MOTO
MAGAZINE
SMOOTH AND FAST:
2012 SOCAL CHAMPIONKEVIN WORRELL
DAN BERG
MORE JOHN CRAFTTHE “CHILLER” COLUMN
2012 SEASON RECAPASK LAWNDART
THIS ISSUE FEATURES:
2012 SOCAL INTERNATIONAL
THE OFFICIAL NEWSMAG OF SOCAL OTMX, INC
WINTER 2013 EDITION
AND MUCH MORE!
Table of Contents
2012 SoCal International at The Glen Story by Photoman Photos by Chilson, Photoman page 3Ask LawnDart Advice by LawnDart page 6
Chiller’s Column Mark Chilson page 7
Adventures of a Limey Pome John “Crafty” Craft page 9Mr. Smooth: Dan Berg Story by Owin Wright page 11
WMN Racing--The International Debbie Matthews Heather Majcherek page 13Waving the Flag (part three) Story by Owin Wright page 15Interviewing the Champ Kevin Worrell, #1 Article by Photoman page 21
From the editor
Thanks for checking out our club magazine, MotoSoCal. The editor expresses appreciation to those who submitted articles. The quality is excellent, and the hope is that the articles provide enjoyment for you, our club members and whomever else reads this online maga-zine. Photos are from the Photoman and Mark “Chiller” Chilson. Owin Wright provided the photos for “Waving the Flag.” Photo process-ing was completed by MotoPhoto LLC.
The intent is to provide quarterly issues of the MotoSoCal Magazine. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall issues, to be exact, with this being the Winter 2013 issue.
Editor: Rich Stuelke Article Contributors: Mark Chilson Paul Lax Debbie Matthews Heather Majcherek Rich Stuelke Owin Wright Photographers: Mark Chilson Rich Stuelke
The Moto-Gods were indeed smiling upon the fabulous Glen Helen racing facilities the weekend of October 20-21. The skies were over-cast; the temperature in the 70s, and the flags were straight down. These perfect racing con-ditions were augmented by a near perfect track prep; the soil was a rich, uniform dark brown that beckoned to the riders. Very light sprinkles Satur-day morning only added to the perfection of the track. Great racing was in store for the 14th annual SoCal OTMX International at The Glen, and 185 riders responded to the call. They were not disap-pointed! Saturday provided a special treat for the racers and spectators as 2002 125 Supercross West Champ Travis Preston took to the track for some exhibition riding. Travis has lost little speed over the years (he is now in his early 30s), and he wanted a little track time before the MTA World Veteran Championships (upcoming in early No-vember). His ultra smooth, controlled style made it appear he was floating around the awesome Glen Helen National Track, and everyone mar-veled at his control and speed. He will be a force in the 30 Pro Class at the World Vets.
As always, the IOTMX race formats include a five-moto format run over two days (three motos Saturday and two motos Sunday). It is also tra-dition that the 60 Novices, and the 70+ Classes run the first motos (this class runs a four moto for-mat; age has its benefits!). The Simonizer, Barry Simon, parlayed three seconds and a first into an overall win over Ron Clawson’s third, two firsts and a second. Barry won on the better last moto finish! Steve Moore from Washington swept the 60 Novice class with four wins. SoCal’s Kirk Murao-ka edged out Bruce McCormick for second on a better last moto finish, too! Don Nelson took the 70+ Class, with Chuck Ramsey, Sr. cruising in for second. The Amateur 60 class has been a mainstay at most of the IOTMX races this year. Gary Colbert from Bishop, LA Chapter, was the surprise winner over Sierra’s Dennis Palmer (who has been run-ning away with the 60 Novice class all year). Gary won four of the five motos, with Dennis taking the win in moto 3. Oregon’s Joe Anderson (who al-ways has a big smile on his face) took his 250 KTM to third overall ahead of SoCal’s Bob Cooke and Paul “LawnDart” Lax. The 60 Expert Class was won by a very fast Ken Morris (SoCal) over Alan Cheever and Dickie McMillan. Gary Willison, still on the comeback trail after a lengthy layoff, won four of the five motos (Ron Dugan took moto 3) for the 70 Expert Class win. The 60 Master Class was the fastest group in race two, and was complete-ly dominated by SoCal’s Lyle Sweeter on his fast Honda. Gary Chase (from Washington) and Jim-my Harris (from Oregon) could only watch as Lyle steadily pulled away for the win in each moto. Bill Maxim was actually close in motos one and two, but had a getoff in moto three that detuned him for the balance of the weekend. Don Toussaint from Idaho also rode very well in the 60 Master Class. Race three brought the Expert 40 and Mas-ters Classes to the gate. Except for Travis Pres-ton, these boys were among the fastest riders of
2012 SoCal International at “The Glen”
