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/128636
4th Annual ISOT Reu n io n R ide/ Leroy Winters Memorial (Left) Jeff Fredette comers his old Kawasaki KDX In the grass-track special test. stories to teU to anyone who wo uld listen. Don Cutl er brought an album full of gorgeous ph otos taken by Marcia MacDonald du ring her tenu re as Ossa team m anager and U.S. team m anager in the 1976 Austrian ISDT. Stellan Tingstrom (1 97 3) and J ohn Smith ( 1964) sat in the shade an d c h a tted with Tom M cDerm ott ( 1949 ) and Bu gsy Ma nn (1975) . Dave Mungenast celebrated his 66 th b irth day and took ribb ing from every comer. Sunday was as gorgeous as Satur day had been as the riders headed out for th e second d ay of trail and special test s. Aga in, th e trails were challenging, but never im pas sib le. They wound up an d down th e Ozark terrain and incl uded a co uple of long, ear-popping descents. A two-and-a -half mile special test awa ited the competitors early in the morning , and it was Fredette who set the pace this day w ith Ray Mungenast, Singleton and Ron Ribolzi close on his tai l. determine class standings and who went home with gold, silve r or bronze m edals. Kevin H ines se t fas t time for t h e morning terra in test on a ne w CREao - yes , an aoc c b i k e smoked every- STORY AN D PHOTOS BY J EFF D EB ELL CASS, AR, SEPT. 29-0 CT. 1 or those whose pulse is sent racing by vintage J awa s, Pentons, Huskys F and Triumphs , the ISDT Reun ion Ride is the place to be. The fourth running of th is thing new and old, inclu di n g bikes w ith up to 10 t imes the engi ne displacement. Terrie Singleton, an other Six Days vet also mounted on a m od - two-day vintage reliability tri als was run under near-ideal conditions in the Bo ston Mounta ins of northwest Arkansas . A record 58 bikes were entered, with a em YZ, w as 11 seconds beh ind Hines, but only six seconds behind h im was iro n m an J e ff Fred ette , r id i ng a 15year-old KDXI Thirty more m iles of Class A tra il s dozen piloted by Six Days veterans such as Dave Mungenast, Don Cutler , T eme Sing leton , Kevin Lavoie and Chris Carter. !\ number of racing legends were on hand also, incl uding one of the event's fo u n ders , t he i nco mpa rable D i c k " B ug sy" Mann, John Penton , th e man behi nd America's off-road revolution of become one o f t he h ighlights of the weekend - the grass tra ck. Riders are faster than others, bu t every rid er had a smile on his fa ce wh en h e c rossed th e fi ni shi ng gate. The m id-aftem oon end of th e first day left plenty of time for bench -racing and autographs from the Six Days vets in the cro wd. Small groups gathered here and there to reminisce. J ohn Penton always had a few riders aro und him. and he had !Below! The ISDEllSDT vets pose after a day in the saddle. [Kneeling, left to rightl Jeff Fredette, Ray Mungenast, Dave Mungenast, Bugsy Mann. (Standing, left to right) Chris Carter, Kevin Davis, Stellan T1ngstrom, Don CuUer, John Smith, Ron R1bolzl, Kevin Hines, Kevin Lavoie, John Penton, Teme Singleton, Tom McDennott, Steve Van zant, Mike Winters. one, with only a few seconds' difference among the entire fie ld, b ut Hines once again set th e standard for th e test. The second afternoon sp eci al test was a timed solo lap around th e grass the 9 a.m. start put the rid ers off to a great day of riding. A tigh t, timed terrain test awaited the riders after a dozen miles or so of warm-up trail. This wa s the first of five timed special tests scattered over morning by Bugsy un iversal fa vor ite Vern Street, of the brought h is ISDE th e two-da y ride that would eventua lly and prov ided lap t imes a c c u r ate to tr ack, which had been lai d out Frid ay Mann and was th e among t h e ri ders. Tulsa T ra il Rid ers. tim ing eq u ip me n t The Saturday-evening supper and awards banquet was at once a celebration and a tim e of sadness. Darrell Judy was remembered. as was co-fo under Leroy Winters, who passed away early in 1999. The excellence of this year's event is a testament to the hard work these two enthusiasts put into it since its inceptio n in 1997. Form er AMA president Ed Youngblood served as master of ceremon ies and called upon many of the 17 Six Days veterans in the audience to share stories of their adventures overseas. John Penton was presented with a special award for all of his support of motorcyciing throughout the years, particularly the ISDT. Jeff Fredette was presented with the Bud Eki ns Pioneer Award for his 19 Six Days medals (10 gold, eigh t silv er, one bronze). Bud Ekins began an era of U.S. involvement in the Six Days In the early 1960s. along with his brother Dave, Cliff Coleman, Jo hn Penton and Steve McQueen. Anot her Ameri can motorcyci ing legend, Malcolm Smith , rode his first ISDT alongside Bud in 1966. Fredette is about to contest his 20th Six Days later this year in Granada, Spain. upholdi ng the pioneer spirit of Bud Ekins. cue and the riders wicked it u p. Some were m arker and back to stop in a designated square. The ti mes were tight in thi s Harley deale r who was the first American to win an ISDT go ld medal in the 1949 Uandrindod Wells trial . Saturday dawned crisp and clear, and OCTOBER 25. 2000' b ik es were flagg ed onto the c ou r se , A shortened day of trail returned the r iders to t h e i m pou n d for what has led t he participants back to the parc fer me and the next two specia l tests. The first was a simple acceleration and b raking test, out and down around a the late '60s and early '70s, and Tommy McDermott, the Glens Falls, New York 28 1/ 10Oth of a second. On e by one, th e I e ne1N'S BRIEFLY The Razorback Riders and the Winters family pulled out all the stops to provide a wonderful weekend of racing and fellowship for the nearly 200 riders. spectators and vintage fans in ettendance. A Friday-niqht cookout. Saturday-nightawards banquet. and two days of great trail riding. terrain tests and grass-track moto s made for a near perfect weekend of vintage racing. The lone sad note of the weekend was the loss of trail boss Darrell J udy . Judy suffered a fatal heart attack less thana week before in the middle of a Black Jack series enduro. A touching memorial was on display all weekend. and his son. Brian. accepted the AI Eames Award. awarded to Judy posthumously for the countless hours he has spent trailbossing not just the Reunion Ride. but numerous Black Jack enduroes and ISDE qualifiers throughout the years. The rules allowed both modernand vintage bikes in a variety of classes. but the course was set up with the shallow suspension of early '70s enduro mounts in mind. The trail had plenty of rocks and steep uphills and downhills. but also had fire-road sections and jeep trails that made the ride manageable for the vintage machines. The event's venue w ill change in 2001. with a move to SI. Joe State Park south of St. Louis. site of the Flat River Grand Prix. The ride will be in the fall.