This is a race report from Round 10 of the Winchester Speedpark Spring series.
http://www.cyclenews.com/events/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=535
Race report from Round 5 of the Winchester Speedpark Spring series.
http://www.cyclenews.com/events/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=290
8/3/05
The Eternal Question.
Originally published in Moto Sports Magazine issue 164 July 2005.
The Eternal Question.
Jake working the Winchester Speedpark SX in July 05.
Photo courtesy www.tomofarrell.com
Why would you let your child do that?
We have all heard that question in its various forms. Perhaps you are trying to explain to grandma how come her sweet little grand-daughter is roosting her friends instead of selling Girl Scout cookies with them. Could be a casual conversation at your kid’s school as to why they don’t see you at the Soccer field. The question came to me one time from a parent of my son’s classmate who plays Lacrosse…..a game with no protective padding to speak of, where they chase you around with a big stick. Maybe you are unfortunate enough to have heard this while sitting in an emergency room somewhere with your injured child. Are you crazy, that’s so dangerous? What could you be thinking? Why would you do that? I can’t speak for the masses here but for me the answer is because I love my child.
What more can you give your child than the opportunity to feel the sense of personal accomplishment that comes from learning how to do something on their own. When my son Jake got his first bike it was something he had talked about doing for a long time. Of course going to the races and watching the other kids on the track convinced him that it would be a cinch to jump on and ride. As is often the case the reality of controlling the bike was a little different than the idea of it and after about 3 minutes of riding/falling over he rolled over to me and said he was done. Now I knew that he wanted to ride but it was hard and he was discouraged. All he had talked about since he could form sentences was how he was going to learn to ride and race in a “real race”, there was no way I was going to let him just give up. Instead of letting Jake stop I leaned over and told him that I knew he was having a hard time with it and maybe he just wanted to quit but I wasn’t going to let him. “Whenever you try something new you are going to fall and it is going to be scary but that is a lot better than being scared to try.” So back out he went and darned if he didn’t come back over after finally catching the hang of it, a beaming look of self satisfaction on his face that fairly screamed “I did it dad!!”
To this day I think that was a pivotal moment in Jakes life where he learned that nothing worthwhile comes easy, more so than I could have ever made him understand with mere words. Does it get any better than that as a parent? Could you ask for anything more than to see your child reach for something work hard and get it?
Now for the flipside, could it be anymore scary for us as parents? I know that I, like most of you, would like life much better if I could always be there to shield my child from harm, be there to stop any and all injustice or pain from befalling the apple of my eye. In case you don’t know me let me just relate this little personal fact, I am just a teensy bit over-protective of my little guy. I have what I call “The List” which started out as a running joke between my girlfriend and I. This list is my record of anyone who has ever crossed Jakes path and caused him any harm. The kid at soccer practice that elbowed Jake in the face, he was the first one on the list. Those older kids at the skating rink who bumped him on the floor a few times as they raced around, knocking him down once….on the list. The list is my way of keeping track of anyone whom I may have to dispatch should they touch him again. So why in the world would I decide to let Jake race motocross? Oddly enough it has actually been a way for me to get used to the idea that I can’t always be there to protect him from the real world. Sometimes life is going to knock him down and there is nothing I can do to stop it. So I guess I have learned something from racing as well, all we can do as parents is suit them up in the safety gear and send them out to fend for themselves. Not surprisingly they do seem to fend for themselves much better than we would like to admit. I got my most graphic example of this when Jake took his first real hit on the track. It was July of last year and we had made our first visit to the Hemonds MX facility in Maine, the mornings races had started well and then a couple motos before Jakes 65-C race came up it poured. The rain stopped but the track had soaked up a lot of water and was messy in spots, one of those spots being the “S” turn at the holeshot. The gate dropped and they sped off into the turn, as the riders tangled up in the turn Jake got stuck behind a rider that slipped and he got crossed up, the bike falling to the right and Jake falling to his left resting on one knee. That is when a kid behind him having the same problem stopping in the pack ran up close behind, jumped his rear wheel and BAM squarely punched him in the back with his front tire and suddenly Jake was face down in the mud being used as a berm. My heart stopped for the excruciatingly long few moments that he was flat on the track, my mind racing “oh my god, he’s dead, oh my god, he is really hurt, what was I thinking to let him….” Then as quickly as he went down he popped up shook the mud off like a dog shaking off after a bath, dragged his bike up out of the muck and off he went. When the race was over, I asked him how he felt after getting run over and he totally dismissed me telling me he just got bumped from behind. I had to show him the tire track across the back of his chest protector before he would believe me. Scared? Yeah just a little and we got off light. I have watched other parents have to follow an ambulance out of the pits and thought to myself how lucky we have been.
Unfortunately life is a dangerous sport in and of itself so there is no shortage of things that can harm our children every day of the week. Two little boys have an argument in the concession stand line after a little league game and one of them kills the other with a bat. More than one little boy or girl has gone missing while doing everyday things never to be seen again, victims of the ever growing population of sick animals roaming the face of the planet. There is no shortage of bad things or bad people in the world and all you can really do is keep your children close to you.
That is another thing that I point out to people when they ask me about our choice of sports. Where else can you go and see whole family’s sharing in the same activity, spending every weekend and many waking moments in between dedicated to a common goal? How many times do you see a sport that your 10 year old daughter, 16 year old son and still thinks he’s an 18 year old husband/father can all compete in on the same day and at the same place? I defy anyone to find another sport where the families involved come together and help each other over the rough spots in life the way the extended motocross family does. OK so maybe I am a little biased. All I know is what I see and that is what I have seen time and again as we have gotten more and more involved in this sport. People from different places and diverse backgrounds who come together to share in the competition and friendship that comes from this sport that we all love as well as the friendships that our children get to form amid the competition. There was more than one race last season where Jake told me that he had seen a friend down on the track and wanted to stop to help them up. That is a sentiment that I have always found sorely missing from the stick and ball sports that dominate the schoolyard.
So why in the world would we let our children do this? Perhaps it is the excitement, fun, family togetherness or the solid values they can learn? Maybe it is the chance for Jake to develop an understanding that life is a difficult bike to ride and it requires practice and dedication to be done well. Could be that I want Jake to understand that even if the goal is never reached the real victory is in the enjoyment you get running the race. All these things have been part and parcel of our experience in this sport. So I put this to all of you that would ask such a frivolous question of those of us that choose to stand trackside and watch our children learn to fly.
Why in world wouldn’t we let them do this?
For more information about Moto Sports magazine publisher
Paul Buckley check out his web site.
http://www.buckleyphotos.com/
The Eternal Question.
Jake working the Winchester Speedpark SX in July 05.
Photo courtesy www.tomofarrell.com
Why would you let your child do that?
We have all heard that question in its various forms. Perhaps you are trying to explain to grandma how come her sweet little grand-daughter is roosting her friends instead of selling Girl Scout cookies with them. Could be a casual conversation at your kid’s school as to why they don’t see you at the Soccer field. The question came to me one time from a parent of my son’s classmate who plays Lacrosse…..a game with no protective padding to speak of, where they chase you around with a big stick. Maybe you are unfortunate enough to have heard this while sitting in an emergency room somewhere with your injured child. Are you crazy, that’s so dangerous? What could you be thinking? Why would you do that? I can’t speak for the masses here but for me the answer is because I love my child.
What more can you give your child than the opportunity to feel the sense of personal accomplishment that comes from learning how to do something on their own. When my son Jake got his first bike it was something he had talked about doing for a long time. Of course going to the races and watching the other kids on the track convinced him that it would be a cinch to jump on and ride. As is often the case the reality of controlling the bike was a little different than the idea of it and after about 3 minutes of riding/falling over he rolled over to me and said he was done. Now I knew that he wanted to ride but it was hard and he was discouraged. All he had talked about since he could form sentences was how he was going to learn to ride and race in a “real race”, there was no way I was going to let him just give up. Instead of letting Jake stop I leaned over and told him that I knew he was having a hard time with it and maybe he just wanted to quit but I wasn’t going to let him. “Whenever you try something new you are going to fall and it is going to be scary but that is a lot better than being scared to try.” So back out he went and darned if he didn’t come back over after finally catching the hang of it, a beaming look of self satisfaction on his face that fairly screamed “I did it dad!!”
To this day I think that was a pivotal moment in Jakes life where he learned that nothing worthwhile comes easy, more so than I could have ever made him understand with mere words. Does it get any better than that as a parent? Could you ask for anything more than to see your child reach for something work hard and get it?
Now for the flipside, could it be anymore scary for us as parents? I know that I, like most of you, would like life much better if I could always be there to shield my child from harm, be there to stop any and all injustice or pain from befalling the apple of my eye. In case you don’t know me let me just relate this little personal fact, I am just a teensy bit over-protective of my little guy. I have what I call “The List” which started out as a running joke between my girlfriend and I. This list is my record of anyone who has ever crossed Jakes path and caused him any harm. The kid at soccer practice that elbowed Jake in the face, he was the first one on the list. Those older kids at the skating rink who bumped him on the floor a few times as they raced around, knocking him down once….on the list. The list is my way of keeping track of anyone whom I may have to dispatch should they touch him again. So why in the world would I decide to let Jake race motocross? Oddly enough it has actually been a way for me to get used to the idea that I can’t always be there to protect him from the real world. Sometimes life is going to knock him down and there is nothing I can do to stop it. So I guess I have learned something from racing as well, all we can do as parents is suit them up in the safety gear and send them out to fend for themselves. Not surprisingly they do seem to fend for themselves much better than we would like to admit. I got my most graphic example of this when Jake took his first real hit on the track. It was July of last year and we had made our first visit to the Hemonds MX facility in Maine, the mornings races had started well and then a couple motos before Jakes 65-C race came up it poured. The rain stopped but the track had soaked up a lot of water and was messy in spots, one of those spots being the “S” turn at the holeshot. The gate dropped and they sped off into the turn, as the riders tangled up in the turn Jake got stuck behind a rider that slipped and he got crossed up, the bike falling to the right and Jake falling to his left resting on one knee. That is when a kid behind him having the same problem stopping in the pack ran up close behind, jumped his rear wheel and BAM squarely punched him in the back with his front tire and suddenly Jake was face down in the mud being used as a berm. My heart stopped for the excruciatingly long few moments that he was flat on the track, my mind racing “oh my god, he’s dead, oh my god, he is really hurt, what was I thinking to let him….” Then as quickly as he went down he popped up shook the mud off like a dog shaking off after a bath, dragged his bike up out of the muck and off he went. When the race was over, I asked him how he felt after getting run over and he totally dismissed me telling me he just got bumped from behind. I had to show him the tire track across the back of his chest protector before he would believe me. Scared? Yeah just a little and we got off light. I have watched other parents have to follow an ambulance out of the pits and thought to myself how lucky we have been.
