they had come out to Glen Helen to have fun" ... and, damn it, that's exactly what we're going to have rain or no rain," said one participant. One of those riders determined to have a good time was former Supercross Champion and factory Yamaha motocross star Mike Bell. Bell came out to compete in the Evolution 2 class, the day's most popular division with 14 total riders signing up to do battle. He won, of course, but Bell did have to deal with a sticking throttle cable that was fraying right before his eyes. Nonetheless, Bell, competing in the Expert class, led the pack of combined "Evo" 2 classes around the waterlogged track for all 10 laps of the first moto, while fellow Yamaha rider Brad Roysdom, an Intermediate, held down second for awhile before Husqvarna rider Chris Wood, an Intermediate, got him near the halfway point. Wood ended up winning the Evo 2 Intermediate class over Thomas Engelhardt and Roysdon. Jay Roysdon topped the Evo 2 Novice class. "This is a blast," said a drippingwet Bell after the moto. "It's fun to experiment with different lines, and you just don't get a chance to ride in situations like this in California very often. "Vintage racing is so much fun, there's no pressure, you just go out and race and have fun," Bell added. The day's opening moto combined the Plus-40 riders with the Pre- '72 250-500cc riders, and it was Plus-40 Expert Ed Zornes, on a Yamaha, who led everyone to the checkered flag, right from the drop of the gate. Fellow classmate, Husqvarna rider Dwayne Scrivnor, chased Zornes in second place the whole way, while Yamaha-mounted Harold Smith took third overall and the Plus-40 Novice win. The top Pre-'72 250·500cc Intermediate class rider was Gary Egloff and his CZ. He took fifth overall, one spot ahead of Pre- '72 Expert John LeFevre.