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the weekend (and for sure the fastest of the over-40 bunch!). Josh Heckman from SoCal took the 40 Expert class handily, with three seconds and two firsts over the five motos. In the Master B class, Kevin Worrell had already locked up the IOTMX Championship, which was a good thing since Kev-in crashed hard at CompEdge two weeks before and had rib injuries. Dean Adkins (Sierra) stepped in where Kevin left off and swept all five motos for th over Jonathan Pike (LA Chapter). The Master Class found Jonathan Rhodes (SoCal) on the top podium step, with Central Valley’s Brett Miller sec-ond and SoCal’s Todd Mitchell third. Kevin Bar-da was actually the fastest of all the Master Class riders, but Kevin had to work on Saturday (he coached his women’s track team at a SoCal re-gional championship on Saturday) and could only show his skills on Sunday. He ran away with both motos! Perhaps the most competitive class of the weekend was the Master 50 class. In moto one, Kurt Sofka Jr pulled the holeshot and flew to a hot-ly-contested win over Steve Lawler, Craig Chris-tian and Doug Goodman. Moto two saw Sofka again pull another holeshot, but swap big-time in the roller section, allowing Lawler and Christian by (who went 1-2). Sofka dropped back to fifth! Moto three again had Sofka taking the win over Chris-tian and Lawler, with Goodman again fourth. Moto four was a barnburner, with Christian (from the Si-erra Chapter) pulling off the win over a very close
Lawler (SoCal). Goodman, from Arizona, pulled into third ahead of Sierra’s Ed Marchini, who held off Sofka for fourth (he had caught his foot in a rut and injured it). Going into the last moto, Lawler and Goodman were tied for the overall with Sofka within striking distance. Lawler put on the ride of the weekend to take the moto win (and the over-all), with Christian taking second and an injured Sofka, Jr. taking a well-earned third. They finished overall in that order! The 40 Amateur and 50 Expert classes gat-ed in race four. Michael Young, SoCal, has run fast and at the front of the 40 Amateur Class in IOTMX events all year. This was no exception, as he rode fast and consistent for the overall over a game but less-consistent Mike Swyden. Mike won three of the motos, but a fifth-place in moto one kept him from the overall. Rafael Rivera also was in the hunt, but an eighth place in moto four put him third on the podium for the weekend. SoCal’s Craig Hamil-ton rode consistently (with two moto wins!) to take the 50 Expert Class over SoCal’s Will Harper (who had four seconds). Central Valley’s Andrew Smith won three of the motos, and looked like a sure class winner until he ran into problems moto five and finished 12th. He still managed a third overall for the weekend. Carmen Ogino from Sierra and Mic Rodgers from SoCal rounded out the top five. Great racing and a comeback effort put Kent Reed at the top of the podium in the 50 Amateur Class. It looked like a Lance Sloane runaway in the beginning, as Lance pulled 2-1-1 moto scores on Saturday. But Lance was unable to make the gate on Sunday. Reed’s 4-4-3 motos put him in fifth position after day one. Kent at his Wheaties the next morning, and found some speed. He took
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both Sunday motos for the overall win. Arizona’s Jerry Smith rode consistent and fast all weekend, with just a fourth in moto three keeping him from the overall. SoCal’s Dee Vondracek finished third with inspired riding on his KTM!
The story of race six was the Stoltenberg Brothers! Gary took the overall win with four firsts and a second on his Honda, but Chris was per-haps the outstanding rider of the weekend with two seconds, two thirds, and a big win in moto three to jump him into second overall behind his
brother. Tony Clements ran a fast, consistent race (four fourths and a third) to take the last podium spot. SoCal’s Joe Landis swept all five motos in the 50 Novice class on his Suzuki. Roy Crull took second overall; the popular Chucky Cook (Roy and Chucky are both from SoCal) taking third. There were a myriad of support races over the two days, including a Womens’ Invitational event. Highlighted riders included support novice rider Chet Fair who went 1-1 over Dalton Zahrt
(2-2) and Ian Andre (3-3). The Intermediate Class was won by Justin Minch over Chris Frank and Daniel Mills. Casey Casper took the Expert Class over Troy Armstrong (the fastest rider was actually MTA’s Brett Hottel, but he had a DNF moto one!). Eduardo Jimenez Jr. won the support beginner class. The Mini Cass was won by Jacob Macrae over Jo Taylor and Kendall Ward. The ladies put on quite a show on Saturday. Winners included Kimberly Bussing (Beginner Class), Nicole Dorsey (Novice Class), Oregon’s Marne Proctor (Women’s Vet Class), and Hope Searcy (Intermediate Class). The Expert Women put on quite a show, with Tatum Ski turning some very fast, stylish laps and taking the win handily over Shelby Ward and Sarah Troxel. It was amaz-ing watching Tatum whip her Honda over the start finish straight jumps!
