AMA Hall of Fame Controversy

Kenny Roberts returns his Medal;

Jack Mangus quits committee;

Dean Adams explains
(7/13/2012)

The latest development in reaction to the withdrawal of Nobby Clark from the 2012 Motorcycle Hall of fame induction list is the decision by Kenny Roberts to return his medal.  This was reported mid-day in Cycle News. 

In addition, long-time Cycle News Editor-In-Chief Jack Mangus, retired, has resigned his seat on the Hall of Fame Dirt Track Committee.  He writes,

Gentlemen: Please accept this email as my resignation from the Dirt Track Committee of the AMA Museum Hall of Fame. I no longer want to be associated with the AMA as it is presently staffed and managed. I believe that included in the shortcomings is the manner in which inductees are selected each year, a method that now makes individual committee's time and efforts all but useless. The recent snafu over Nobby Clark is the last straw and I hereby pull the curtain down on the association.

Sincerely,
Jack Mangus
Ocala, Florida

While word is not yet forthcoming from the AMA, Dean Adams, a member of the Hall of Fame Road Racing Committee, offers his own explanation of the Nobby Clark reversal on his Superbike Planet web site.

Dick Mann returns
his Hall of Fame medal
(7/13/2012)

Editor's Note: Overnight, we received the following letter to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame from Dick and Kay Mann.

July 12, 2012 

Motorcycle Hall of Fame

13515 Yarmouth Dr.

Pickerington, OH 43147

Enclosed is the medal I received when I was inducted in the AMA Hall Of Fame in 1998. This is in response to the mismanagement of the HOF Directors of the induction/non-induction of Nobby Clark.

I was one of the original committee members involved in organizing the current Hall of Fame. Lately, I have watched this organization slide into mediocrity, apparently from the lack leadership and knowledge of the history of our sport.

Due to Nobby Clark’s contributions to the sport of motorcycles, it is my   opinion there is no one more deserving of being inducted in the HOF.  Since that is not going to happen, I no longer want to be considered a part of the Hall of Fame.

Sincerely,  

Dick Mann

AMA #59858

Dave Despain returns
Hall of Fame medal in protest
(7/12/2012)

Editor's Note: The following letter was transmitted by motojournalist, television commentator, and Motorcycle Hall of Fame member Dave Despain at 5:54 EDT this afternoon.

July 12, 2012

Motorcycle Hall of Fame

13515 Yarmouth Dr.

Pickerington, OH  43147

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter and the enclosed medal commemorating my induction comprise my immediate resignation from the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.  I expect my name and picture to be removed without delay from all Hall of Fame materials and representations.

I take this action in response to the Hall of Fame’s unconscionable rescinding of the nomination of Nobby Clark, a motorcycling legend more than worthy of Hall of Fame membership.  I believe we Hall of Famers have a special stake in the integrity of the institution and its nominating process.  I have lost all faith in that process and, more importantly, in the individuals who apparently now control it. 

I am deeply suspicious of media speculation that Clark’s “criminal record” is somehow grounds for the withdrawal of his nomination but given the absence of any clear and official explanation from Hall of Fame officials, that apparently is the brush with which Nobby is to be tarred.  This raises a couple obvious questions:  What changed in the short time between the announcement and the rescinding of Clark's nomination and why would Clark's "criminal record" be grounds for a blackball when that clearly was not an issue for a number of previous inductees who also have criminal records. 

I suspect the answers to these questions, if they were truly known, would do nothing to restore my faith in the integrity of the institution but in the end my resignation does not turn on those answers.  Instead it is based on a simple and inescapable conclusion; given everything Nobby Clark has accomplished in this sport, if he doesn’t belong in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame then I sure as hell shouldn’t be in there.

Sincerely,  

Dave Despain

Geezer Roost!

Many of us cut our teeth on two strokes. I still consider the 81 Maico 490 the best race bike I ever owned. Perhaps because I was younger and soooo much faster then, at least in my mind. Whether it's the cost, complexity, weight or some other obscure reason there seems to be renewed interest in two strokes. This picture appears in the July issue of Dirt Bike magazine. The accompaning article details how to update an old, well used 2006 YZ250 without having to take out a second mortgage. Look closely behind those goggles and you will find our own #33 throwing up an impressive roost.

Photo ID Contest!

Rumor has it that these three scoundrels were seen cruising on their Harleys. They showed up at a Superbike National threatening to give riding lessons.

The first person to correctly identify all three of these misfits wins a Team Alzheimers T Shirt. Submit your entries by posting a comment here.

