Vintage bikes brave tough course on Day 1 of ECMX event
National stars and local favorites were among the field as dozens of vintage motorcycles took to the offroad track on Saturday for Day 1 of an American Historic Racing Motorcycle event at EC Enterprises Motorsports Park on Albright Grade outside Lewiston.
"The turnout's good," EC Enterprises founder Eric Christiansen said. "These are the old vintage bikes - '60s and '70s - and I think we have 75 of them, so that's pretty good. Everybody looks like they're having fun."
Riders at the starting gates revved their engines vigorously in anticipation before each round of racing, then churned up clouds of dust in their wakes as they sped off and disappeared over the ridges of the serpentine course. A water truck would periodically come through and spray down the dirt track, which was hosting its first-ever AHRMA action.
Competition in the two-day event resumes at 10:30 a.m. today, beginning with Post Vintage rounds featuring motorcycles dating from 1975-89, then wrapping up with the Next Gen division consisting of 1990-99 models. Top finishers gain points toward qualifying for the AHRMA National Championship Finals this November in Henryetta, Okla.
Tough track, good fun
As might be expected considering the particular niche it represented, Saturday's field featured a fairly grizzled group of racers, many of whom said they had been competing since their now-vintage bikes were still in vogue.
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One such veteran was returning multiple-time national champion Mickey Sergeant of Central Point, Ore., who titled in Saturday's Classic 125 and Sportsman 125 divisions with his Yamaha and Penton models. The 60-year-old has been racing motorcycles since the age of 12 and taking part in vintage competition since around 2010.
"It was a very technical track," Sergeant said. "It's hard for a vintage bike, but as the day went on, I got more familiar with it. It got a little easier."
Scott McClellan of Idaho Falls, one of the youngest competitors at age 33 and another returning national titlist, won Saturday's Open Age Expert and Early Sportsman Expert divisions using a pair of CZ models. McClellan has been riding vintage for three years since being introduced to the trade by his father Gordon. He won three categories - ESS 500 Expert, Vintage Open Age Expert and Historic 250 Expert - at last year's Nationals.
Scott McClellan described the EC Enterprises course as a "steep and rocky" one that racers already knew would be difficult after practice rides in the preceding days, but praised the maintenance and administration applied to it.
"They watered and worked on it all night, made it more vintage-friendly," he said. "Overall, it was a pretty good track. Pretty fun."
Tim Taylor of Lewiston suffered a DNF (did not finish) due to technical difficulties with his motorcycle, but still called the event a "great experience."
"The track was decent and fun to ride," he said. "Eric (Christiansen) did the best that he could to make it come around, and hats off to his crew, too. They did a great job."
A big family
McClellan and others confirmed they will be back in action today, while some additional contenders are set to join the fray - including Christiansen himself. The 40-plus-year motocross participant plans to bring out a pair of Yamaha bikes from the '80s and '90s for the Post Vintage and Next Gen action.
Along with the competitive thrills it affords, participants praised the camaraderie that the AHRMA tour brings out, with many having known and ridden with one another for decades.
"A lot of it is just hanging out with all of your buddies," Sergeant said. "Everybody's like a big family. A lot of us travel together, and it's fun to hang around a lot of people.
"To make it through the day at this level, at our age, without getting hurt - that's a good thing."
Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.
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