IOTMX races usually have social events Saturday after the first-day motos. Participants enjoyed an early-evening dinner (catered by Glen Helen’s Snack Shop!), and the famous SoCal Club raffle. There were many raffle winners who walked away with some quality items provided by the many SoCal sponsors including O’Neil, Yoshimu-ra, AME, Shock Therapy, LightSpeed, Scorpion, Hinson, Dubya, and of course, MTA, the major sponsor of the SoCal OTMX. This story ends with how it began. . . the track was perfect all weekend. The last moto on Sunday provided the same rich, brown dirt that greeted the riders on Saturday, providing outstanding traction and great racing all weekend. We can’t wait for the 2013 edition of this great event!
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ASK LAWNDARTAdvice on Anything from an
Expert on Nothing
Dear Lawndart,
Sometimes I wonder what really motivates a group of mature adults to get up at 4 a.m. to go out and race motocross. Wouldn’t it make more sense for us all to be making reservations for 6:00 a.m. tee times?
Signed,Al W.S. Hook
Dear Al,
You ask a very good question. Some would certainly consider us a curiosity. But there is a real reason for this activity. It is something beyond the need to compete or the moments after the gate drop when we all feel like we’re kids again. There is something beyond that and it is really known only to those of us who race the dirt tracks. On a good day, on a somewhat dusty track, we can load up and head home with the assurance that we have special moments coming that not everyone gets to have. And we all know what that is. Boogers.
Yep, practice and race all day, especially in summer when tracks tend to stir up a lot of dust in spite of the best efforts of the water truck, we have a real opportunity for nasal trophy hunting. You just can’t get that from playing golf. Forget those people we see everyday while driving to work, picking their
noses as though the glass in the car was opaque. What are they getting? Kind of soggy little blobs? Can’t compare with the nostril nuggets that we can mine for after a day of racing.
And that’s special.
Lawndart
Dear Lawndart,
I was looking at the SoCalOTMX message board recently and saw the limeys talking about something called “bubble and squeak.” They seemed to be suggesting it as a menu item for one of our meetings. Do you know anything about the ingredients or what it tastes like?
Signed,I.L. Eatanythingonce
Dear I.L.,
You may have mis-read the post. You need not worry about it showing up from the kitchen at Keno’s as dinner for one of our monthly meetings. “Bubble and squeak” is not a menu item. Rather, the term refers to sounds emanating from our Vice President after a trip to Taco Bell.
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Vicious circle, It seams once you have tasted Motocross it runs in your blood. There is no getting it out of your system by blood transfusion or time away from the sport. Once you have it you have it for life. You just want it more and more of it. People who have never thrown a leg over a Motocross bike, you cant really fully explain everything that it is and does for one’s sprit and soul and your life. Everything that you do, you can somehow relate it back to Motocross. I have been injured and unable to race for nearly 1 year. A non Moto related injury. I would have rather been hurt when racing or practicing, at least I could share a over exaggerated bench racing story! Since I have been hurt, all that I want to do is watch Moto on TV, go to the races, take pictures of Moto and talk about what I cant do yet. The one really good thing for me is I’ve been analyzing everyone’s style and technique as well as speed. I have learned a lot from the last year of watching you ride and race. I have been the one viewing you from outside the berm camera in hand. Being so close it’s almost like watching in HD slow motion, especially when I can go view the pictures I have taken. Which by the way everyone has been saying are getting really good lately. So while Mocking my buddies riding styles and lack of technique and Carefully watching higher skilled riders technique’s, I’ve been learning. Observing Throttle control thru sections how late you are on the gas entering
and how soon getting on the gas when exiting, braking skills, braking points, late and hard braking when, where and how hard and how long being on the brakes, shoulders and arms, elbow position, body position and where they are on the bike at all times. Squeezing the bike, gripping onto the bike with your knees during whoops and sand sections and braking and cornering. One big factor I have learned is pre leaning the bike over and setting yourself up into the corner. I believe this is a huge difference in having fast corner speed and being able to flow smoothly thru the corner. It’s amazing how many riders don’t do this! Lately, missing not being able to ride, I have even started practicing my Moto skills without even being on a bike. I find my self when driving late braking into corners and at stop signs, brake checking tailgaters and driving wide fast line through fast corners and inside lines when being