Unfortunately life is a dangerous sport in and of itself so there is no shortage of things that can harm our children every day of the week. Two little boys have an argument in the concession stand line after a little league game and one of them kills the other with a bat. More than one little boy or girl has gone missing while doing everyday things never to be seen again, victims of the ever growing population of sick animals roaming the face of the planet. There is no shortage of bad things or bad people in the world and all you can really do is keep your children close to you.
That is another thing that I point out to people when they ask me about our choice of sports. Where else can you go and see whole family’s sharing in the same activity, spending every weekend and many waking moments in between dedicated to a common goal? How many times do you see a sport that your 10 year old daughter, 16 year old son and still thinks he’s an 18 year old husband/father can all compete in on the same day and at the same place? I defy anyone to find another sport where the families involved come together and help each other over the rough spots in life the way the extended motocross family does. OK so maybe I am a little biased. All I know is what I see and that is what I have seen time and again as we have gotten more and more involved in this sport. People from different places and diverse backgrounds who come together to share in the competition and friendship that comes from this sport that we all love as well as the friendships that our children get to form amid the competition. There was more than one race last season where Jake told me that he had seen a friend down on the track and wanted to stop to help them up. That is a sentiment that I have always found sorely missing from the stick and ball sports that dominate the schoolyard.
So why in the world would we let our children do this? Perhaps it is the excitement, fun, family togetherness or the solid values they can learn? Maybe it is the chance for Jake to develop an understanding that life is a difficult bike to ride and it requires practice and dedication to be done well. Could be that I want Jake to understand that even if the goal is never reached the real victory is in the enjoyment you get running the race. All these things have been part and parcel of our experience in this sport. So I put this to all of you that would ask such a frivolous question of those of us that choose to stand trackside and watch our children learn to fly.
Why in world wouldn’t we let them do this?
For more information about Moto Sports magazine publisher
Paul Buckley check out his web site.
http://www.buckleyphotos.com/
How it all began
Originally published in Moto Sports magazine issue 163 March 2005.
New Hampshire’s Route 10 winds along up and down the countryside, two-lane blacktop passing through towns and colonial era villages eventually opening to reveal Winchester Speedpark. But the road to bring David and Suzanne Boisvert’s dream of opening their own track to life was filled with as many obstacles as their Dirtwurx built Supercross track.
Suzanne describes herself and Dave as “high-school sweethearts” and although David didn’t grow up racing (his parents weren’t too keen on it) by the time they met his love for the sport was already well established. Racing from 1986 on with District 34, NESC and NEMA as well as putting in some national qualifying efforts gave them a solid sense of the fun, excitement and family that Motocross provided. As with many racers David dreamed of someday owning his own track and in 1998 he and Suzanne began the odyssey that would eventually lead them to Winchester.
Living in Townsend Mass at the time they found a piece of land that they thought would be the place to bring their dream of a motocross track to life. They met with lawyers and engineers, drew up plans and began the process of getting it approved by the town. Suzanne and David went to town meetings, made up T-shirts, signs, brought in some friends from NEMA and the AMA to help and really campaigned even speaking to the local TV cameras. Because the original plan called for an MX track and skateboard park it was very controversial and after a year of putting heart, soul and thousands of dollars of savings into it they were shot down. After spending time recovering from that they decided to try again and so they started looking at pieces of land all over Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Then fate finally began to lend a hand.
So how did you end up getting the Winchester track open?
Suzanne: Well the good news about all of those unsuccessful efforts that we had made, being in the papers and being so vocal and really trying hard was recognized by the people that owned Winchester Speedpark. At the time they were an oval Sprint car track and they were having a little trouble with his business so they called us and asked us about coming in as partners. We went up and looked the track over and thought they were very nice but we weren’t really looking to have partners. Instead we decided to spend some time building a new house and just taking care of some other things. In January of 2002 we get this call from them again and they were on the brink of losing the whole place, they needed someone to come in.
David: They had like a month before the town was just going to come in and take it all.
Suzanne: So it was like April 2002 that we closed papers and then it was just a whirlwind to get the place open. (to David) I don’t know how you did it.
David: That was probably the hardest I ever worked in my life there was so much junk on the property it was unbelievable. There were at least 25 junk cars, animals everywhere, 2 mobile trailers and trees all over, just trash everywhere.
Suzanne: There was an abandoned horse barn with this much manure in it. (indicating her hip) So there we are working to clean the place up and build up the name again and meanwhile we don’t have any software, computers, really anything and we don’t know how we are going to run the sign ups, there was just so much. Luckily we had so many friends in the racing community that came in and helped us out.
David: It was a scary thing but at least we had friends and people in the sport that we could go to. I mean as far as the racing aspect I wasn’t worried but the business aspect you forget about so much. I mean my dream was always to be up on the dozer grooming the track, to me that was owning a track and there is just so much more.
Suzanne: The best part about this was that when we went to the town of Winchester told them we had bought the track and that we were planning on doing motocross racing they just stood up and clapped. It was like night and day compared to all of the town boards that we had been in front of. The town of Winchester has been amazingly supportive we are so pleased to be there.
The SX track was the first open, why did you go with that format?
David: Basically we were just making the best use of the space that we had at the time.
How was it that you came to get involved with Dirtwurx?
Suzanne: Well Dave was like “we should try Dirtwurx” and I was thinking what are you kidding me.
David: In my mind I just figured that we would try the best and if they said no then we would work out something else. So I called Rich and it took him 2 or 3 weeks to get back to us but when they called us and Rich says “This is Dirtwurx”.
Suzanne: I remember answering the phone and we were just “Oh my god, he‘s really on the phone” and Rich is the nicest, most down to earth person you’ll ever meet. So we told him what we wanted to do, sent him some dimensions and we set this date that he would be coming in March to Winchester.
David: Luckily that year we had a good winter so he told us what he needed for equipment and that he needed at least 100 loads of dirt and it’s got to be this particular type of dirt, I mean you think dirt is dirt.
Was building the MX track something that you had planned from the start?
Suzanne: No, how that happened was just a miracle.
David: When we were building the Supercross track we had a bunch of people bringing us dirt to check out, all these 5 gallon buckets of dirt and the last guy to come in is Gary Beaman, and he is this 300 pound bear of a guy. He comes in and he is like come on with me, so we get in his truck and go down his gravel pit and shows me this dirt which is great and asks me “do you like it?” So I tell him that we need 100 truckloads in like a week and he tells me I’ll have every single truckload for you by Friday” and sure enough he had 100 loads piled up at the end of the pits by Friday.
Suzanne: So we establish this great relationship with him, he just had so much respect for the amount of work that David was doing and it turns out that he owns the land across the street.
David: We had asked him a couple years ago, just sort of dreaming about things if he was ever interested in selling the land and he had other plans for it so that was that. Then last year we asked him again and he agreed to sell, I mean right across the street how perfect can you get.
When you started building the MX track did you consciously design it to be “old school?
David: I had the idea to build a motocross track and so I called Rich from Dirtwurx and asked him to come out and walk a track with me. So he came out with his four-wheeler, we laid it all out and we both had the same thing in mind, to build a real motocross track. I mean we could have done a wicked Motocross/Supercross style track over there but we wanted to keep it a more natural terrain. I guess some people disagree with that and think it could be more exciting but I’ll tell you every single day that we have a race and the ambulance company tells us they haven’t had to leave all day I’m happy.
Suzanne: That’s the most important thing.
David: I check out the track all day long and I look to see the different lines and how people are passing so if I see a spot where I only see one or two lines I start to try and think of little changes I can make. Bottom line is the rider has got to be creative and use their head that’s what motocross is.
Take us through a typical week getting ready for a race.
David: Usually on Sunday when the race finishes, or even before if I can, I jump on the backhoe and start doing trash. Then I’ll go there on Monday finish up the trash, survey the damage and see what needs to be done. Tuesdays we will cleanup, sweep out the insides of the track and do the food order, sometimes take a half-day off. Then on Wednesday and Thursday we start grooming the tracks and on Friday start watering.
Suzanne: Luckily my mother does the concession stand and hopefully she’ll be back to do that in 2005. We have a good crew of flaggers and we try to support the teenagers in town. I just have a great crew of people that show up and do what they are supposed to do and we try to make it fun and pay them well.
David: A big thing for us last year was getting Tom Lyons as our Head Referee and then families like the Stacy’s who have helped us so much.
What is the hardest track position to fill?
David: I think there all hard jobs. I mean you have to have good referees someone who is fair, with the right attitude that loves racing. Flaggers need to be good, the starters have to know what is going on, the finish flaggers keep things running on the track and the scorers have to be accurate. I mean you lose one and you lose the link….it’s a whole team, you take one piece out of that and it can screw the whole thing up
What do you feel you offer racers at WSP that separates you from other tracks?
Suzanne: I think it is our professionalism and our attitude, plus we really try to gear towards families.
David: I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m a racer so I have kind of seen all the aspects of it and then I just put it my way. Then when people come up to me and say “hey what about this?”…I know how they feel. It’s not like I just want your money and don’t care, I want everything to go right. We listen and we try to treat everyone equal.
Suzanne: We want to strive to always be better, we want it to be a nice facility. Because we went with David as a family when he was racing and it gets tough being out in the middle of nowhere in the dirt. I think it’s appealing to me as a woman that we have real toilets. (laughs) Plus there are so many siblings that come who don’t race, we want it to be a place for everyone.
David: We want it to be like your weekend vacation.
Do you think that the special event stuff that you do is a boost for turnout or just a bonus you like to offer the racers that are coming anyway?
Suzanne: To be honest with you we could care less if we gain one more person, we just want to do it better for the riders/families and make sure they all have more fun.
How do you balance the safety and challenge aspects of planning a track?
Suzanne: Honestly that is why we hired Dirtwurx, that is why we spent the money to get a professional. I don’t think it’s safe or wise to just decide your going to build a track. I mean it has to do with so many factors, where are you going to land off a jump and how that works into the next section.
David: You ask Rich from Dirtwurx any question with regard to that and he has got an answer. People are always saying to me “You know how to do the track why don’t you just do it?”
Suzanne: What if someone got hurt because of something we tried to do to save money? It’s just not worth it.
Do you feel a sense of responsibility to the racers?
Suzanne: Oh yes, they’re like our families I feel close to everybody that we have come to know. I mean they are our customers so you want to make them happy but it is more than that. We know how expensive it is because we have done it, I mean all the time that you take to get the bikes ready, all the practice time that is invested and all the traveling. It’s a huge investment of time and money so we want to give them what they want.
David: We try to always give them our best.
Lets talk about some of the stuff you have coming up for 2005.
David: We have some really exciting things coming up for 2005, a couple of the things we are planning start before you even get to the track. We understand that not everyone in the family comes out to the track to race so we want to offer something for all of them as well. We are planning on putting in a volleyball court, clearing off some land along the river as a beach area for swimming or fishing.
Suzanne: And a bathhouse….with showers.
The Grand Prix format race is something that seems to very well received can you tell us a little about that?
Suzanne: We are looking at it as a way to change things up and we will see what the reaction is.
