Good Times at Devils Ridge

by Bill Ryburn

Near perfect weather greeted us at the Devils Ridge Motocross Park in Sanford, North Carolina as the Southeast Region hosted the AHRMA National Cross Country and VMX/PVMX event on May 2 –4, 2008. This was event number 3 for the Southeast. We hope you have not forgotten that North Carolina is now part of the Southeast Region and will join us when we return to Devils Ridge this fall.

Devils Ridge was happening. In addition to the CC, PVMX and VMX events, track owner Kent Cameron and Ohlins hosted a “Pig Pickin’” free BBQ and a music jamboree. Great food and an equally good band. The band even played “Rocky Top” for the Tennessee contingency. Just meeting Kent and his family makes the trip to Devils Ridge worthwhile. These folks love to host our AHRMA events and it shows in everything they do. And the next time you are at a National event, stop by and talk to the Ohlins guys. You don’t have to buy their shocks (although you both would probably be happy if you did), just stop by to visit. These are dedicated vintage folks.

First off was the cross country event on Friday morning. Woody started it off by walking the entire course on Thursday to make sure it was safe and rideable. Walking the three and one half miles was not enough for Woody and the track owner, Kent. They also painted every stump on or near the course with bright orange paint. If you have ever thought of painting every stump in a clearcut, you can imagine the task. We didn’t even have to look for course arrows – just try and stay between the orange stumps. The course was also ridden on Thursday afternoon by two novice vintage riders. This is part of National cross country coordinator Teddy Landers’ changes to make sure the course is both safe and fun. Safe it was. The fun part was dodging the orange stumps and trying to guess where the smooth sections were so we could relax a little.

Saturday morning saw the final signup, tech inspection and riders meeting for the PV motocross. Kent had the track prepared perfectly. Fred “900” Guidi ran the riders meeting. Also on hand were AHRMA officials from the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast, in additional to National officials and three trustees. Everything ran perfectly. We had 14 gates and the starters and scorers never had a miscue or delay in keeping things going. About 170 riders competed in the PVMX with tight competition going on all day. Check out the AHRMA web-site for the results. The largest and most competitive class was the +50 Intermediates. Wayne Boyd of North Carolina was the overall winner with 1-1 finishes. Moto 1 had a three rider crash at the first turn involving Wayne Franklin, Bruce Rounsaville and another rider. They all recovered and finished the moto. Moto 2 had Wayne Franklin leading the pack until his engine seized on the last turn.

The fan favorite race was the Women’s Novice race pitting Amber Cooper of Tennessee against Amy Cooper of New Jersey. I am not sure if the Cooper women are related, but they rode like they had been practicing together for years. Amber got the overall win, but one small mistake and Amy would have been there. Thanks for the show!

Plus 50 expert was another highly contested race, with 1st year expert Steve Shelton of South Carolina taking the overall win with his 2-2 finishes. Fellow South Carolinian Rhett Smith finished 2nd with a 1-3 and Ohio riders Jeffrey Clark 3rd with a 3-4 and Tom Bellamy 4th with an 8-1 finish. Great racing all day!

Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday with a well prepared track and an organization that ran like clockwork. About 150 entrants were in the Vintage event. Classes ran from single entrants to 12 competitors. As with PVMX, the most competitive classes were the +50 Expert and Intermediates, with Bruce Rounsaville (CZ) taking the +50 Intermediate overall with a 2-1 finish. Plus 50 expert went to Tom Bellamy (YAM) of Ohio ahead of the South Carolina duo of Rhett Smith (CZ) wwith a 2-2 and Steve Shelton 3rd with a 4-4 finish. The new 100 cc class had Hodakas winning Expert (Mike Mitrione), Intermediate (Paul Stannard), and Novice (John Slivka). Suzikis and Yamahas were also running, but the Penton riders were notably absent. Bring out those Berkshires! The rats are getting fat!

The best race of the day and by far the fan favorite was the +70 Expert race. This was a two man race, pitting two of our trustees and two good friends head to head. BSA rider Jeff Smith showed his world championship style in moto one by edging out Corky Root on his Bultaco. Moto 2 had Corky staying within 2-3 bikes lengths of Jeff for 4 ½ laps. Corky then edged out Jeff for the overall with his 2-1 finish. This was the kind of show we all came to watch.

Overall a great event and we look forward to more fun and racing in the Southeast.

Introduction

Woody Graves is your new Southeast regional motocross coordinator. Kevin Logue, Steve Marpes and Beno Rodi will be assisting Woody. Kevin will handle the points keeping/webmaster duties. Steve and Beno will oversee their respective areas of the region. Beno is also your Southeast regional flat track coordinator. We hope to enlist the help of more folks as we move forward with our new format which is described briefly below. If you are interested in volunteering your expertise to the region please send Woody an email. We are looking forward to a great 2008 season!

Vision Statement

Hello and Welcome to the new AHRMA SE Website! Our first plan of action is to be responsive to the riders and racetracks that support what we love to do (race old bikes). I take on this responsibility with open arms and open ears. It is not my intention to change the world or make promises I cannot keep, but to use ideas and plans that are realistic, and set goals that can and will be reached. We need to lead by example. With that said, the first hurdle is a race schedule, I would like to have fewer races at first to build a solid foundation for us to operate on. This is very important! With fewer races, more effort can be put into a higher quality event rather than book to many and make everyone travel so much. High fuel prices are also a main factor to consider while determining where and when an event should be. I also hope to recruit people in all areas of the southeast region to help with contacting local tracks and people for help in running an event. The Southeast region is huge, with over 600 AHRMA active members! And looking at past participation, there is a large unbalance of riders that actually make it to an event. My goal here is to be what I was asked to be, a coordinator, and coordinate people in each area of the southeast region. You know all the facts in your area better than anyone else, and if a few of you step up hopefully we can get a race in your area that is of high quality and fun. I know we have many disciplines to work on, from Vintage, PV, Cross Country and even trials and flat track, but all have a place in this. Many changes need to happen but they will not happen over night and not with out everyone’s support. Please step up and tell me what you think would help our series. Be direct and realistic. I will listen to anything you have to say, good or bad, but I need to hear from you, the members. I am only a phone call away or an email. I have spent the best part of my life giving back to this sport that I love and am a very dedicated person. With the good crew that has already come on board we feel we are ready to take this region to the next level and finish out our days doing what we love. Thank you, Woody Graves.