followed. Even when shopping, my shopping cart somehow power slides its way around corners in the store narrowly missing displays and other shoppers carts, keeping focused on what is in front of me. I’ve even thought about bringing some numbers and throwing on my shopping cart! Anyone want to race to the check out line? Somehow I just don’t think it’s me that does this??As I wait for the Doctors approval that I’m good to go, all my bikes are prepped and spotless. Meticulously detailed ready to go waiting for me to throw a leg over one. They have all been personally Modified “Factory” built
Chiller’s Column (words from Mark Chilson)
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to my liking, from seats, cut sub frames, turned down hubs, spokes to custom one off hand made aluminum brackets, clevis’s, axle blocks, wheel spacers, linkages, radiator lowering brackets to all non weight bearing bolts drilled and hollowed to save weight and give that trick subtle “you’ve got to much time on your hands” look. I have nothing left to do to them but wait to go ride and Jump back into the vicious circle we call Motocross. I can tell you it’s a lot better to be in the middle of the circle than on the outside looking in!.We have all been there before at one time from some type of injury to something keeping us off a bike. I have heard it and have even said it myself “I’m Done I’m going to give it up! But it doesn’t take long before something inside changes. Your Moto buddies talk about how great it is, You hear a bike start up, see someone going to the track with a bike, Your latest Moto magazine shows up at your door, That Something in your blood changes and your back anxious to Moto again. It’s a life style and there’s no getting out and I thank God for that!! I’m so Looking forward to lining up at that starting gate again with my friends. I still have a few months to go but I’ll be the one having that
huge Malcolm Smith smile under my helmet. But Somehow this time I think my friends are going to be repaying the favor and laughing at my lack of skills and speed, Giving me Pit boards like “Are you still in first? 1 down 4 up! and “ Are you using the front brake when accelerating? and Goon rider on track Watch out! Oh it’s you! I Cant wait to be back, I’ll be the one with the four digit number on his bike screaming like a four year old on his first roller coaster ride! See you at the Races.
Editor’s Note: Mark Chison suffered a workplace injury and has been unable to ride. He spends his time taking photos (until he can ride again!).The photos in this article are all Chlson photos from the 2011 United States Grand Prix at Glen Helen!
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places called “The Grape Escape” and “Alexander the Grape” and similar names were proliferating like rabbits. This was the booming niche market for the nondescript house wines from the Griffith wineries.I said we went wine tasting.Not really.The first place we set foot in Jimmy Driscoll asked. “Do you have and sherry?” “Yes.” Replied the young lady. “We have 7 varieties.” “Line ‘em up.” Said Jimmy. And that’s how it went for the rest of the day.Wine tasting? No.Getting plastered on free plonk? Abso-damn-lute-ly.That evening the Griffith club, our hosts, had a bar-beque with more free wine. I don’t remember what we ate, I don’t remember getting back to the mo-tel. I do remember being violently sick and waking up with a monumental headache.Have you ever had to start a CR250 Elsinore, which has no real muffler, with the Mother of all hangovers? I have. It’s not a joyous experience.But it was race day and I wasn’t going to have time to worry about a hangover.Each class had four heats with the qualifiers going to one of two semi finals and the qualifiers from there going to the final. I rode three classes and
made the final in all of them, so nine races. Then they had a run whatcha brung, our club against their club race which I was included in, so ten rac-es.But, I wasn’t done.Rod Baron, one of our sidecar boys was without his regular passenger, his brother, who was in En-gland buying a C.C.M. Rod had recruited some-body to substitute but the guy had never been a racing monkey before and after a few practice laps
Adventures of a Limey Pome (the sequel)
Since the original Adventures of a Limey Pome were published in the club magazine I’ve literally been inundated with no requests for a sequel. So here it is.I was a member of the St. George Motor Cycle Club and once a year we raced Short Circuit in Griffith, about 350 miles west and a bit south of Sydney.This was our Ridgecrest.On one epic occasion I drove out there on Satur-day and met up with the lads at the track early in the afternoon. We left our bikes and set off to go wine tasting, it was free in those days.The Griffith economy is in the grape, or so we thought, but more of that later, and there are many wineries. At the time Australia was still recover-ing from “the six o’clock swill”. The pubs closed at six so there was a stampede at five o’clock out of work into the nearest boozer, there to consume as much beer as possible before they closed at six. I never experienced this personally but I heard of crowds 8 or 10 deep at the bar with bar maids pouring as fast as they can from hoses, the front row passing beers back and money being passed forward from the recipients behind. It must have