David: We look at people that will be racing our tracks week in and week out and try to give them something different, it should be a fun event. It will be a different kind of start; I can maybe add a loop in the field or something to make it a little interesting. Some people might love it, some might not so you have to just wait and see if that is something people want.
The New England Regional series September 3rd, 4th and 5th looks to be fun. What format will be used for that weekend?
Suzanne: That will be a three-moto format kind of like the Mini-O’s. The first day will be more practice and qualifiers.
David: Everything will be on a time schedule, first day all the classes will have a long practice and then after that we start the qualifiers. We are only running the primary bike classes for this, no open class and the idea is that the winner of each class is the best in New England.
How would you like to see this series grow?
David: I would like to see this be an annual event and have it be the biggest amateur event in New England.
Suzanne: This event is really the brainchild of Rick Zielfelder and David together. Rick is seeing all of these big events that Factory Connection is involved in and seeing that they are not here. We have a lot of great racing and organizations but we have to travel so far to be in the bigger events and he just feels like why not here.
David: We need to bring something great here. We have all these great organizations going, all these fast guys racing in different places, let’s put them all together and see who really is fast.
Suzanne: Plus it will groom these next generation riders you’ll get to see these little diamonds coming out and the competition is great to hone that. We can’t say right now who it is but we are planning to have a well-known national rider come for this event also.
(authors note; they are referring to a certain Factory Connection Honda pilot, #5 I believe…but you didn’t get that from me)
Who will you have riding for the Winchester Speedpark/Keene Motorsports team this year?
David: Eric Soucy will be back with us, we have Kip Komosa on the team this year. We will also have Youth rider Matt Fisk and professional snocrosser Matt Boron rounding out the team this year.
At the end of the race day when your laying your head down on the pillow, what is that one thought that will just nag at you?
Suzanne: Injury..absolutely.
David: Definitely injury or if someone is not happy, something we couldn’t fix.
At the end of the race day when your laying your head down on the pillow what is that one thought that makes you smile?
Suzanne: We did it again! Just that we had a good event and everyone was happy, good connections with people.
David: I watch all the races so seeing people have a good race day is great but we aren’t kidding; when the ambulance doesn’t leave we’re happy. We’ll go up to the ambulance company and say “glad you didn’t have to do your job today”. We take it very personally.
David and Suzanne would like to thank all of their sponsors: Keene Motorsports, Factory Connection, Tucker Rocky with Answer gear, Kendra Tires, Troy Lee Design, Spectro Oil, Tri-Star Racing, TSS Graphics and HRP Sports. We would also like to thank all of the wonderful families that have raced with us, we look forward to seeing you all for another great season.
For more information about Moto Sports magazine publisher
Paul Buckley check out his web site.
http://www.buckleyphotos.com
New Hampshire’s Route 10 winds along up and down the countryside, two-lane blacktop passing through towns and colonial era villages eventually opening to reveal Winchester Speedpark. But the road to bring David and Suzanne Boisvert’s dream of opening their own track to life was filled with as many obstacles as their Dirtwurx built Supercross track.
Suzanne describes herself and Dave as “high-school sweethearts” and although David didn’t grow up racing (his parents weren’t too keen on it) by the time they met his love for the sport was already well established. Racing from 1986 on with District 34, NESC and NEMA as well as putting in some national qualifying efforts gave them a solid sense of the fun, excitement and family that Motocross provided. As with many racers David dreamed of someday owning his own track and in 1998 he and Suzanne began the odyssey that would eventually lead them to Winchester.
Living in Townsend Mass at the time they found a piece of land that they thought would be the place to bring their dream of a motocross track to life. They met with lawyers and engineers, drew up plans and began the process of getting it approved by the town. Suzanne and David went to town meetings, made up T-shirts, signs, brought in some friends from NEMA and the AMA to help and really campaigned even speaking to the local TV cameras. Because the original plan called for an MX track and skateboard park it was very controversial and after a year of putting heart, soul and thousands of dollars of savings into it they were shot down. After spending time recovering from that they decided to try again and so they started looking at pieces of land all over Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Then fate finally began to lend a hand.
So how did you end up getting the Winchester track open?
Suzanne: Well the good news about all of those unsuccessful efforts that we had made, being in the papers and being so vocal and really trying hard was recognized by the people that owned Winchester Speedpark. At the time they were an oval Sprint car track and they were having a little trouble with his business so they called us and asked us about coming in as partners. We went up and looked the track over and thought they were very nice but we weren’t really looking to have partners. Instead we decided to spend some time building a new house and just taking care of some other things. In January of 2002 we get this call from them again and they were on the brink of losing the whole place, they needed someone to come in.
David: They had like a month before the town was just going to come in and take it all.
Suzanne: So it was like April 2002 that we closed papers and then it was just a whirlwind to get the place open. (to David) I don’t know how you did it.
David: That was probably the hardest I ever worked in my life there was so much junk on the property it was unbelievable. There were at least 25 junk cars, animals everywhere, 2 mobile trailers and trees all over, just trash everywhere.
Suzanne: There was an abandoned horse barn with this much manure in it. (indicating her hip) So there we are working to clean the place up and build up the name again and meanwhile we don’t have any software, computers, really anything and we don’t know how we are going to run the sign ups, there was just so much. Luckily we had so many friends in the racing community that came in and helped us out.
David: It was a scary thing but at least we had friends and people in the sport that we could go to. I mean as far as the racing aspect I wasn’t worried but the business aspect you forget about so much. I mean my dream was always to be up on the dozer grooming the track, to me that was owning a track and there is just so much more.
Suzanne: The best part about this was that when we went to the town of Winchester told them we had bought the track and that we were planning on doing motocross racing they just stood up and clapped. It was like night and day compared to all of the town boards that we had been in front of. The town of Winchester has been amazingly supportive we are so pleased to be there.
The SX track was the first open, why did you go with that format?
David: Basically we were just making the best use of the space that we had at the time.
How was it that you came to get involved with Dirtwurx?
Suzanne: Well Dave was like “we should try Dirtwurx” and I was thinking what are you kidding me.
David: In my mind I just figured that we would try the best and if they said no then we would work out something else. So I called Rich and it took him 2 or 3 weeks to get back to us but when they called us and Rich says “This is Dirtwurx”.
Suzanne: I remember answering the phone and we were just “Oh my god, he‘s really on the phone” and Rich is the nicest, most down to earth person you’ll ever meet. So we told him what we wanted to do, sent him some dimensions and we set this date that he would be coming in March to Winchester.
David: Luckily that year we had a good winter so he told us what he needed for equipment and that he needed at least 100 loads of dirt and it’s got to be this particular type of dirt, I mean you think dirt is dirt.
Was building the MX track something that you had planned from the start?
Suzanne: No, how that happened was just a miracle.
David: When we were building the Supercross track we had a bunch of people bringing us dirt to check out, all these 5 gallon buckets of dirt and the last guy to come in is Gary Beaman, and he is this 300 pound bear of a guy. He comes in and he is like come on with me, so we get in his truck and go down his gravel pit and shows me this dirt which is great and asks me “do you like it?” So I tell him that we need 100 truckloads in like a week and he tells me I’ll have every single truckload for you by Friday” and sure enough he had 100 loads piled up at the end of the pits by Friday.
Suzanne: So we establish this great relationship with him, he just had so much respect for the amount of work that David was doing and it turns out that he owns the land across the street.
David: We had asked him a couple years ago, just sort of dreaming about things if he was ever interested in selling the land and he had other plans for it so that was that. Then last year we asked him again and he agreed to sell, I mean right across the street how perfect can you get.
When you started building the MX track did you consciously design it to be “old school?
David: I had the idea to build a motocross track and so I called Rich from Dirtwurx and asked him to come out and walk a track with me. So he came out with his four-wheeler, we laid it all out and we both had the same thing in mind, to build a real motocross track. I mean we could have done a wicked Motocross/Supercross style track over there but we wanted to keep it a more natural terrain. I guess some people disagree with that and think it could be more exciting but I’ll tell you every single day that we have a race and the ambulance company tells us they haven’t had to leave all day I’m happy.
Suzanne: That’s the most important thing.
David: I check out the track all day long and I look to see the different lines and how people are passing so if I see a spot where I only see one or two lines I start to try and think of little changes I can make. Bottom line is the rider has got to be creative and use their head that’s what motocross is.
Take us through a typical week getting ready for a race.
David: Usually on Sunday when the race finishes, or even before if I can, I jump on the backhoe and start doing trash. Then I’ll go there on Monday finish up the trash, survey the damage and see what needs to be done. Tuesdays we will cleanup, sweep out the insides of the track and do the food order, sometimes take a half-day off. Then on Wednesday and Thursday we start grooming the tracks and on Friday start watering.
Suzanne: Luckily my mother does the concession stand and hopefully she’ll be back to do that in 2005. We have a good crew of flaggers and we try to support the teenagers in town. I just have a great crew of people that show up and do what they are supposed to do and we try to make it fun and pay them well.
David: A big thing for us last year was getting Tom Lyons as our Head Referee and then families like the Stacy’s who have helped us so much.
What is the hardest track position to fill?
David: I think there all hard jobs. I mean you have to have good referees someone who is fair, with the right attitude that loves racing. Flaggers need to be good, the starters have to know what is going on, the finish flaggers keep things running on the track and the scorers have to be accurate. I mean you lose one and you lose the link….it’s a whole team, you take one piece out of that and it can screw the whole thing up
What do you feel you offer racers at WSP that separates you from other tracks?
Suzanne: I think it is our professionalism and our attitude, plus we really try to gear towards families.
David: I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m a racer so I have kind of seen all the aspects of it and then I just put it my way. Then when people come up to me and say “hey what about this?”…I know how they feel. It’s not like I just want your money and don’t care, I want everything to go right. We listen and we try to treat everyone equal.
Suzanne: We want to strive to always be better, we want it to be a nice facility. Because we went with David as a family when he was racing and it gets tough being out in the middle of nowhere in the dirt. I think it’s appealing to me as a woman that we have real toilets. (laughs) Plus there are so many siblings that come who don’t race, we want it to be a place for everyone.
David: We want it to be like your weekend vacation.
Do you think that the special event stuff that you do is a boost for turnout or just a bonus you like to offer the racers that are coming anyway?
Suzanne: To be honest with you we could care less if we gain one more person, we just want to do it better for the riders/families and make sure they all have more fun.
How do you balance the safety and challenge aspects of planning a track?
Suzanne: Honestly that is why we hired Dirtwurx, that is why we spent the money to get a professional. I don’t think it’s safe or wise to just decide your going to build a track. I mean it has to do with so many factors, where are you going to land off a jump and how that works into the next section.
David: You ask Rich from Dirtwurx any question with regard to that and he has got an answer. People are always saying to me “You know how to do the track why don’t you just do it?”
Suzanne: What if someone got hurt because of something we tried to do to save money? It’s just not worth it.
