IN
THE
WIND
P52
Groves, Stine Take Home ROC Green
T
he 45th annual Race of
Champions sponsored by
Kawasaki ran its course at the
Old Bridge Townships, Race-
way Park, in Englishtown, New
Jersey, October 1-3. This AMA
featured event is one of the lon-
gest continually running amateur
motocross events in the United
States.
The Best Whip contest was
held on Friday night over the
track's famous staircase to keep
everyone entertained. Andrew
Maroney won the best whip, and
Nitro Circus star Banksy Hover
did the first backflip over this
iconic track obstacle. Kawasaki
star Axell Hodges was hanging
out all day Saturday, signing auto-
graphs and taking photos with all
of his fans.
Team Green Technician Doug
Douchette was on hand to sup-
port the Kawasaki racers, and
four local dealers gave away six
motorcycles on Sunday after-
noon, including a KLX110, to a
lucky spectator.
More than 1100 racers from 16
states descended on the North-
east for three days of motocross
racing. Great weather and
fantastic track conditions made
for some great battles all week-
end. There were two full days of
racing on Friday and Saturday for
youth and amateurs, as well as
vet classes. The big winners dur-
ing the amateur portion included
Bryce Shelly, Gavin Towers, John
Grewe, Carter Grey and Jona-
than Getz, each with multiple
class overall victories.
Sunday's racing was for the
Pro Expert classes (250cc and
Open) and intermission races
for amateur and mini bike riders.
Pennsylvania's Bobby Piazza
took the first Open A moto with
New Jersey's Bryton Carroll in
Gage Stine took top honors
in the 250A class at the Race
of Champions at Englishtown.
PHOTOS: SCOTT LUKAITIS