been an amazing sight. The licensing laws were very restrictive, including dry Sundays, the pubs looked like public toilets and the “Mod” revolution was in full swing. Young people had some dis-posable income and they wanted to spend it in their
own way. Some clever sod thought of the wine bar. As long as you don’t serve beer or hard liquor you’re not subject to the harsh licensing laws. The wine bar was a natural singles bar, very trendy, open until late in the evening, cool décor and soon
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they came into the pits. The substitute monkey, looking a bit pale and shaky, but weren’t we all, got off muttering something about Armageddon. He must have meant “I’m a gedden outta here”, be-cause he wandered away never to be seen again.I didn’t want to see Rod unable to race, so I vol-unteered. I’d been a motocross monkey but that’s nothing like Short Circuit. If you’ve ever seen side-car speedway you’ll know that they go around the track clockwise, the opposite way to the bikes. That’s because physics dictates that you should have the heaviest part, the bike, on the inside of the corner for maximum stability. I blame Sir Isaac Newton for this.But the Short Circuit boys think they know bet-ter and they go counter clockwise the same as the bikes. A Short Circuit sidecar is like a road-race kneeler with the fairing removed. It’s as low as possible, the rider drapes himself over it, they attached a sprocket to a car wheel so that they could get a fat, square section tire on the back and the fuel and oil tanks were mounted in the sidecar for better weight distribution. The monkey spends most of his time laying down or hanging as far out of the sidecar as possible with the hope that the thing won’t flip and catapult him into the next coun-ty.
So, I get on this contraption for the first time as we go out for our heat race. The flag dropped, Rod pinned it and dropped the clutch. I hung on for dear life. As we approached the first corner I flung myself enthusiastically to the left as my pilot pitched it sideways. My face was about an inch off the ground at something approaching the speed of light, but I couldn’t see anyone in front of us.We won.
It was the same story in the final.Then they had a handicap race and of course we started from the back, but Rod navigated through the field and we won again.This is fun.Friggin’ scary, but fun.Then they had a Le Mans start. The rider sat on the line with the bike in gear and the monkeys lined up 10 yards behind. When the flag dropped we ran, threw ourselves on the chair and hung on. The rider dropped the clutch. We were leading this race too when the 650 Nor-ton motor handgrenaded and a rod came through the crankcase.I started the day with a monumental hangover, had 14 races and went home exhausted.Now that’s racin’.But remember that I said the Griffith economy was in the grape or so we thought? Well, it wasn’t.It was in between the grapes.You see somebody figured out that those tall grape vines were ideal to hide the pot plants that you could grow in the space between the rows. There was so much marijuana growing between the vines everywhere that the Feds. busted the whole damn town.And all they gave us was cheap plonk.
John Craft is back! After getting a knee replacement, Crafty is once again roaming the MX tracks with the Old Timers on his KX. John’s colorful past comes to life in his ‘Adventures of a Limey Pome” articles! See the last NewsMag for part 1 of this series!
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It’s funny, but you hear the same thing from almost everybody at almost any track.
Riders and spectators alike standing on the side of the course, or maybe sitting in folding chairs with a good view of the steep downhill. At the bottom of the downhill are some hairy breaking bumps leading into a tight right-hander, followed by a quick table-top, then a tight right which is slightly off-camber. Coming out of this mess the track levels out onto a sweeping left-hand barrel roller. The
kind where the rider can exit with a lot of speed to clear a big table, before disappearing from view. In morning practice this section is tricky. After the first couple of gates the ground is getting chewed up as the lines dry and harden. Many riders struggle for control, sacrificing speed to stay upright. Then the masters punch off the line for their first moto. All eyes are on the track as “The Fast Ones” show the rest of us how to race a motocross bike. By the time the pack gets to this section, he’ll have the lead. It doesn’t much matter where he started. And people will comment, always saying the same things. Doesn’t matter if they’ve never seen him race, or if this is an every-weekend event, it’s always something like …”How does he go so fast and look like he’s not even in a hurry.” Or “He just blew by 3 guys in that section and never missed a
beat!” Stuff like that.Meet the featured rider, Dan Berg.Dan has been around the So Cal motocross
scene since bikes had 2 shocks. In a couple of months he’ll hit his 50th birthday, but the 50 Masters don’t have to worry. The race director can’t even consider putting him in that class. He’s just too darn fast. The fact is there won’t be many 50 year-olds in the country that can run with him when he turns over the 5th decade. And yes indeed, he never looks like he’s trying all that hard, while he pulls monster gaps on the field.