Do you feel a sense of responsibility to the racers?
Suzanne: Oh yes, they’re like our families I feel close to everybody that we have come to know. I mean they are our customers so you want to make them happy but it is more than that. We know how expensive it is because we have done it, I mean all the time that you take to get the bikes ready, all the practice time that is invested and all the traveling. It’s a huge investment of time and money so we want to give them what they want.
David: We try to always give them our best.
Lets talk about some of the stuff you have coming up for 2005.
David: We have some really exciting things coming up for 2005, a couple of the things we are planning start before you even get to the track. We understand that not everyone in the family comes out to the track to race so we want to offer something for all of them as well. We are planning on putting in a volleyball court, clearing off some land along the river as a beach area for swimming or fishing.
Suzanne: And a bathhouse….with showers.
The Grand Prix format race is something that seems to very well received can you tell us a little about that?
Suzanne: We are looking at it as a way to change things up and we will see what the reaction is.
David: We look at people that will be racing our tracks week in and week out and try to give them something different, it should be a fun event. It will be a different kind of start; I can maybe add a loop in the field or something to make it a little interesting. Some people might love it, some might not so you have to just wait and see if that is something people want.
The New England Regional series September 3rd, 4th and 5th looks to be fun. What format will be used for that weekend?
Suzanne: That will be a three-moto format kind of like the Mini-O’s. The first day will be more practice and qualifiers.
David: Everything will be on a time schedule, first day all the classes will have a long practice and then after that we start the qualifiers. We are only running the primary bike classes for this, no open class and the idea is that the winner of each class is the best in New England.
How would you like to see this series grow?
David: I would like to see this be an annual event and have it be the biggest amateur event in New England.
Suzanne: This event is really the brainchild of Rick Zielfelder and David together. Rick is seeing all of these big events that Factory Connection is involved in and seeing that they are not here. We have a lot of great racing and organizations but we have to travel so far to be in the bigger events and he just feels like why not here.
David: We need to bring something great here. We have all these great organizations going, all these fast guys racing in different places, let’s put them all together and see who really is fast.
Suzanne: Plus it will groom these next generation riders you’ll get to see these little diamonds coming out and the competition is great to hone that. We can’t say right now who it is but we are planning to have a well-known national rider come for this event also.
(authors note; they are referring to a certain Factory Connection Honda pilot, #5 I believe…but you didn’t get that from me)
Who will you have riding for the Winchester Speedpark/Keene Motorsports team this year?
David: Eric Soucy will be back with us, we have Kip Komosa on the team this year. We will also have Youth rider Matt Fisk and professional snocrosser Matt Boron rounding out the team this year.
At the end of the race day when your laying your head down on the pillow, what is that one thought that will just nag at you?
Suzanne: Injury..absolutely.
David: Definitely injury or if someone is not happy, something we couldn’t fix.
At the end of the race day when your laying your head down on the pillow what is that one thought that makes you smile?
Suzanne: We did it again! Just that we had a good event and everyone was happy, good connections with people.
David: I watch all the races so seeing people have a good race day is great but we aren’t kidding; when the ambulance doesn’t leave we’re happy. We’ll go up to the ambulance company and say “glad you didn’t have to do your job today”. We take it very personally.
David and Suzanne would like to thank all of their sponsors: Keene Motorsports, Factory Connection, Tucker Rocky with Answer gear, Kendra Tires, Troy Lee Design, Spectro Oil, Tri-Star Racing, TSS Graphics and HRP Sports. We would also like to thank all of the wonderful families that have raced with us, we look forward to seeing you all for another great season.
For more information about Moto Sports magazine publisher
Paul Buckley check out his web site.
http://www.buckleyphotos.com
First Round
This is the story of how my son came to run his first race, originally published in Moto Sports magazine, issue 163 released in March 2005
First Round.
"J & D" Photo courtesy www.stacyracing.com
“Dad I wanna race”….sounds simple doesn’t it? Four tiny words from a little boys mouth that have been able to conjure up an incredible range of emotions, countless breathless moments and some of the most incredible smiles I have ever seen on my son’s face. Before I get ahead of myself lets start where it really took root.
Jake was just past his 3rd birthday and we had decided to take in a race at the nearby Central Cycle Club track. NESC was running that day, Keith Johnson, Mike Treadwell and Pat Barton would be battling it out. Jake and I took up a spot close by the near legendary triple called “Central Air” and we watched the bikes soaring over us whipping sideways through the air. Jake, still small enough to be comfortable in my arms pulled on my shirt and said, “That daddy…..I wanna do that.” I sorta dismissed it as being a reaction to the excitement of the races and didn’t think much more about it...but Jake did.
The first bike wasn’t obtained until he was 5, a 1986 PW with the classic red and white colors, by then I had gotten used to him always talking about wanting to ride and race. We took in tons of local Motocross and Arenacross races, Freestyle events, caught the Gravity Games and of course watched Supercross and the X-Games. Jake rode the wheels off that PW50 for a good year and a half before it was time for a bigger bike and we decided to go with the Honda XR70. It was a step up in size and power to be sure not to mention that model bike is built like a tank, perfect for the abuse it would surely take. After spending the rest of that summer riding and getting used to the new bike we decided that the 2004 season would be our first as a racing team. After going over the pros and cons of the various racing organizations in New England we decided that the best choice for us was to join NEMX. They offered a wide variety of tracks, plenty of track time for the little guys and reading over the lively discussions on their website showed some people that seemed laid back and fun. We picked the number 610 (Jake’s birthday) and registered for the 2004 season, the first race would be at the legendary MX338 on March 20th.
Of course this being New England, March 2004 decided to come in like a Lion and go out like a Leopard….a Snow Leopard that is. With the sandy shores of Southwick still not in view under the snow and the next race being at Central Village, which we can’t ride thanks to CT law. The following round would be at Brocton’s new MX track, but a trip to Disney nixed that race for us. It was beginning to look like it would be a long time before Jake’s first gate drop, enter Winchester Speedpark. I had heard a number of good comments regarding the cool SX style track as well as the dedication and great attitude of its owners Dave and Suzanne Boisvert. So after checking their race schedule we picked April 10th that would be the opening round of their Spring series and a good chance for Jake to get some track time before the NEMX visit to WSP the following month. So we packed up the gear, bike, tools, ez-up, tent, power washer, clothes, food and last on the truck our newly made water barrel. We headed off to camp out the night before to make sure we didn’t miss anything the morning of the race and cruised along up Route 2 through Connecticut and onto 91 heading through Mass. The whole ride I was unable to see out the rear view mirror because of the water barrel sitting tied to the top of one of our totes in the truck bed. We went through a bit of construction and after hitting a little bump to the left I heard a peculiar bouncing sound, but I dismissed it as just road noise and cruised on. After a few miles I checked the side mirrors and then glanced in the rearview, thinking “nice not much traffic and nobody tailgating”. Then it hit me that I could see out the rearview….THE BARREL!!
All I could think of was that heavy brass fitting attached to a 55-gallon drum sized missile smashing through some poor persons windshield. I had to pull over and see if there was some damage behind me, surely the police would be looking for me soon enough. Well we got to a wider spot in the road and I pulled over to the side envisioning the carnage I must have caused, I looked over at Jake, told him to stay put and went to survey the back of the truck for any clues as to the disaster I had wrought. And there….hanging over the rear bumper…… was the barrel, suspended inches over the road by a line I had put around the spigot. I kicked myself a few times for ignoring elementary physics, re-tied the barrel in place and we were off once again. The rest of our ride through the crisp spring afternoon was uneventful and by 6:30 we arrived at Winchester Speedpark.
We headed up to the main building filled out the necessary forms, got everything under the sun notarized and in roughly 10 minutes Jake was signed up for the spring series and the next days 65-C moto. All that was left to do now was set up the tent, unpack the truck and have some dinner. As we sat eating our cheeseburgers I began to notice that it was getting a little cold, I also noticed that we were the only people setting up a tent. We were one lonely canvas island in a sea of RV’s. “Oh well”, I thought I had brought plenty of blankets, our sleeping bags, we both had sweats to sleep in and we would be sleeping on a nice air mattress so it wouldn’t be like sleeping on the frozen ground.
Those of you reading this that have ever camped in New Hampshire in the early spring are laughing right now I’m sure of it. Jake and I both woke up shivering at about 3:20am, I’m not sure if it was my teeth chattering that woke him or if it was the other way around. Needless to say we high-tailed it into the truck and turned on the heat, one run for a couple blankets and pillows later we had our new tent for the rest of the night. Stretching and yawning we rolled outta the truck into the chilly morning air at about 6:00 to find everything including Jakes bike was covered in frost. Soon enough the sun came around the side of the hills and took the chill off so we had our breakfast and wandered up for the riders meeting.
It was a nice informal riders meeting, flag instructions and gentle reminders to everyone that the winter rust would be best shaken off slowly not knocked off with a slam to the turf. Practice was smooth and with the exception of a few rough spots Jake came through unscathed. Before we knew it moto number one rolled around so we staged up behind the 85cc class and watched as they roared off into a very tight first turn, 2 riders tangling and flipping into a heap, an audible gasp coming up from the crowd. Suddenly I thought to myself…”What the hell have I done!!!” Then I got a hold of myself and remembered all the times we had talked about this very moment and how happy Jake was to be sitting there surrounded by the other riders and getting ready to race. We rolled onto the start pad and as he got ready I could see the nervous excitement on Jakes face and I leaned in to make eye contact. “OK buddy, ya ready?” of course his answer was “Daaaad” (pronounced Duuuh!!) and we both laughed. I then said something to him that I would say before every race Jake would run in 2004, it was actually something I heard New England racing legend Doug Henry’s wife say to him on the gate at Southwick. “Look ahead, think ahead, remember to breath, have fun and I love you.
Jake running in his first Moto ever, April 04 Winchester Speedpark.
Photo courtesy www.stacyracing.com
With that I stepped back holding my breath as the 30 second board came up, the gate dropped and off he roared. Both motos went very well, Jake finished each with his wheels on the ground and as he rolled out the exit gate after moto2 and climbed off his bike the look of total satisfaction on his face was worth every moment spent getting there. Yea I cried a little bit, so what? The track was very dusty that day.
For more information about Moto Sports magazine publisher Paul Buckley
check out his web site.
http://www.buckleyphotos.com/
First Round.
"J & D" Photo courtesy www.stacyracing.com
“Dad I wanna race”….sounds simple doesn’t it? Four tiny words from a little boys mouth that have been able to conjure up an incredible range of emotions, countless breathless moments and some of the most incredible smiles I have ever seen on my son’s face. Before I get ahead of myself lets start where it really took root.
Jake was just past his 3rd birthday and we had decided to take in a race at the nearby Central Cycle Club track. NESC was running that day, Keith Johnson, Mike Treadwell and Pat Barton would be battling it out. Jake and I took up a spot close by the near legendary triple called “Central Air” and we watched the bikes soaring over us whipping sideways through the air. Jake, still small enough to be comfortable in my arms pulled on my shirt and said, “That daddy…..I wanna do that.” I sorta dismissed it as being a reaction to the excitement of the races and didn’t think much more about it...but Jake did.