36th Annual Sierra OT International MX

Sierra Old Timer event is a Home Run!

The Sierra Chapter of the IOTMX series had a great event in Marysville, Calif at the MMX facility the weekend of May 5 & 6.  The weather was the only thing that was not perfect, the wind blew terribly over the two days of racing and gave the track crew a difficult time. However the track promoter Jerrad Fisher and his crew did an outstanding job of laying out a new track for this event and maintaining it through the difficult weather conditions. The track stayed in good shape with occasional touch ups and watering that made for a fun course despite the wind. A big Thank You to the MMX facility and its people, you guys went all out to provide an excellent race course.

The turnout was up from the events held so far this year at other venues with a few extra classes added on Sunday’s program to further bolster the attendance. Everyone had a great time with only a couple of mishaps on the track. The racing was close with only a couple of dominant riders for the weekend while most classes had some intense racing both days.

The 60 Master class was the one to watch if you went to the Tulare race. This time Terry Sage seemed to have things in control with the exception of one Bob Hershey that made Mr. Sage uncomfortable by riding his wheel all day on Saturday.

The 50 Master class seemed to be the class for entertainment if you wanted your money’s worth.  There were several guys on that gate that thought they deserved the winner’s trophy and were willing to bump and bang along the way to get it! The cast of characters included Ed Marchini, Mark Kaestner, Doug Goodman, Mike Harper, Alex Jorgensen and John Volk. Ed Marchini was the fastest, smartest or luckiest depending on whom you talk to! He came away with the win when the dust settled.

Ed had to work for it though because Mark took a couple of motos away to make sure Ed didn’t have the perfect weekend. He (Mark) also stalled and crashed a couple of times just to keep things interesting. I heard his wife, June, was on the side of the track calling him bad names when he had a couple of those mishaps.  Mike Harper was primed to put a whoopin’ on the boyz but his YZ 250 with the big bore kit wasn’t! He made about two turns and pushed the bike back to the pits with a broken motor. His weekend was over.  Doug was in the hunt but didn’t seem to come to terms with the sand track since he is from Arizona, most of his riding is on much harder ground where he is extremely fast. Alex was making his return to racing after a few years away from OTMX racing and had a new RMZ 450. He always rides well but without any racing under his belt tired quicker than normal and had a nagging shoulder problem surface. Did I mention Alex has won National events in years gone by and has been inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of fame? Kind of gives you an idea of the caliber of riders that some of these Geezers have to ride against if they want to win!

Overall the event was superb with a raffle that Works Connection alone would have made worth the trip. The items they supported the OTMX with were nothing short of amazing. Along with Vice’s Collision repair, Halls Furniture, MX1, Titan Container, Roseville Yamaha, Autowest Honda of Roseville, Gold Country Copier along with Jorgy’s Suzuki of Stockton. Thank You to all of the OTMX supporters.

Our 50 Master hero Ed Marchini brought his mobile ghetto that is actually a 40’ top of the line motor home. He allowed the club to hook up a large television screen outside that showed the Las Vegas supercross via his motor home satellite. Anyone that was interested was invited to come watch the supercross live!  Good times!  

A huge Thank You to Carmen and his wife, Renee for all the effort they put out. Carmen was relegated to running things like sign up, raffle and serving the evening meal since he was on the side lines with an injury and unable to compete.

If you missed this one you missed a top notch event. Don’t let the next one pass you by, I won’t!

#33

What Other Sport?

John Volk leads AMA Hall Of Famer Alex Jorgenson into a turn at the recent Sierra IOTMX at the MMX track in Marysville, CA. Where else can you go to compete with the best of the best on equal terms? The International Old Timer Moto Cross Series is unique in that respect. Veteran racers from all over come together to compete, reminisce, swap tall tales and have fun. One thing always stands out at these events "age is just a number". If you have never ridden moto or you have just been away for awhile, it's never too late to start. Find a track near you and get your moto on!

Can a 70 Year Old be a Newbie?

Sierra Old Timers 36th Annual International Motocross

If you remember about a month ago I rode my first MX in thirty plus years at the So Cal Old Timers chapter round in Hesperia CA where in the second moto I knocked my friend down and thought I had just lost my invite to his house for a BBQ that night. Then I weenie’d out on Sunday’s race because it was really cold and windy. Well the weather was a bit better at the Marysville CA round. Friday’s practice weather was good, but Saturday’s race was cool and windy. The afternoon wind really picked up but Sunday’s weather was less windy and warmer.