Dan started ridding in 1968 on a Bonanza mini. It only had 3 and a half hp, but that was enough for a 5-year-old. By 1973 and the age of 10, he was ready to race, and entered his first event at Trojan Speedway ridding a Yamaha 60 JT1. He took 3rd overall. (In the interests of full disclosure, it should be noted there were 3 entrants). As he put it, “I got my ass kicked”. He did learn, however, that most valuable of lessons; being a winner would take dedication and hard work. And so he did.
By the early 1980s he was winning. He had a job and income to support his racing, and was good enough to turn pro in Sept of 1982. He was nineteen years old. His first pro race was at OCIR and he started a long winning streak aboard a Suzuki RM 465 Full Floater. He found a home racing in the open class against such notables as Bruce McDougal and So Cal’s own “Factory” Dave Europkin. To sharpen his skills even further, he went through Warren Reid’s motocross school. His big break came when he met Greg Zittercough. Dan credits much of his success to time spent working with Greg Z, who prepped his bikes and coached him from track-side. It was classic, old-school ‘take-the-seat-off-and-ride-‘tll-it-hurts’ training. He learned to ride WFO for a full 30 minutes and still be able to maintain control for a last-lap charge. This is when he developed that ultra-smooth, flowing style where there rider stops fighting the bike; The classic “Becomes-One-With-the-Machine” sort
Mr. Smooth
Dan Berg
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of thing. It’s a style which is often associated with riders like Marty Tripes and David Bailey, and Damon Bradshaw. (He hears this often). And with this style came the championships.
Dan won the Number One plate in CMC’s open class in 1986, 88, and 89. In late1989 he suffered a bad crash at Marysville when he swapped, wide open in 5th gear. He spent a couple weeks in an ICU while Kenny Zart kept him stocked with apple sauce and Twinkies. He returned to win the CMC 250cc championship in 1990, and
the open class again in 1991.
One of the most impressive things about “the Bergmister” is the amazing depth of knowledge and experience he has about motocross. This becomes evident when you travel around with him at different events, and he seems to know everybody. As a Honda factory test rider,
he spent time with Rodger DeCoster, Jeremy McGrath, Ron Turner and Dave Miller. One day at Glen Helen, your humble author was chatting with legendary 125 speed demon Brian Myerscough, who was running the starting gate. Dan ambles up, and the two start laughing and shake hands like old friends. Turns out, they are. (Should‘a known!) Indeed, as one might expect, these ultra-fast guys do mostly know one-another. Witness another conversation between Dan and So Cal’s very own cruse missile, Kevin Barta. K-Bar is one of the very few age-range guys who can run with Berg (and will even pull away). Turns out they used to race Golden State events and had some fun back in the day. “Yeah, Dan used to beat me. Still would if he backed off the spumoni and worked out a little”. Dan smiles…”I’m not eating turnips and tofu just so I can keep up with you”. The 50 novices in the crowd retreat to our pits and check tire pressure for the 14th time. Theirs is a conversation (and a
world) we don’t much relate to.One of the more impressive things about
Dan is just what a genuinely nice guy he is. To many folks, he does not seem so at first. There is just something about the real fast ones that make other riders apprehensive. To be that fast, they must be some sort of mean and scary, right? On top of that, Dan is a big guy. And he sort of carries a gruff, tough, mountain-man countenance about him much of the time. Some years ago our very own Vice Pres, Truk 610, asked Factory Dave “Hey, what’s with Berg? He seems angry all the time. Does he ever smile? The guy scares me!” Turns out, nothing could be farther from the truth. Dan is one of the most likable, easy-going people around. He has a sharp sense of humor and a profound grasp of what is practical, vs what is only theoretical. He’s quick to call ‘B-S’ on that which is. Indeed, the more you get to know him, the more you find a brightly educated and worldly guy. (Literally ‘worldly’)… He spent a year traveling in Europe, wrenching for a Swiss rider competing in the MX World Championships in the mid 1990s. This author has been more than once impressed with Dan’s great base of detailed knowledge in (and love of) world history.