The first bike wasn’t obtained until he was 5, a 1986 PW with the classic red and white colors, by then I had gotten used to him always talking about wanting to ride and race. We took in tons of local Motocross and Arenacross races, Freestyle events, caught the Gravity Games and of course watched Supercross and the X-Games. Jake rode the wheels off that PW50 for a good year and a half before it was time for a bigger bike and we decided to go with the Honda XR70. It was a step up in size and power to be sure not to mention that model bike is built like a tank, perfect for the abuse it would surely take. After spending the rest of that summer riding and getting used to the new bike we decided that the 2004 season would be our first as a racing team. After going over the pros and cons of the various racing organizations in New England we decided that the best choice for us was to join NEMX. They offered a wide variety of tracks, plenty of track time for the little guys and reading over the lively discussions on their website showed some people that seemed laid back and fun. We picked the number 610 (Jake’s birthday) and registered for the 2004 season, the first race would be at the legendary MX338 on March 20th.
Of course this being New England, March 2004 decided to come in like a Lion and go out like a Leopard….a Snow Leopard that is. With the sandy shores of Southwick still not in view under the snow and the next race being at Central Village, which we can’t ride thanks to CT law. The following round would be at Brocton’s new MX track, but a trip to Disney nixed that race for us. It was beginning to look like it would be a long time before Jake’s first gate drop, enter Winchester Speedpark. I had heard a number of good comments regarding the cool SX style track as well as the dedication and great attitude of its owners Dave and Suzanne Boisvert. So after checking their race schedule we picked April 10th that would be the opening round of their Spring series and a good chance for Jake to get some track time before the NEMX visit to WSP the following month. So we packed up the gear, bike, tools, ez-up, tent, power washer, clothes, food and last on the truck our newly made water barrel. We headed off to camp out the night before to make sure we didn’t miss anything the morning of the race and cruised along up Route 2 through Connecticut and onto 91 heading through Mass. The whole ride I was unable to see out the rear view mirror because of the water barrel sitting tied to the top of one of our totes in the truck bed. We went through a bit of construction and after hitting a little bump to the left I heard a peculiar bouncing sound, but I dismissed it as just road noise and cruised on. After a few miles I checked the side mirrors and then glanced in the rearview, thinking “nice not much traffic and nobody tailgating”. Then it hit me that I could see out the rearview….THE BARREL!!
All I could think of was that heavy brass fitting attached to a 55-gallon drum sized missile smashing through some poor persons windshield. I had to pull over and see if there was some damage behind me, surely the police would be looking for me soon enough. Well we got to a wider spot in the road and I pulled over to the side envisioning the carnage I must have caused, I looked over at Jake, told him to stay put and went to survey the back of the truck for any clues as to the disaster I had wrought. And there….hanging over the rear bumper…… was the barrel, suspended inches over the road by a line I had put around the spigot. I kicked myself a few times for ignoring elementary physics, re-tied the barrel in place and we were off once again. The rest of our ride through the crisp spring afternoon was uneventful and by 6:30 we arrived at Winchester Speedpark.
We headed up to the main building filled out the necessary forms, got everything under the sun notarized and in roughly 10 minutes Jake was signed up for the spring series and the next days 65-C moto. All that was left to do now was set up the tent, unpack the truck and have some dinner. As we sat eating our cheeseburgers I began to notice that it was getting a little cold, I also noticed that we were the only people setting up a tent. We were one lonely canvas island in a sea of RV’s. “Oh well”, I thought I had brought plenty of blankets, our sleeping bags, we both had sweats to sleep in and we would be sleeping on a nice air mattress so it wouldn’t be like sleeping on the frozen ground.
Those of you reading this that have ever camped in New Hampshire in the early spring are laughing right now I’m sure of it. Jake and I both woke up shivering at about 3:20am, I’m not sure if it was my teeth chattering that woke him or if it was the other way around. Needless to say we high-tailed it into the truck and turned on the heat, one run for a couple blankets and pillows later we had our new tent for the rest of the night. Stretching and yawning we rolled outta the truck into the chilly morning air at about 6:00 to find everything including Jakes bike was covered in frost. Soon enough the sun came around the side of the hills and took the chill off so we had our breakfast and wandered up for the riders meeting.
It was a nice informal riders meeting, flag instructions and gentle reminders to everyone that the winter rust would be best shaken off slowly not knocked off with a slam to the turf. Practice was smooth and with the exception of a few rough spots Jake came through unscathed. Before we knew it moto number one rolled around so we staged up behind the 85cc class and watched as they roared off into a very tight first turn, 2 riders tangling and flipping into a heap, an audible gasp coming up from the crowd. Suddenly I thought to myself…”What the hell have I done!!!” Then I got a hold of myself and remembered all the times we had talked about this very moment and how happy Jake was to be sitting there surrounded by the other riders and getting ready to race. We rolled onto the start pad and as he got ready I could see the nervous excitement on Jakes face and I leaned in to make eye contact. “OK buddy, ya ready?” of course his answer was “Daaaad” (pronounced Duuuh!!) and we both laughed. I then said something to him that I would say before every race Jake would run in 2004, it was actually something I heard New England racing legend Doug Henry’s wife say to him on the gate at Southwick. “Look ahead, think ahead, remember to breath, have fun and I love you.
Jake running in his first Moto ever, April 04 Winchester Speedpark.
Photo courtesy www.stacyracing.com
With that I stepped back holding my breath as the 30 second board came up, the gate dropped and off he roared. Both motos went very well, Jake finished each with his wheels on the ground and as he rolled out the exit gate after moto2 and climbed off his bike the look of total satisfaction on his face was worth every moment spent getting there. Yea I cried a little bit, so what? The track was very dusty that day.
For more information about Moto Sports magazine publisher Paul Buckley
check out his web site.
http://www.buckleyphotos.com/
Ink and Changes
Ink and Changes.
I was lying on the couch in my living room this evening when I looked down and glimpsed my hand. On the back was an inked round stamp that said "OK" and another next to it that was a simple red star. I laughed to myself and thought about how often I had seen those and other stamps across the canvas of the back of my hands over the course of my late teens and twenties, also known as the terrible, wonderful 80's. Gather round children and let me entertain you with stories of the days before the wristband was a ubiquitous addition to virtually every event involving music. Yes in those bygone golden days you would pay your cover charge without anyone asking for an ID and get your hand stamped to allow all the appropriate access. If they did ask for ID and you didn't have any, well it was no biggie you could sign a book attesting to the fact that you really were old enough. The stamps differed from club to club with the added bonus that it was after all ink, you and your friends could take turns paying at the different clubs entrance and then going back outside to roll the fresh stamp across your non-paying friends hand allowing them access in a few minutes. If the ink dried too quickly well the person that didn't pay had to lick their hand and hope for the best. The more common ones were the "OK" and "Fragile" shipping stamps or the supermarket price roller type variety clearly meant for other purposes, then there was the whole "Paid" family. My favorites were the clubs that would get their own individual stamps that you could instantly recognize it was sort of a roadmap for the next day in case things got fuzzy. It also was much better then looking like some kind of mental case who got hold of the ink pad at Stop and Shop. Strip Clubs would often use more prolific stamps and let's not pretend that a musician touring during the 80's never went into such establishments. Let’s just say that it was somewhat common for the unique "uncle" and another fav "sicko" on my hands along with the rest of the ink rainbow. OK so I dated strippers, so shoot me, in my defense all I can say is at least I got those stamps for free. In the daily working world the hand stamp was the bane of your existence because the ink was that indelible stuff which would require some type of bristle brush to remove. If you went out with your friends on Monday night, and I often did since a local club had a weekly showcase called “Metal Monday”, you came home with the “club tattoo” right there for the world to see. Needless to say calling out sick on Tuesday and then showing up on Wednesday with either a scarlet letter of stamped evidence or the raw red hand which fairly screamed out "guilty!" just wasn't the way to go up the career ladder let’s say. Unless of course you didn't care or like me you had the kind of a job that encouraged that type of behavior. The round "OK" was one that got used at the Agora Ballroom in West Hartford CT throughout the 80's and the accompanying Red Star was the ticket to the upper level VIP lounge. The Agora was a 2,000 person concert club that had two stages and the best bands in the area. Because of the proximity to the Hartford Civic center it was not uncommon to find the guys playing the arena shows in the Agora’s VIP lounge, especially after hours. In my circle of friends and band mates it was the Gucci watch of stamp combo's and sometimes that would be the only set of ink on the hand in the morning but other times it was just another hue on the daily palette. Too many times I awoke unsure of where, how and with who I would be waking up and I drove home in the harsh morning light looking at those little sign posts more times than I care to remember. Today it is a whole different story that is being told by the telltale ink and certainly a much more G-rated one at that. It's my son Jake lying with his head on my chest and the stamps are from us going roller-skating while he is on school vacation. I even used a floating holiday for the day off instead of calling out on a weekday but tomorrow I will run the office gauntlet once again. Funny how the ink hasn't really changed much but the motivation has and what the heck tomorrow is a half-day anyway.
I was lying on the couch in my living room this evening when I looked down and glimpsed my hand. On the back was an inked round stamp that said "OK" and another next to it that was a simple red star. I laughed to myself and thought about how often I had seen those and other stamps across the canvas of the back of my hands over the course of my late teens and twenties, also known as the terrible, wonderful 80's. Gather round children and let me entertain you with stories of the days before the wristband was a ubiquitous addition to virtually every event involving music. Yes in those bygone golden days you would pay your cover charge without anyone asking for an ID and get your hand stamped to allow all the appropriate access. If they did ask for ID and you didn't have any, well it was no biggie you could sign a book attesting to the fact that you really were old enough. The stamps differed from club to club with the added bonus that it was after all ink, you and your friends could take turns paying at the different clubs entrance and then going back outside to roll the fresh stamp across your non-paying friends hand allowing them access in a few minutes. If the ink dried too quickly well the person that didn't pay had to lick their hand and hope for the best. The more common ones were the "OK" and "Fragile" shipping stamps or the supermarket price roller type variety clearly meant for other purposes, then there was the whole "Paid" family. My favorites were the clubs that would get their own individual stamps that you could instantly recognize it was sort of a roadmap for the next day in case things got fuzzy. It also was much better then looking like some kind of mental case who got hold of the ink pad at Stop and Shop. Strip Clubs would often use more prolific stamps and let's not pretend that a musician touring during the 80's never went into such establishments. Let’s just say that it was somewhat common for the unique "uncle" and another fav "sicko" on my hands along with the rest of the ink rainbow. OK so I dated strippers, so shoot me, in my defense all I can say is at least I got those stamps for free. In the daily working world the hand stamp was the bane of your existence because the ink was that indelible stuff which would require some type of bristle brush to remove. If you went out with your friends on Monday night, and I often did since a local club had a weekly showcase called “Metal Monday”, you came home with the “club tattoo” right there for the world to see. Needless to say calling out sick on Tuesday and then showing up on Wednesday with either a scarlet letter of stamped evidence or the raw red hand which fairly screamed out "guilty!" just wasn't the way to go up the career ladder let’s say. Unless of course you didn't care or like me you had the kind of a job that encouraged that type of behavior. The round "OK" was one that got used at the Agora Ballroom in West Hartford CT throughout the 80's and the accompanying Red Star was the ticket to the upper level VIP lounge. The Agora was a 2,000 person concert club that had two stages and the best bands in the area. Because of the proximity to the Hartford Civic center it was not uncommon to find the guys playing the arena shows in the Agora’s VIP lounge, especially after hours. In my circle of friends and band mates it was the Gucci watch of stamp combo's and sometimes that would be the only set of ink on the hand in the morning but other times it was just another hue on the daily palette. Too many times I awoke unsure of where, how and with who I would be waking up and I drove home in the harsh morning light looking at those little sign posts more times than I care to remember. Today it is a whole different story that is being told by the telltale ink and certainly a much more G-rated one at that. It's my son Jake lying with his head on my chest and the stamps are from us going roller-skating while he is on school vacation. I even used a floating holiday for the day off instead of calling out on a weekday but tomorrow I will run the office gauntlet once again. Funny how the ink hasn't really changed much but the motivation has and what the heck tomorrow is a half-day anyway.