After attending two rounds of Old Timer MX put on by two different clubs the one thing I’m most impressed by is their efforts to have a fun safe track and how efficiently they run the motos, as I said before they don’t mess around, they line’em up and go. The Marysville course held at the MMX track where they used the 8/10 mile sand track and actually crossed over a paved road twice where they added about 3/10’s of a mile of a slower more technical mixture of sand and loam. All in all I liked it.

Everybody hopes to have their own fifteen minutes of fame at some point in their life, well I had mine this past weekend. By Old Timer rules I was required to sign up within a certain rider classification then depending on how you scored they would either move you up or down in classification.

Well as it turned out I was in the wrong classification I think the closest anyone was to me was about thirty seconds in the first moto. On Sunday a friend of mine timed me and I was fifty seconds ahead after three laps in the first moto. Needless to say I’ve been moved up to the next classification. You know what though it felt good to be out front stylin. A legend in my own mind, basking in my own glory. Everybody should get to experience that at least once…. right?  My wife and friends thought it was great, Eric #33 thought I was a sand bagger.

As it turns out there was some pit falls to being so far out front. I had no one to dice with. During my last moto on Sunday it dawned on me that I had not used this time to continue practicing on some of the areas of the course where I was struggling. I just safely rode around those spots not trying to get better. On the flip side of that another friend of mine rode his first Old Timer event and even though he ended up first in each moto he had to work for it and his lap times improved throughout the weekend. I’d say we were very close in lap times when we were practicing Friday but I’ll bet he was three or four seconds a lap faster than me by Sunday afternoon.

The question now is do I want to retire a legend in my own mind or go to the event in Fernley, NV in the fall and take my chances on getting spanked in the new class. Well….I do have a few months to think about it.

Doug 21J

PS I rode my new 2012 Yamaha WR450F this past weekend and no I didn’t race with the lights on I unplugged them. I’m going to do a little write up on my impressions of the new fuel injected bike soon.

FLY Riders Sweep Mammoth GNCC!

GNCC Racing headed to a new venue this past weekend for the inaugural Mammoth GNCC in Park City, Kentucky. With a brand-new technical course and a level playing field—particularly in the XC1 Pro class—New Zealander and FLY Racing team rider Rory Mead rose to the occasion. Known for his technical riding skills, Mead quickly put himself up front to control the majority of the three hour race and take his first ever XC1 victory! Chris Bach had a great debut ride on his new Obermeyer Yamaha back YZ450F with a solid 6th place finish.

In XC2 action, Steward Baylor kept his perfect season intact with another win, making it 5 for 5 wins. Keeping Baylor honest all day and taking his second podium in a row was F.A.R. Husqvarna team rider Andrew Delong. Also impressive in his first outing for the F.A.R. Husqvarna team was Nick Davis who came home in fourth. Rounding out the top five was Jedediah Haines in fifth to make it four out of five riders in the top five in XC2 competition.

Other notable FLY Racing GNCC finishes included top overall amateur and 250A winner Grant Baylor in 18th place overall, Open A winner Adam Bonneur, 4 Stroke A Lites winner Derrick Allen, and 2nd place Women’s class finisher Leeann Bange.

Mr. Enduro meets Old Timer Moto....and Survives!

Los Angeles OT/MX International

#33 has been encouraging me for the last year or so to ride an Old Timer Moto Cross event and apparently this is the year I have decided to try doing other things outside the Dist 36 Enduro and Cross Country events I’ve been doing for many years now. Last month I rode in the Score San Felipe 250 so why not a Moto Cross.

Last weekend (March 31st) the So Cal chapter of the International Old Timers Moto Cross Association held an event at the Hillside track in Hesperia, California. There were people who traveled from out of State and a few from other countries to attend this event. The format was an open practice on Friday, a short practice by class on Saturday morning, a riders meeting then shortly after that the first race. They didn’t mess around; each race went one after another. There’s class for just about everyone and they don’t put you on the course with any of the young guns who might just fly over your head or land on you over a jump. Saturday’s format was three motos for most classes and two for the rest of us. Most of the motos were fifteen minutes long with a few being twenty two minutes long for the faster classes. Then the open support classes which consisted of “younger” riders, my guess is most were friends or family of the Old Timers. Sunday’s format was the same except two motos only for everyone.

I arrived Friday afternoon too late for practice but I did have the opportunity to walk the track. The temperature was in the low eighties with a slight breeze. The course was as the name suggests a hillside course. The elevation changes weren’t hair ball but made it interesting. All the jumps and step ups felt safe. The start was a long uphill with a left hand bend to a drop off left hand corner then a right turn and part way back down the hill to a tight right hand sweeper then over a couple of short jumps then uphill to the first big jump.

