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/142700
CN III ARCHIVES P104 BY LARRY LAWRENCE GOODBYE SOUTHWICK G oodbye to the "World's Fastest Sandbox." It was sad news last week when it was announced that the 2013 edition of the Southwick Motocross National would be the last. Southwick is easily the most unique venue of the 12 stops of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and has produced many a surprise podium over the years. As it stands Ryan Dungey, Eli Tomac and Jessica Patterson close out the books as the winners of the final National held on the classic old sand track. I will never forget the first time I walked from the parking lot through the woods and onto the grounds of MX-338. My first thought was what an intimate venue for a National as the footprint of the grounds is relatively small. Plus the place was heavily wooded (more so in the past than today). The lush trees that surround the circuit seemed to soak up some of the noise of the bikes and when the pack was on the other side of the track it was eerily quiet, which made it that much more impactful when the pack came back around to your section of the circuit. And then there is the racing surface. You walk onto the surface and just like the legend of the place, it truly is like a sandbox. Deep, thick, moist, power-sapping sand. This is the toughest National on bikes. Engines are at full song, even through the turns. Mechanics say the sand just gets into everything and destroys it. Your bike's brakes, bearings, suspension pivots - they're all toast after a National at Southwick. Not to mention the abuse to the body riders take riding in the sand that inevitably becomes deeply rutted within a lap or two. The origins of Southwick are as deep as motocross in America. It was New England where motocross as we know it first took root in this country. As early as the late 1950s the New England Sports Committee (NESC) were staging motocross races and it was this group of enthusiasts who in the early 1970s tramped through the woods behind South- wick's American Legion 338 (where the track got its name) and dreamed of carving out a motocross track. MX-338 was built 40 years ago and then a few years later hosted its first National in 1976 when Pierre Karsmakers took victory in an AMA 250 National over Tony DiStefano and Brad Lackey. The field in that first race at Southwick was simply amazing, possibly setting the stage for fan support that would last for 37 years. In addition to the podium finishers Karsmakers, DiStefano and Lackey, also in the motos that day were Bob Hannah, Kent Howerton, Danny LaPorte, Jimmy Ellis, Tommy Croft, Steve Stackable, Gary Semics, Billy Grossi… and the list goes on. The winners at Southwick over the years reads like a Who's Who of Motocross. LaPorte, Glover,