Winchester Speedpark Spring 2005
I have been working as the announcer for Winchester Speedpark a family owned MX park in southern New Hampshire since the start of the 2005 racing season. WSP as it is known to the regular racers is a great spot offering 2 vastly different track layouts. One natural terrain MX track and the other a state of the art Dirt Wurx designed and built Supercross track.
This is a collection of small pieces written for the weekly race program provided to the riders and spectators.
Round 1
April 10, 2005
Well if you haven’t already heard it from all your MX pals let me be the one to say that if you missed Round 1, you missed an awesome day of racing. It was a sunny mild day, the MX track was moist and tacky in the morning and only seemed to get better as the day went on. It was a record day for entries with 667 racers registered and ready to race by the end of morning sign-up. Hats off to the crew working sign up that morning they did a great job taking care of the crush of last minute entries! On behalf of Suzanne and Dave a big thanks also goes out to all of the round 1 racers for your patience that day, it was a heck of a way to kick off the year.
Of course we all know what extra racers mean….qualifiers. The 65-C and 85-C each had 49 entries and 125-C class topped out with 52 riders. The race order was juggled a bit to run these heat and LCQ races then the day’s race schedule continued on without a hitch.
After all the dirt had settled and everyone went on their way home this is the way it shaped up for the top 3 overall in all classes. (results omitted)
Round 2
April 23, 2005
OK I guess we had to expect it, I mean it was sunny and perfect for round 1, let’s just say it wasn’t quite as perfect last Saturday. The move to the Motocross side was definitely the only way to go, the new SX track wouldn’t have held up as well to the combined wrath of Mother Nature and race tuned machines. The day started off wet but the track was in good shape, by the second half of the day it wasn’t so much racing as it was surviving. On the bright side it was a much shorter day and the races finished up early but I am sure it didn’t feel that way to the riders slogging it out on the track. The goggles were flying all day long so it was many a muddy face rolling off the track as the day went on. I think the distance record for the day on the goggle toss goes to Rod Norcross, almost hit the bleachers with one I believe. Eric Soucy had the most accurate toss of the day, practically a ringer on the mechanics fence. So it’s kudos to all that braved it and got muddy the 50 and 65 classes especially, as my grandmother used to say “it’s tough to race when your sunk up to the case”. So after all the mud was rinsed off and more than a few pairs of sneakers were thrown out, this is the way it stacked up. (results omitted)
Round 3
April 30, 2005
Well it turns out that this wrap up might be better called a “wipe up”, as good old mother nature once again brought a little more water than we wanted. After delaying using the SX track the previous week due to worse weather we finally debuted the new Supercross layout and it was unanimous, everyone loves the new design. As I was standing waiting for my sons first moto to stage I heard Joey King tell his dad that this years track was the “best ever”. I heard the same sentiment echoing from many other riders as they came off the track from practice. The start of the day went very well, the rain was just enough to make the track a little tacky and very rideable. The lower number of entries made for longer practice sessions for all rider classes and the mood was good around the track as the first half of the program got under way. The rain began to fall more steadily as we got into the lower part of the qualifying races so after a very brief intermission to shape the track, the main events got under way. The first few Youth class motos went off OK but by the time the 50cc Open race hit the track it was turning into a survival contest. After the slipping and crashing in the 65 C class main Dave and Suzanne wisely decided to call it a day. So if you weren’t able to read any numbers because of the mud or if you decided to just stay home last week this is the way it all stacked up after everything dried. (results omitted)
Round 4
May 7, 2005
Now I am not from the great state of New Hampshire so I have to ask, when does Spring start around these parts? The rain wasn’t very significant last week, just enough to keep the track moist but the cold made it feel just a little more raw than we would have liked. There were plenty of hardy souls who braved the elements & put on an extra layer under the riding gear and they enjoyed a track that was perfectly watered all day. Dave has made some more changes to the layout for the Motocross track and the result has been a more exciting start section and a revamped rhythm section that had many riders trying last ditch passes at the finish line. It seems like racing on the motocross side this year has had a different track every week. Round 4 was the first of 2 WSP vs. NEMX member challenge races and after all the points were counted it is NEMX in the lead. The second half of this challenge series will be Round 7 on May 28th, our fieldtrip to MX338 in Southwick. So spend the next couple of weeks tuning up your sand riding skills because as Suzanne has already said…..”Momma wants that cup!”
In 50cc 4-6 action it was Will Agnew going 2-1 for first, Matthew St Germain had a 5-2 second place effort and Kyle Bergmann went 3-4 for third.
The 50cc 7-8 class had Nathaniel Page laying down a solid 1-1 first; Lane Gagne had a 3-2 for second and third went to Justin Farnum with a 4-3 for the day.
50cc PW class racing was led by the 1-1 of Jesse Hults, Noah Hemenway in second with his 2-2 and Kyle Huckabone went 4-3 for the third spot.
Rounding off the 50cc class was the Open 4-8 and it was Justin Farnum going 2-1 for first, Michael Bradley 1-2 for second and Kyle Kleiner with a 4-3 for third.
In the 65 Open it was Zack Urbanowski slamming down a 1-1 first place effort, Nick Whiton had a solid 2-3 for second and it was Trevor Oski going 6-2 for third.
65 C class racing featured a full gate and it was Sean Reinhard who topped the podium with a 1-1, Johnathon Gonzales captured second with his 2-2 and Austin Willis put together a 3-4 for third.
The 65 B class had Trevor Oski’s 2-1 taking the first place honors, Nick Whiton put in a 1-2 effort for second and Eric Balben snagged third with his 4-3 performance.
In the 65 A class it was Zack Urbanowski, Ryan Malcolm and Tristan Solomon in that order for both moto’s and the day.
The 85 C class was led by a convincing 1-1 from Phil Kamm, Paul Deangelo followed with a 2-2 second and third spot went to the 5-3 effort of Zachary Clark.
The excitement continued with the 85 B race action and it was Greg Harris putting down a 2-1 for first, Shawn Macdonald fought to a 3-2 second and Travis Delnicki hung onto third with a 1-5.
85 A racing had Michael Atkins 2-1 for first, Charlie Smith with a 1-2 second and Kenny Carr putting in a 4-3 third place ride.
Supermini featured some of the most exciting last lap action of the day and it was Stevie Estabrook’s 2-1 taking the top spot, Charlie Smith grabbed second with a 5-2 run and Dana Stacy rounding out the podium at 3-4 for third.
In the 125 C it was Chris Sharra cruising to a 1-1 first, Douglas Pratt put together a 2-3 for second and it was Chris Gates going 4-5 to snag the final spot on the box.
125 B class had Greg Davis with a smooth 1-1, Joel Bugden with a 2-3 for second and Adam Lyman going 3-4 for third.
In the 125 A class it was Chad Charbonneau stomping down a convincing 1-1, Eric Soucy with a solid 2-2 second and Ryan Wood looking smooth at 5-3 for third.
125 Youth C had Doug Pratt running a strong 1-1, Peter Kitsakos rolled together a 2-2 for second and it was Cody O’brien pulling a 4-4 for third place overall.
While for the 125 Youth A&B class it was more diving passes at the finish and Scott Davis with a 1-2 to capture the top spot on the box, Jesse Schmidt going 4-1 for second and Brian Simeneau a solid 3-3 for third.
The 250 C class had Sean Mcewan 1-1 for first, Glen Gallacher with a 2-2 ride for second and Curt Boutwell who had problems right at the end of moto 1 but held onto a 5-3 for third.
For the 250 B class action it was Joel Bugden, Bobby Perez and Erik Ward First second and third in both motos and for the overall.
250 A racing was led by the 1-1 of Chad Charbonneau, Christopher Wisniewski had a 2-2 to grab the second place position and it was Ryan Wood going 4-4 to take the third place trophy.
In Open C racing it was Chris Sharra continuing his great day with a 1-1 for first, Peter Kitsakos going 3-2 for second and Greg Collier pulling out a 4-7 third place finish.
Open B had Greg Davis going 1-1 to take first, Brandon Peters followed up by putting down a 2-2 second and just to keep it consistent Ryan Wood snapped up third with his 3-3 for the day.
Open A class Christopher Wisniewski battled to a 1-1, John Ober was a strong 3-2 for second place and it was the 2-3 of Ryan Wood taking third.
The Women’s class racing action had Deanna Bartlett smoking through a 1-1 for first, Brittany Gagne put together a 3-2 to hold down the second spot and it was the 2-4 of Jessica Bielanski hanging onto the third place spot.
Last but certainly not least we have the 4 Stroke Open class and it was John Ober firmly taking the first place spot with a 1-1, Matt Boron put in a 3-2 to get the second place position and T J Gulla hung onto third with a 2-3 overall.
Round 5
May 14, 2005
At long last we had a beautiful day for racing on the Supercross track!! I was starting to get a little superstitious there after the run of drab weather we have been having. Of course having said that let’s hope your not sitting in the rain reading this. The sky was a bit dark at first but just after practice the clouds went elsewhere and the sun spent the rest of the day warming the track. There was excellent racing in every class and all the big boys of New England motocross seemed to be on hand laying it all down to grab the win. Numbers were about average because the weather scared some people away but there were still qualifiers and LCQ’s run for the 65-C and 85-C classes. The highlight of the day for me was watching Jacob Ryczek lose his seat at the start and then ride the whole race like he didn’t even miss it, nicely done Jacob.
