Broome/Tioga day 1 results

[thrownchain]

I'll just list the Penton results:

In Post Vintage; Historic 200 Novice-   1st Ambr Milakovic

In Vintage; Sportsman 200 Intermediate- 2nd place Lew Meyer
                                        3rd place Bob Close
            Vintage +50 Intermediate-   1st Mick Malakovic
            Vintage +60 Expert-         1st Ted Grabowski
            Vintage +60 Intermediate-   1st Dwight Gill
            Vintage +60 Novice-         1st James Foster

I'll let the racers tell their own racing stories. The weather was perfect and the track was well liked. Day two tomorrow, hopefully some one will post the results for that day, I can't be there. Congrats Penton riders...[8D]

[tooclose racing]

"I'll let the racers tell their own stories..." - oh you're just killing me, Dan.  Great to hang out with ya, BTW.

I will report back later.  It' Sunday morning and I have a HUGE honey-do list, AND I gotta go into the office. I am more than bummed that I'm not participating in Day 2 of racing on a FANTASTIC course that Chicago Jerry, Lamberth, and others laid out.  What a hoot.  Honest-to-gosh, giggle-in-your-helmet 75% woods and weaving, 25% fields and MX grass-track blast.

I will say this - I was amongst Pentonista!!! Gaggles of them.   Mick, Amber, Jerry, Lew, Jim Foster, Dwayne Gill (name right?), the gentleman with the race shop outside of Utica, NY (on a very nice 76-ish MC-5 that he claims is sloooowww).  And those Husky folks are pretty friendly, too.  

Final four words as wife stares at me -  Murphy, Rokon, BLAZINGLY FAST.

[tofriedel]

Bob,

Congratulations on your 3rd place finish..  If you can stay close enough to Lew Meyer for the entire race, you will finish close to the top.

Therefore, congratulations to Lew for his 2nd place finish.

Also, a hearty congrats to all POGer's who competed.

All you guys in the Historic 200 Novice class, lookout, Ambr is the King, err Queen.

Tony

[Lew Mayer]

Short version. Had Too Close not broke, he would have had to slow down to stay close to me. With a broken crank, on the next to last lap, I was lucky to get second. Yes, that's right a broken crank. I think I found the life span on a KTM motor. It's right around 35 years. [)]
And, yeah, Mike Murphy is da Man.

Lew Mayer

[chicagojerry]

i'm quite pleased that everyone liked my track layout and the modifications to it for the sunday session. my friend jim kuhns came out there with me two weeks previous and we got a couple of days of work in on it which proved to be just enough. corky and dave lamberth did the tie ins to the grass track late thursday into friday. i ended up winning the vintage +50 expert class both days on my harescrambler. the differnce on sunday was even though i had a flat rear tire from the end of the first lap, my rim locks held the tire on. tim hamilton in my class was beating everyone up until his back tire went flat. he didn't have rim locks but i did.  riding four laps on a flat rear tire was no fun, but i'll take those first place points.    chi jer

[Lew Mayer]

Kudos on your excellent course Jerry.

Lew Mayer

[Mick Milakovic]

Kudos to Jerry for a great layout and Tom for hosting at Broome.  It was a long ways from Indy, but a stop at Niagara falls made the family feel like it was more of a vacation before Ambr goes to the Navy.

The racing was great as always, but the best part was seeing and making friends.  The wekends are always so busy and it seems like there is never enough time.  Just my two-cents worth:  AHRMA racing is not about the bikes, it's about the people!  

Bob, it was nice finally putting a face to your name.  You have a great attitude and bring a lot of enthusiasm to the sport.

Tony, thanks for the compliment on Ambr.  Anyone who has children understands the pride felt when they do well, and to all of you that have sent their children off to serve their country, well, that's a whole 'nother emotion that I'm not quite sure about yet.

Lew, you amaze me with your speed, specially considering your recent surgeries!

Dan (thrownchain) were you there?  If so, I apologize for not meeting you.  Also, I lost the PV +50 win on Sunday due to a "thrownchain"!

Jerry, hopefully see you soon at Marion with that motor.  Take care of your knee, hip, and hand, the vintage world wwould not be nearly as good without you!

Mick

[thrownchain]

Mick, I was there as a spectator and hung out with Bob Close. Stayed till after the awards, then headed on out. We'll cross paths at Mid Ohio I'm sure, that is if you go.

