| The Hangover Day Marathon is kind of a drop in and race event. No Cards, just show up pay entry and race. This is a formula that has worked in the Northwest for several years now. This will be the first year I have ever raced Dirk Williams Washougal Washington Vintage MX weekend. The Sandhill ranch race although is primarily for modern bikes, is an event a racer could do once a year economicaly. This year was the largest turnout of vintage/post vintge bikes ever. Talking to a few riders, in the weeks leading up to the event, it came up that running a vintage bike for an hour straight was the equivelent of a whole racing season. |
| With this in mind, I started thinking about how much of Vintage MX is riding and how much is wrenching,talking about racing and waiting, for race day or on race day. Economy in racing is important to the regular working racer. This race is deffinintly an easy way to break up the off season for us Vintage and PV people. |
| Kelly Shane is my new MX Hero!! Kelly you are a STUD. If anyone has a doubt, look at Brad's video and tell me how you would do on an Open Sportsman twin going through there? My CZ 400 stock pipe made it to the 1/2 way point. I come around this big sweeper and WHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! it was like I had died and gone to two stroke open pipe heaven. I looked down to see if I had a header pipe and I did so I just kept going. Funny thing, before the pipe fell of I was starting to tense up and get tired and I was slowing down to conserve energy. Once the pipe fell off, I just knew I was going to be Black flagged so I kicked the CZ in the tail and loosened up a bunch, I figured, okay this is going to be my last 1/4 lap I might as well have fun, do some wheelies, launch off the top of the big hills and just have fun. I really picked up my pace in the second half, well for me anyway. Because of this I feel I've learned something important about my racing. That is to stay loose relaxed and have fun. Oh after the races I found my expansion chamber, the mounts had busted clean off, but it wasn't even bent, Czech steel yeah!! |
| The Track,Sand and clay mostly, sections would whoop as the day wore on. No track grooming was done through out the day ,which I prefer as the track took shape it kept the speeds down and the challenge up. The course ran clockwise, if you know sandhill, practically the whole ranch was used for the track. The fast modern guys were running approx.4min my time was around 5min on my CZ 400. There were a few kicker style jumps so you had to stay on your toes. All in all the track had good flow and was well layed out. Spectators liked it as well, as there were alot of good spots to check out the action. Renee Anderson says she is thinking of throwing a MidYear Marathon, with the same format and tightening up the program to keep on schedule. Pictuers to follow........... |
| With 10 Vintage MX bikes out there, people that never see them got a chance to enjoy their presence. Not the talk about old bikes, not the memory of old bikes but their presence. I got into a dice on lap 10 with a guy on a new 150, four stroke watercooled Honda. My pipe was long gone, on the CZ 400 yellow tanker I was riding.Knocked off in the Enduro-cross section. The Honda rider past me in the caution/scoring area, where we were supposed to go single file and no....................................................... passing. We came out of the 2 "S" turns after that and I slid under him in the left hand, half circle turn just before you go through the fence. We are side by side down the next straight. My CZ won't pull for nutt'n with just a header pipe. Next is a big horseshoe right hander, He's guarding the inside line, I go way to the left and go outside staying on the gas, and riding this awesome, cushony berm, all leaned over and straifing the hay bales tapped out in 3rd. He's lost all his momentum on the inside, exiting on to the next, super wide straight, I had 4 bike lenths on him when I grabbed 4th gear . I made the pass stick for the rest of the race. This is a new vintage MX experience he wouldn't have had, had we not been there. The Vintage MX experiences we have all had,we VMX racers reading this on this website, are stories kept in the back of our minds, the good ones................................................ are the bait that makes us fix up old bikes and show up at VMX races. Maybe if we go out and create good new stories with our old bikes, even the stories that are not retold, the experiance will stick in the minds of others. In doing so we can cast just the right bait to a modern MXer who wants to try somthing different. . |
Kelly Shane
Steve Miraglia
Say, mer-al-lee-ya. Steve builds all his own bikes as well, and is the
Ahrma VMX Northwest Champion for 2008 in not one but 2 Classes.
500 sportsman, on the Husky 400 you see him on here, and 250
Sportsman on a beautiful Cooper 250 MX he built. At an Ahrma
National race the 250 won the "One Cool Bike" award.
Ahrma VMX Northwest Champion for 2008 in not one but 2 Classes.
500 sportsman, on the Husky 400 you see him on here, and 250
Sportsman on a beautiful Cooper 250 MX he built. At an Ahrma
National race the 250 won the "One Cool Bike" award.
Kelly has my respect, for racing the biggest bike at the Hangover
Marathon 2009. He is not only an excellent rider, to survive an hour
on his Norton 750 Open Sportsman twin, but a great mechanic and
bike builder. Winner of Ahrma's prestigious One Cool Bike award
with this twin. Click the link and scroll down to see the story of how
he built this beautiful bike
Marathon 2009. He is not only an excellent rider, to survive an hour
on his Norton 750 Open Sportsman twin, but a great mechanic and
bike builder. Winner of Ahrma's prestigious One Cool Bike award
with this twin. Click the link and scroll down to see the story of how
he built this beautiful bike
Rick Del Fiorentino
Rick, Sandhill and I have come full circle with this race. I met him at SH at
a practice day. I was on my CZ 400 and he couldn't get this one started.
At the time we were both running stock points ignitions, I had an electonic
unit on order, So I told him and Paul Moore to take mine, as I was through
riding for the day. Paul, Rick and I have become friends.
a practice day. I was on my CZ 400 and he couldn't get this one started.
At the time we were both running stock points ignitions, I had an electonic
unit on order, So I told him and Paul Moore to take mine, as I was through
riding for the day. Paul, Rick and I have become friends.
| Rick and Paul raced their first Vintage MX here at a National hosted by Brad Lackey last year. Rick made the podium at Chehalis this year finishing 2nd. Then in November he wins his first National at Tulare. I don't know who was more proud me, or him, of his win. This victory sealed up his 2008 Northwest +40 class Championship win. So to be back where we met, on an overcast Thursday morning, the first day of 2009 was a full circle, experience for me, as a side note, Paul Moore raced an Hodaka 100 last year and took the 100 Sportsman Class N/W Championship title. |
| Does anyone Know the names of the Racers above and below? If so please E-mail me at seamonkeyx2@yahoo.com |
| Photos By Greg Kendrick |
| Photos By Greg Kendrick |
| Photos By Greg Kendrick |
PV action photo by John Guilliford
| Hangover Day Marathon 2009 @ Sand Hill |