Round 6: did not attend
Round 7
May 28, 2005
There has been an awful lot of motocross racing history made on the sandy soil of Southwick’s MX338 and some legendary riders have emerged to carve out their own place in MX history. What was supposed to be the second part of our Winchester Speedpark and NEMX membership challenge series has come to be called the MX version of the “Perfect Storm” resulting in the largest racer turnout ever in the long history of the track, 1,007 riders to be exact. The combined crews of WSP and NEMX did a bang up job, keeping an army of riders rolling on and off the start gate as well as scoring what must have seemed like a million bikes. Near the end of the second half mother nature won out and the last few motos had to be cancelled but that was a small wrinkle in a very well run day. Nothing completes a trip to “The Wick” like watching Doug Henry rail through the deep sand and when the 30+ A riders lined up there was a very familiar #19 YZ250 rolling up next to them. Now you might think that would intimidate some racers but apparently no one told Todd Richotte as he pulled off what even Carmichael has not been able to do, taking the holeshot from Doug Henry. If you missed it, you missed a historic day although from the turnout I have to think that everyone with an MX bike in New England was at that race. Here is who took the top 3 for the day just in case you didn’t make it. (results omitted)
Round 8
June 11, 2005
If I was going to use one word to sum up Round 8 it would have to be “Holy Crap it’s hot!” OK, OK that is more that one word but those of you who were here last weekend would have to agree that was the best way to describe it. Luckily the racing action was a little bit hotter and the cool waters of the adjoining river provided some respite for those who ventured in. Another whole new section has been added to the Motocross track and the opinion seems to be that it has only made the track better. The faster guys were running around a 1:50 lap time so there is certainly still plenty of ways to get around the track quickly. At about the mid point in the day the track EMT staff asked us to please advise the riders to pay attention to proper hydration and be sure to cool down in between moto’s. I know that I watched at least 2 races where it seemed the heat claimed victory over a rider before the person running behind them did. Speaking of hot, any of you that went to Southwick for the National and I know we saw at least 5 fellow racers, got treated to a blistering day of racing. Hats off to the JYD as John Dowd once again showed everyone how we do it in New England.
Round 9
June 18, 2005
It was sort of a strange day right from the start for last week’s race on the Supercross track. The weather was off and on with a couple short periods of rain followed by clear blue skies. A couple of quick downpours during the race day made for some interesting going in the 85 and 125 Novice class moto’s. Rider turnout was modest at about 250 which set up the days schedule with some combined classes and plenty of track time for the main event races. Round 9 marked the kick-off for this seasons Read 2 Race program and it was a rousing success. This year thanks to Mike Knuerr of MJ Airbrushing and the folks Keene Motorsports each of the Read 2 Race events will have a reader of the week. The reader of the week will receive a custom painted helmet for putting in the effort to make his or her book form the best. So a big thanks to MJ Airbrushing and Keene Motorsports for helping motivate our kids to read, learn and have fun. Last but not least, the strangest thing of all for the day? It was over before we even got to put the lights on! Now let’s take a look at how it all shook out for the top 3 from each class. (results omitted)
Round 10
June 26, 2005
Well it is hard to believe that we are already talking about the close of the Spring Series, and here it is the Fourth of July weekend already. Where has the time gone? The Grand Prix format was a real departure from what a lot of the racers are used to but seemed to be well received. I also know for certain that with temps climbing up as high as 102 degrees the 2 lap board was pretty well received as the day wore on. A lot of people took refuge in the cool waters of the Ashulot river adjoining the Motocross track as a way to beat the heat and there were fans, spray bottle and umbrellas working overtime for those who didn’t swim. As we close out the first half of the year there are some tight races for the top spots in more than a few classes, so be sure to watch for those battles.
Round 11 Spring & Round 1 Fall.
July 2&3, 2005
The Spring series has come to a close and for no fewer than 4 classes it was right down to the wire for the top spots overall. It was an excellent say for racing on the SX track and the track stayed in great shape throughout the day. A few spots got a little challenging as the main event races came around even coming up to bite a few riders as they pushed it hard to move up in the final Spring points race. There were more than a few big smiles at the sign up window as the riders came through to collect their trophy’s and a big congratulations goes out to our Spring series top 10 riders as well as everyone who came to race throughout the Spring. Now that the racing was done for the day it was time to move it across the street for the BBQ and Fireworks. Speaking for myself and everyone that I had conversation with the feast prepared by 4 Stars Catering was AWESOME! The food was fresh, tasty and cooked to perfection. It was a nice lazy summer afternoon that turned into the perfect backdrop for some rockets red glare. The fireworks show put on by Atlas Fireworks was surprisingly big for the small area we had and was a big hit with all of the families on hand.
Then on Sunday morning the fireworks got started all over again. It was a warm sunny day and as the riders made the walk around the MX track it was obvious that racing was going to be interesting. Due to the previous weeks abundant to torrential rains the track had gotten a little soupy. In order to bring the track back into more rideable shape Dave had spread a few hundred yards of sawdust over the track, OK maybe it was more like a thousand. As practice wore on the track surface started to come around and by midway through the day it was back to a dense loamy consistency that allowed the kind of fast, multiple line racing that we are used to seeing on the MX side. More than a few racers have moved up to the next level in their classes and had the first taste of that competition in round 1 on Sunday. Congratulations to all that moved up and have fun with your new rivals! Things seem to be working out with the new FM transmitter on the motocross track side, if you don’t know about this it is 94.6 on your fm dial. I will usually announce the races throughout the day but there will be some gaps in the coverage when I take my son down to the gate. I have been trying to play music during those times so you all don’t think I have gone off the air.
Don’t forget to get your entry forms turned in as early as possible if you are planning on racing with us for the New England Regional Championship event. 3 Days….3 motos….come find out who is the best rider in each class for New England MX. This event promises to be HUGE so don’t miss your chance to be a part of it. There will be a special appearance by Factory Connection/Amsoil Honda’s Mike LaRocco as well as over $5,000 in purse money and $35 K in Honda contingency for this special event so make sure your there to grab an autograph or your share of the cash. For this event we will be using transponders so if you have one of your own already bring it and if not don’t worry because Trackside will be scoring at this event as well as renting transponders for the weekend, the cost is $ 20.00 and requires a refundable deposit.
Since this has been a longer write up than usual what with the double weekend and all the info I had to get across I won’t be listing the top 5 finishers for round 1. You can go to www.winchesterspeedpark.com and click on the “Weekly Results” tab for current points and finish results throughout the season, these are updated following each round.
This is a collection of small pieces written for the weekly race program provided to the riders and spectators.
Round 1
April 10, 2005
Well if you haven’t already heard it from all your MX pals let me be the one to say that if you missed Round 1, you missed an awesome day of racing. It was a sunny mild day, the MX track was moist and tacky in the morning and only seemed to get better as the day went on. It was a record day for entries with 667 racers registered and ready to race by the end of morning sign-up. Hats off to the crew working sign up that morning they did a great job taking care of the crush of last minute entries! On behalf of Suzanne and Dave a big thanks also goes out to all of the round 1 racers for your patience that day, it was a heck of a way to kick off the year.
Of course we all know what extra racers mean….qualifiers. The 65-C and 85-C each had 49 entries and 125-C class topped out with 52 riders. The race order was juggled a bit to run these heat and LCQ races then the day’s race schedule continued on without a hitch.
After all the dirt had settled and everyone went on their way home this is the way it shaped up for the top 3 overall in all classes. (results omitted)
Round 2
April 23, 2005
OK I guess we had to expect it, I mean it was sunny and perfect for round 1, let’s just say it wasn’t quite as perfect last Saturday. The move to the Motocross side was definitely the only way to go, the new SX track wouldn’t have held up as well to the combined wrath of Mother Nature and race tuned machines. The day started off wet but the track was in good shape, by the second half of the day it wasn’t so much racing as it was surviving. On the bright side it was a much shorter day and the races finished up early but I am sure it didn’t feel that way to the riders slogging it out on the track. The goggles were flying all day long so it was many a muddy face rolling off the track as the day went on. I think the distance record for the day on the goggle toss goes to Rod Norcross, almost hit the bleachers with one I believe. Eric Soucy had the most accurate toss of the day, practically a ringer on the mechanics fence. So it’s kudos to all that braved it and got muddy the 50 and 65 classes especially, as my grandmother used to say “it’s tough to race when your sunk up to the case”. So after all the mud was rinsed off and more than a few pairs of sneakers were thrown out, this is the way it stacked up. (results omitted)
Round 3
April 30, 2005
Well it turns out that this wrap up might be better called a “wipe up”, as good old mother nature once again brought a little more water than we wanted. After delaying using the SX track the previous week due to worse weather we finally debuted the new Supercross layout and it was unanimous, everyone loves the new design. As I was standing waiting for my sons first moto to stage I heard Joey King tell his dad that this years track was the “best ever”. I heard the same sentiment echoing from many other riders as they came off the track from practice. The start of the day went very well, the rain was just enough to make the track a little tacky and very rideable. The lower number of entries made for longer practice sessions for all rider classes and the mood was good around the track as the first half of the program got under way. The rain began to fall more steadily as we got into the lower part of the qualifying races so after a very brief intermission to shape the track, the main events got under way. The first few Youth class motos went off OK but by the time the 50cc Open race hit the track it was turning into a survival contest. After the slipping and crashing in the 65 C class main Dave and Suzanne wisely decided to call it a day. So if you weren’t able to read any numbers because of the mud or if you decided to just stay home last week this is the way it all stacked up after everything dried. (results omitted)
Round 4
May 7, 2005
Now I am not from the great state of New Hampshire so I have to ask, when does Spring start around these parts? The rain wasn’t very significant last week, just enough to keep the track moist but the cold made it feel just a little more raw than we would have liked. There were plenty of hardy souls who braved the elements & put on an extra layer under the riding gear and they enjoyed a track that was perfectly watered all day. Dave has made some more changes to the layout for the Motocross track and the result has been a more exciting start section and a revamped rhythm section that had many riders trying last ditch passes at the finish line. It seems like racing on the motocross side this year has had a different track every week. Round 4 was the first of 2 WSP vs. NEMX member challenge races and after all the points were counted it is NEMX in the lead. The second half of this challenge series will be Round 7 on May 28th, our fieldtrip to MX338 in Southwick. So spend the next couple of weeks tuning up your sand riding skills because as Suzanne has already said…..”Momma wants that cup!”
In 50cc 4-6 action it was Will Agnew going 2-1 for first, Matthew St Germain had a 5-2 second place effort and Kyle Bergmann went 3-4 for third.
The 50cc 7-8 class had Nathaniel Page laying down a solid 1-1 first; Lane Gagne had a 3-2 for second and third went to Justin Farnum with a 4-3 for the day.
50cc PW class racing was led by the 1-1 of Jesse Hults, Noah Hemenway in second with his 2-2 and Kyle Huckabone went 4-3 for the third spot.