Give a high five and a pat on the back to Ambr and tell her to be safe.......

[tooclose racing]

"If it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all..." - is that how the song goes?  Well, that's how my race went!

Saturday's weather was just lovely BTW....warm, sunny , 70's - I followed Lew around on the siting lap - got some fluids in me back at my pits, and then lined up on the second row along with maybe a dozen other intermediates for the dead-engine start Vintage race in the morning. I think there may have been more Experts in the first row. Flag drops and their off to the races...one minute later the flag dropped for us.  My Sixxer fired right up (okay fine, 2nd kick) and I followed 3 or 4 riders up the hill to the grass MX track area, thru the scoring tent and "off to the woods we go!"  I know that Mick was in front of me and a guy on a Bultaco that turned out to be a very fast (and very nice) guy named Michael Harrington, and there was a pretty quick Husky in the mix for most of the lap.  Can't remember if Lew was with us on the first lap.  The lap felt good, bike was running great, I was actually catching all my gears, and inside my head was The Voice...."Look where you want to go, look where you want to go"...I say to myself all the time when I woods-ride my mountain bike.  The Bultaco was starting to gap us a bit so I found a nice spot in a field to get by the Husky and then was on Mick's tail in the woods for a while.  Finally had to ask Mick (MICK!, MICK!, MICK! - thanks, Mick)to let me by in the tight stuff, and then I took off after the Bul.  Slowly but surely, I caught him and started following him.  We hit the MX track for end of lap and headed back out for lap 2 and I was thinking "man, this is intense".  So intense, I found myself off-course in some tight stuff early on and had to tell myself to take it easy....especially since I could feel some arm-pump iny my throttle/front brake arm. Half-way thru the lap, the Bultaco lets me by and...funny thing when you're leading another racer thru the woods -suddenly YOU have to be on your game instead of following someone's rear tire!  But I manage to keep clicking and finally emerge from woods onto the Mx track on Lap 2 and think - yee-haa...now where are them darn Experts?  Ambr was track-side and smiled for her camera, railed the MX track, scored, and suddenly realized that the 370 Pursang had not gone anywhere and seemed to have made up some time on me in the open stuff.  Sure enough he got by me when I tried to take this (turned out to be very stupid) inside line to avoid some mud in the field and ended up bouncing all over the place.  Fine - let him do the woods-weaving this time!  And off we go, with me glued to his tail thru all of that wonderfull off-camber, branch-weaving trail.  By lap 3 I was taking much of this trail in 2nd gear, but I gotta tell you something about riding my Six Day in the woods - the gap from 1st to 2nd gear was a bit more than I anticipated and it took me a while to figure out how to make this work for me.  I finally did (I think I had to go faster!), but was kinda wierd.  Me and Senor Bultaco had a pretty fast pace going as we hit the last woods section before returning to the MX track - I was just following him and taking a breather when suddenly I missed a gear....checked my gear selection...missed a gear....engine's revvng, I'm not moving....and I know my chain is off!!! F_____!  Jump off the bike and start trying to untangle the mess - it feels like 110 degrees because I'm actually out in the sun....and then I realize I am staring at a broken chain link (not the master) that is bent outwards at like 45 degrees and I know I'm done for the race.  It was probably a good two minutes before the 3rd place guy came by in Intermediates (might have been Mick...).

Sigh...I get my bearings in the small field section I'm in and start the long push home.  I was farther back from the MX section than I thought...but hey.. it was a warm day with sunshine and...it was kinda cool to realize I still knew how to ride in the woods.  My last woods/CC race was in 1986.  When I finally made it back to the scoring tent, I gotta chance to watch the others and see who was fast in this race.  Let me tell ya who was fast - Doug Lamberth on his Honda 125 four-stroke!  Harrington (on the Bultaco) was catching some Experts on his last lap and looked pretty smooth and I could see the we had been turning mid-10 minute laps. Lamberth was low 10s and I think may have clicked off some high 9's.