By the time I had walked the track and signed up the breeze had turned into wind and the temperature was dropping. Before I left for the motel I took refuge in Eric and Cheryl’s comfy trailer where Eric filled me on what to expect over the next couple of days. Eric and Cheryl have a very, very nice weekend warrior, but they were parked between two huge motor homes towing bike trailers that were almost as long as their trailer, they definitely looked dwarfed and out of place between them.

I was at the track by 7:00 AM Saturday the wind was still blowing and it was very cold. I got to ride the track for the first time and I liked it.

My race was the first one and there were enough of us to fill the start gate. This was my first time starting behind a gate and my first motocross in over thirty years. They were still doing rubber band starts the last time I lined up for motocross. I have a Rekluse on my KTM 350SXF so my plan was to start in low gear apply a little brake and throttle and when the gate dropped stay strait and pin it. It worked pretty well the first moto I think I was about fourth or fifth to the top of the hill and within the first lap or so worked myself into second then to first but had a small tip over that allowed the second rider to pass me back. I caught back up to him but ran out of time and energy to pass him back. Seems to me we made seven or eight laps, it’s amazing just how much energy you use in that time, especially when you’re not use to doing it.

My second gate start went even better than my first; I grabbed the holeshot and began to stretch out a small lead. However, after a couple of laps they blacked flagged us, apparently a rider had fallen and they weren’t sure he was going to be able to get off the track. I was to say the least a little disappointed. We all lined up and again I got a good start but this time my friend Bob who owned the bike and managed the San Felipe 250 race team I rode on was right alongside me. This time he beat me to the first corner. I followed him for most of the first lap then passed him down a long strait that led to a right hand turn and over a table top. I had gone inside him and needed to take a slightly different angle to make sure I hit the table top straight otherwise I could possibly land on the side of the jump. I’m still not quite sure what happened but I had slowed the bike a lot to make sure I hit the jump square but I slid a little left. I corrected to the right and thought OH SHIT… just as Bob plowed into my right rear. It straightened me right up but sent Bob over the bars and down the side of the jump. I stopped, looked back and saw Bob tumbling down the hill. My first thought was I hope Bob’s alright. My second thought was I hope I’ll still be invited to his house for a BBQ tonight. I and the third place rider who was now stopped maybe twenty yards in front of me as we both looked to see if Bob was alright, he waited for me to start riding again and let me pass him before we started racing again. That gesture sums up what this Old Timer racing is all about. I was able to go on and win that moto by a huge margin. Later I had a chance to talk with the rider who had won my first race and was the one who waited with me in the second race. He had traveled all the way from BC in Canada, and he told me he felt it was only right to let me go in front of him and then see if he could catch me.

I took a huge amount of razzing from a couple of the riders on the San Felipe race teams for taking out Bob. Bob turns out was ok, landing on the soft side of the jump helped. He actually got up and finished the moto. Best of all I was still invited to his house for the BBQ. I met one of his daughters later who admitted she had called me an asshole when I took her father out. I told her I called myself the same thing.

By the time #33 did his third moto of the day the wind was blowing so hard it was becoming very dangerous on the jumps and Eric admitted that the moto sucked. I found out later after I had left to get cleaned up for the BBQ I had a winning raffle ticket but wasn’t present to claim it, dammit. I understand they had some good stuff to.

Sunday morning was even more windy and colder, it was barely forty and the wind was probably a steady twenty five with gusts of thirty to forty. The wind had taken its toll on me Saturday and I had spent a miserable night so I went to the track Sunday morning to say goodbye to my friends, especially all the new friends I’d met. Friendships and a sharing the same passions are what it’s all about.

Eric told me the weather actually got a little better as the day went on.

I understand the rider who traveled from Canada and waited for me to pass him back won my class overall, as far as I’m concerned he more than deserved it. My plan is to attend the Sierra Old Timers event to be held in Marysville in May. Hopefully the guy from BC will attend and we can once again chase each other around the track.

Doug 21J

For Information about the upcoming May 5th Sierra OTMX visit their website at:

www.sierraotmc.com

Steve McQueen's Big Dollar Ad!

2 Strokes Live!!!

April 1st at Glen Helen.....no it wasn't an April Fools joke. It was the World 2 Stroke Championship. All 2 strokes everywhere you looked and the sound oh so sweet. Most vet riders grew up on 2 strokes and many are returning. Look and listen to what MX used to be.