Rounding off the 50cc class was the Open 4-8 and it was Justin Farnum going 2-1 for first, Michael Bradley 1-2 for second and Kyle Kleiner with a 4-3 for third.
In the 65 Open it was Zack Urbanowski slamming down a 1-1 first place effort, Nick Whiton had a solid 2-3 for second and it was Trevor Oski going 6-2 for third.
65 C class racing featured a full gate and it was Sean Reinhard who topped the podium with a 1-1, Johnathon Gonzales captured second with his 2-2 and Austin Willis put together a 3-4 for third.
The 65 B class had Trevor Oski’s 2-1 taking the first place honors, Nick Whiton put in a 1-2 effort for second and Eric Balben snagged third with his 4-3 performance.
In the 65 A class it was Zack Urbanowski, Ryan Malcolm and Tristan Solomon in that order for both moto’s and the day.
The 85 C class was led by a convincing 1-1 from Phil Kamm, Paul Deangelo followed with a 2-2 second and third spot went to the 5-3 effort of Zachary Clark.
The excitement continued with the 85 B race action and it was Greg Harris putting down a 2-1 for first, Shawn Macdonald fought to a 3-2 second and Travis Delnicki hung onto third with a 1-5.
85 A racing had Michael Atkins 2-1 for first, Charlie Smith with a 1-2 second and Kenny Carr putting in a 4-3 third place ride.
Supermini featured some of the most exciting last lap action of the day and it was Stevie Estabrook’s 2-1 taking the top spot, Charlie Smith grabbed second with a 5-2 run and Dana Stacy rounding out the podium at 3-4 for third.
In the 125 C it was Chris Sharra cruising to a 1-1 first, Douglas Pratt put together a 2-3 for second and it was Chris Gates going 4-5 to snag the final spot on the box.
125 B class had Greg Davis with a smooth 1-1, Joel Bugden with a 2-3 for second and Adam Lyman going 3-4 for third.
In the 125 A class it was Chad Charbonneau stomping down a convincing 1-1, Eric Soucy with a solid 2-2 second and Ryan Wood looking smooth at 5-3 for third.
125 Youth C had Doug Pratt running a strong 1-1, Peter Kitsakos rolled together a 2-2 for second and it was Cody O’brien pulling a 4-4 for third place overall.
While for the 125 Youth A&B class it was more diving passes at the finish and Scott Davis with a 1-2 to capture the top spot on the box, Jesse Schmidt going 4-1 for second and Brian Simeneau a solid 3-3 for third.
The 250 C class had Sean Mcewan 1-1 for first, Glen Gallacher with a 2-2 ride for second and Curt Boutwell who had problems right at the end of moto 1 but held onto a 5-3 for third.
For the 250 B class action it was Joel Bugden, Bobby Perez and Erik Ward First second and third in both motos and for the overall.
250 A racing was led by the 1-1 of Chad Charbonneau, Christopher Wisniewski had a 2-2 to grab the second place position and it was Ryan Wood going 4-4 to take the third place trophy.
In Open C racing it was Chris Sharra continuing his great day with a 1-1 for first, Peter Kitsakos going 3-2 for second and Greg Collier pulling out a 4-7 third place finish.
Open B had Greg Davis going 1-1 to take first, Brandon Peters followed up by putting down a 2-2 second and just to keep it consistent Ryan Wood snapped up third with his 3-3 for the day.
Open A class Christopher Wisniewski battled to a 1-1, John Ober was a strong 3-2 for second place and it was the 2-3 of Ryan Wood taking third.
The Women’s class racing action had Deanna Bartlett smoking through a 1-1 for first, Brittany Gagne put together a 3-2 to hold down the second spot and it was the 2-4 of Jessica Bielanski hanging onto the third place spot.
Last but certainly not least we have the 4 Stroke Open class and it was John Ober firmly taking the first place spot with a 1-1, Matt Boron put in a 3-2 to get the second place position and T J Gulla hung onto third with a 2-3 overall.
Round 5
May 14, 2005
At long last we had a beautiful day for racing on the Supercross track!! I was starting to get a little superstitious there after the run of drab weather we have been having. Of course having said that let’s hope your not sitting in the rain reading this. The sky was a bit dark at first but just after practice the clouds went elsewhere and the sun spent the rest of the day warming the track. There was excellent racing in every class and all the big boys of New England motocross seemed to be on hand laying it all down to grab the win. Numbers were about average because the weather scared some people away but there were still qualifiers and LCQ’s run for the 65-C and 85-C classes. The highlight of the day for me was watching Jacob Ryczek lose his seat at the start and then ride the whole race like he didn’t even miss it, nicely done Jacob.
Round 6: did not attend
Round 7
May 28, 2005
There has been an awful lot of motocross racing history made on the sandy soil of Southwick’s MX338 and some legendary riders have emerged to carve out their own place in MX history. What was supposed to be the second part of our Winchester Speedpark and NEMX membership challenge series has come to be called the MX version of the “Perfect Storm” resulting in the largest racer turnout ever in the long history of the track, 1,007 riders to be exact. The combined crews of WSP and NEMX did a bang up job, keeping an army of riders rolling on and off the start gate as well as scoring what must have seemed like a million bikes. Near the end of the second half mother nature won out and the last few motos had to be cancelled but that was a small wrinkle in a very well run day. Nothing completes a trip to “The Wick” like watching Doug Henry rail through the deep sand and when the 30+ A riders lined up there was a very familiar #19 YZ250 rolling up next to them. Now you might think that would intimidate some racers but apparently no one told Todd Richotte as he pulled off what even Carmichael has not been able to do, taking the holeshot from Doug Henry. If you missed it, you missed a historic day although from the turnout I have to think that everyone with an MX bike in New England was at that race. Here is who took the top 3 for the day just in case you didn’t make it. (results omitted)
Round 8
June 11, 2005
If I was going to use one word to sum up Round 8 it would have to be “Holy Crap it’s hot!” OK, OK that is more that one word but those of you who were here last weekend would have to agree that was the best way to describe it. Luckily the racing action was a little bit hotter and the cool waters of the adjoining river provided some respite for those who ventured in. Another whole new section has been added to the Motocross track and the opinion seems to be that it has only made the track better. The faster guys were running around a 1:50 lap time so there is certainly still plenty of ways to get around the track quickly. At about the mid point in the day the track EMT staff asked us to please advise the riders to pay attention to proper hydration and be sure to cool down in between moto’s. I know that I watched at least 2 races where it seemed the heat claimed victory over a rider before the person running behind them did. Speaking of hot, any of you that went to Southwick for the National and I know we saw at least 5 fellow racers, got treated to a blistering day of racing. Hats off to the JYD as John Dowd once again showed everyone how we do it in New England.
Round 9
June 18, 2005
It was sort of a strange day right from the start for last week’s race on the Supercross track. The weather was off and on with a couple short periods of rain followed by clear blue skies. A couple of quick downpours during the race day made for some interesting going in the 85 and 125 Novice class moto’s. Rider turnout was modest at about 250 which set up the days schedule with some combined classes and plenty of track time for the main event races. Round 9 marked the kick-off for this seasons Read 2 Race program and it was a rousing success. This year thanks to Mike Knuerr of MJ Airbrushing and the folks Keene Motorsports each of the Read 2 Race events will have a reader of the week. The reader of the week will receive a custom painted helmet for putting in the effort to make his or her book form the best. So a big thanks to MJ Airbrushing and Keene Motorsports for helping motivate our kids to read, learn and have fun. Last but not least, the strangest thing of all for the day? It was over before we even got to put the lights on! Now let’s take a look at how it all shook out for the top 3 from each class. (results omitted)
Round 10
June 26, 2005
Well it is hard to believe that we are already talking about the close of the Spring Series, and here it is the Fourth of July weekend already. Where has the time gone? The Grand Prix format was a real departure from what a lot of the racers are used to but seemed to be well received. I also know for certain that with temps climbing up as high as 102 degrees the 2 lap board was pretty well received as the day wore on. A lot of people took refuge in the cool waters of the Ashulot river adjoining the Motocross track as a way to beat the heat and there were fans, spray bottle and umbrellas working overtime for those who didn’t swim. As we close out the first half of the year there are some tight races for the top spots in more than a few classes, so be sure to watch for those battles.
Round 11 Spring & Round 1 Fall.
July 2&3, 2005
The Spring series has come to a close and for no fewer than 4 classes it was right down to the wire for the top spots overall. It was an excellent say for racing on the SX track and the track stayed in great shape throughout the day. A few spots got a little challenging as the main event races came around even coming up to bite a few riders as they pushed it hard to move up in the final Spring points race. There were more than a few big smiles at the sign up window as the riders came through to collect their trophy’s and a big congratulations goes out to our Spring series top 10 riders as well as everyone who came to race throughout the Spring. Now that the racing was done for the day it was time to move it across the street for the BBQ and Fireworks. Speaking for myself and everyone that I had conversation with the feast prepared by 4 Stars Catering was AWESOME! The food was fresh, tasty and cooked to perfection. It was a nice lazy summer afternoon that turned into the perfect backdrop for some rockets red glare. The fireworks show put on by Atlas Fireworks was surprisingly big for the small area we had and was a big hit with all of the families on hand.
Then on Sunday morning the fireworks got started all over again. It was a warm sunny day and as the riders made the walk around the MX track it was obvious that racing was going to be interesting. Due to the previous weeks abundant to torrential rains the track had gotten a little soupy. In order to bring the track back into more rideable shape Dave had spread a few hundred yards of sawdust over the track, OK maybe it was more like a thousand. As practice wore on the track surface started to come around and by midway through the day it was back to a dense loamy consistency that allowed the kind of fast, multiple line racing that we are used to seeing on the MX side. More than a few racers have moved up to the next level in their classes and had the first taste of that competition in round 1 on Sunday. Congratulations to all that moved up and have fun with your new rivals! Things seem to be working out with the new FM transmitter on the motocross track side, if you don’t know about this it is 94.6 on your fm dial. I will usually announce the races throughout the day but there will be some gaps in the coverage when I take my son down to the gate. I have been trying to play music during those times so you all don’t think I have gone off the air.
Don’t forget to get your entry forms turned in as early as possible if you are planning on racing with us for the New England Regional Championship event. 3 Days….3 motos….come find out who is the best rider in each class for New England MX. This event promises to be HUGE so don’t miss your chance to be a part of it. There will be a special appearance by Factory Connection/Amsoil Honda’s Mike LaRocco as well as over $5,000 in purse money and $35 K in Honda contingency for this special event so make sure your there to grab an autograph or your share of the cash. For this event we will be using transponders so if you have one of your own already bring it and if not don’t worry because Trackside will be scoring at this event as well as renting transponders for the weekend, the cost is $ 20.00 and requires a refundable deposit.
Since this has been a longer write up than usual what with the double weekend and all the info I had to get across I won’t be listing the top 5 finishers for round 1. You can go to www.winchesterspeedpark.com and click on the “Weekly Results” tab for current points and finish results throughout the season, these are updated following each round.
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