Perhaps the one thing most endearing about the Bergmister though, is his willingness to help his fellow racers. If a rider gets jammed up with anything even remotely connected to motocross, Dan is there with help and advice. All you have to do is ask, and you will get the benefit of a life of experience, many years dedicated to mx. And one with so much success to show for it. Or, just find a good spot where you can see most of the track. Then watch for the big guy going real well, but not really trying that hard. At first you won’t think he’s so fast…keep watching. As he passes rider after rider, then pulls away, and does so with the ease of an On Any Sunday trail ride, well…you’ll know what we all know…that’s Dan Berg!
Mr. Smooth Dan Berg
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By: Debbie Matthews and Heather Majcherek
Sik Sails to VictoryRacing began under cloudy skies and a light drizzle, but that didn’t dampen the spirit of the large field of competitors from 6 States (AZ, CA, ID, NV, WA, UT) in WMN Racing’s Women’s Motocross International, held at the famous Glen Helen Raceway in California.The event boasted over $100,000 in prizes for all the participants, long motos and featured 6 classes for the lady riders from Mini to Pro as well as a very popular Vet class which had several riders entered who raced the very first Women’s National in 1974!At the drop of the gate in Moto 1 of the Pro class Nadine Logan (Kaw) grabbed the initial holeshot but was quickly dispatched by X Games Medalist and Worcs Champion Tatum Sik (Hon). Sik wasted little time establishing her dominance over the strong field by steadily increasing her lead each lap. While Sik
raced away to an uncontested win, equally impressive was the Pro debut of Shelby Ward (Kaw). Shelby rode a very strong consistent race latching onto Sik‘s wake to claim second in the first moto, with Sarah Troxel (Kaw) in third. The real battle was for fourth between Logan, Heather Lockwood (Kaw), Marsha Allen (Hon) and Staci Woodrum (Hon). Logan would bow out on the 3rd lap with brake problems, but this only seemed to intensify the battle. Charging hard from 7th on the opening lap following a first lap crash to finish fourth was Marsha Allen. Lockwood eventually settled in 5th, but was under attack on the last lap by a hard charging
Woodrum. Woodrum closed to the back wheel of Lockwood but at the checkers Lockwood held the advantage. Not far off the pace was Hope Searcy (Suz) who finished 1st in the Intermediate class.Moto 2 was again dominated by Sik who took the holeshot and never looked back. Amber West (Ktm) grabbed 2nd out of the hole but was under immediate fire from Ward, and Troxel. On Lap 2 West yielded to Ward and Troxel and by Lap 4 lost another position to Allen. Ward rode a solid race in second all the way to the flag, but Troxel closed to within striking distance in the final laps, but was unable to make the pass. West and Allen meanwhile were engaged in a heated battle swapping the position every lap with West beating Allen to the flag, followed by Searcy (Int) and Lockwood, while Woodrum would DNF. In Amateur action, Nicole Dorsey (Yam) dominated the Novice class with a wire to wire win in Moto 1 over Mandi Jo Taylor (Kaw), Emily Tieskoetter (Suz) Jessica Daniel (Hon) and Haley Rogers (Yam) who had a tight battle that was decided on the final lap. Dorsey and Taylor battled all moto, with Taylor moving into 2nd on the white flag lap. Daniel would finish third, followed closely by Tieskoetter, Rogers, Rowlan and Taylor Giorgio (Hon). Erika Werner (Yam) punctured her radiator on the opening lap and would be done for the day. On the final lap, Taylor secured the spot for good over Daniel, Tieskoetter, Rogers, Courtney Rowlan (Yam) and Taylor Giorgio (Hon). Moto 2 had Rowlan with the holeshot. Rowlan looked strong out front but slid sideways while launching over a jump and executed a near perfect “Chadapult” impression, ending her bid for the win early. Tieskoetter eagerly took over the point position only to succumb to Dorsey the next lap. On the last lap Dorsey staked her claim with an aggressive pass for the double moto victory over Tieskoetter. Daniel also got nipped for
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third on the last lap by the hard charging Taylor and finish 4th for the moto, followed by Rogers and Giorgio. The Beginner class was consistent both motos with Kimberly Bussing (KTM) taking the win over Jaden Glaza (Hon), Michelle Kreiger (Yam), Heather Majcherek (Yam), and Lelsey Landis(Hon) . Vet and Mini action also had identical moto scores with Marnie Proctor (Kaw) dominating the Vet class over Michelle Kreiger (Yam), Lori Payne (Hon), Denise DeVines (Suz) and Cathy Silva (Hon), while the Mini class was sol property of Mand Jo Taylor over Kendall Ward.