Back at the pits I was able to assess things and I'm figuring I may have ate a rock - Dan Killian pointed to a destroyed sprocket tooth on my rear sprocket.  NO...I didn't have a spare chain.  If I had, I may have gone out for PV in the afternoon.  As it was, I tooled around the fields on my little TTR during the PV race and got to witness some FAST BOYS doing there thing.  I mentioned Mike Murphy who was just a picture of speed and grace on that Rokon.  Smooth to a fault and yet it was also clear that his bike had great power.  John Frackleton is OUR local fast guy here in the NE and he was doing his best to keep up with his late model Honda CR125.  For those of you don't know John, he raced National Hare Scrambles a while back, finishing 9th overall in his best year.  For most of the PV race it was Murphy wayyyy out front, with Frackleton next....way out front of a gaggle of Huskys.  Back amongst the Intermediates,  Mick was having a great race on his Husky.  Mick - is it my imagination - or did you seem to go alot faster on your Husky than your 250 HS?  You looked great.  

Gotta get to work and meet with the auditors.

More....later!

[Larry Perkins]

I was told there was less than 50 riders at this National.  Was that true?  Was there any discussion about dropping the number of required races since 2 west coast ones were cancelled?  I can not get an answer out of anyone in charge and thought it might have been discussed there.  Thanks guys.

Larry P

[chicagojerry]

hi larry. i believe that there were about 25 riders per race  v and pv on sat and  just a little less for sunday. i did not hear anyone bringing up the issue of dropping the number of required races due to the west coast cancelations. for you guys that couldn't make it to broome, you missed a good one. great weather, a course that everyone seemed to enjoy, some good close racing, no major injuries or bikes going over waterfalls. a lot of good comraderie. i hope to make the little egypt rounds but anyway, i'll be working on the course layout for windham.
chi jer

[Mick Milakovic]

Hey Bob, I think you're right, because I feel much faster on the Husky than my Harescrambler.  I've been riding Husky since 1975 and am real comfortable on the bikes.  I just started riding my 250 Penton a year ago and don't have the suspension sorted out.  The Zokes on the back really beat me up and I keep blowing fork seals on the the front.  Time to try something different because I really like the power of the 250.  I've entered 4 CC events since Mid-Ohio last year and have gotten the hole-shot at every event!  Once in the woods, however, it's a different story.  Oh well, it's a lot of fun and I'll get it right

Mick

[brian kirby]

quote:Originally posted by tooclose racing

Let me tell ya who was fast - Doug Lamberth on his Honda 125 four-stroke!

Dave is fast, unfortunately for me I have to battle with him all the time. I've had some good races with him, some I beat him, but I have yet to race him and be able to say to myself afterwards "I had him covered". His bike is not a 125 though, its almost double that displacement now, I think its around 220cc.

Mike "Rock-on" Murphy is also stupid fast. He is probably the only person left on the planet that can make that Snomo-cycle go as fast as it does. I've watched him for years and I still dont know how he does it.

Brian

'73 Berkshire

[tooclose racing]

So...now I know how fast you and that Berkie are, Brian...  I got my work cut out for me if I run into you at a future CC race.

Yep - Doug L. was quick.  He actually broke in the afternoon PV race, and for the life of me I can't remember what he was riding.

And Chicago Jerry - YOU are not even slow, pal.  You were putting in the laps click, click, click.  Thanks again to you (and Doug and Corky and others) for the great race course.

Mick - does Ambr have any race photos?  Most importantly - does she have one of me?  I sucked in my belly and tried to do my best Caselli-impression when I went by her.  

Final story - and I mention this because someone had mentioned "no water crossings" or something like that. Mike Harrington (the Bultaco rider that had my number) was all set to go out for PV on his late 80s' RM125, but I suddenly realize he wasn't at the start line when they took off.  I go back to the pit area and see him and his buddy - kickety, kickety, bike starts - bike bogs...no go.  "What's wrong?" I ask.   He looks at me and says "I just drowned by bike out in 4 ft of water!"  I look around me and ask "WHAT WATER?!?"  Turns out he was warming his bike up, running her out near the end of the paddock and there is some kinda culvert/whatever that either drains a pond or runs into a pond or something.  Bottom line is he doesn't see it till too late, then figures maybe it's only a foot deep to ride thru...and he enters it only have his front end keep going DOWNWARD.  Bam - he's got himself an official RM125 Yellow Submarine.  And ya know...you try not to laugh right at the poor guy...but that was a whopper.

I think he got it going for Day 2.

[brian kirby]

I'm not as fast as Dave especially in tight stuff, but I'm gaining on him.

Brian

'73 Berkshire