Nikki Dorsey - “Women’s International at Glen Helen was the most fun race I’ve ever been too! It is awesome having every class for girls, not just novice, or women. I want to say thank you for all the cool presents and awards at the end you guys are great and really care about our sport!! I can’t wait for the next one!! Thanks for such an amazing event! :)”Nadalie Logan- I’m alright. Got a concision, might have broken my finger, and I’m sporting a sweet black eye but I’m good! Lol I will defiantly be there next year, the track was great!
WMN Racing is to be commended for putting on such a wonderful event for the ladies. If you missed it, be sure to mark your calendar for next year, you will be glad you did!
2012 Womens International results
Mini 171x KAW SUP Jo Taylor 1 125 HON SUP Kendall Ward 2 2
Womens Beginner131 KTM SUP Kimberly Bussing 1 111x HON SUP Jaden Glaza 2 2
17 YAM SUP Michelle Krieger 3 311 YAM SUP Heather Majcherek 4 4374 HON SUP Kelsey Landis DNF 5
Womens Novice551 YAM SUP Nicole Dorsey 1 1171 KAW SUP Madi Jo Taylor 2 3372 SUZ SUP Emily Tieskoetter 4 2193 HON SUP Jessica Daniel 3 4124 YAM SUP Haley Rogers 5 5277 HON SUP Taylor Giorgio 9 6622 YAM SUP Courtney Rowlan 6 DNF555 YAM SUP Erika Werner DNF DNF
Womens Vet1253 KAW OR Marnie Proctor 1 117 YAM SUP Michelle Krieger 2 258 HON SUP Lori Payne 3 360 SUZ SUP Denise Devines 4 4216 HON SUP Cathy Silva 5 5
Womens Intermediate253 SUZ SUP Hope Searcy 1 1
Womens Expert972 HON SUP Tatum Sik 1 1294 KAW SUP Shelby Ward 2 2920 KAW SUP Sarah Troxel 3 3407 HON SUP Marsha Allen 4 5189 KTM SUP Amber West 7 468 KAW SUP Heather Lockwood 5 639 HON SUP Staci Woodrom 6 7192 KAW SUP Nadalie Logan DNF DNS
Thank you to our 2012 Sponsors- WSMX (Women’s School of Motocross), Racers Machine, MX Sports Nutrition, Advocare, Protect All, Bobster Eyewear, Scott Goggles, Powermadd, Pro Wheel, Bell Helmets, The Helmet Man, Belgium Budder, Mx Belt Buckle, Rudy Project, No Toil, Six Six One, Tag Metals, Sunline, Royal, Flitron, Minibike Springs, Factory Effex, Mx Bonz, PMP Sprockets, RB Components, SDR, Pit Posse, BRM Offroad Graphics, Risk Racing, Striker Hand Tool, FMF, Thede Photography, Decal Works, Liquid Performance, Works Connection, Boyesen, Moto Mingle, Moto Concepts, Helix Racing Products, Mika Metals, DT1 Filters, Pivot Works, Hot Rods, Hot Cams, Cylinder Works, Vertex Usa, Hyper Racerwear, Feed The Machine, AXO, Sunstar, Ryno Power, IronHorse Werks, My Lucas Oil, IgY Nutrition, Acerbis, LiveWire Energy, and ZANheadgear.
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The Beginning of the End The next morning I sat in the garage, semi-dumb-founded. I had done it. Yep, I had really pulled the trigger on this one. I kept the promise…a promise I had made 27 years ago. I smiled as I sipped on my morning mug of coffee and stared at her. As clear as you please, I could see that father and son driving away down the street I grew up on, with my highly modified and much beloved AT3 Yamaha in the back of their truck. The 300 bucks in my hand didn’t even begin to compensate for what was lost. It was November, 1977. I was out of the dirt-biking business, and there would not be a come-back any time soon. But I would be back. That was the promise I made right then and there, standing in the middle of Roundhill Drive, age 17. I would come back! Oh yeah, ‘a promise kept’ I thought out loud. It was September, 2004. Sitting there in front of me was a brand-spanking new 2004 CRF 450. Scat-tered around the garage were the hastily deposit-ed remains of last night’s dirt bike shopping orgy. New gas cans, trailer hitch bike carrier, bike stand, after-market slip-on exhaust system, tie-downs,...jeez, the stuff was everywhere. Inside the house there was more. All the ridding gear and paper work. Last night was a fuzzy blur. Not too many times in a person’s life where one can drop into a ten thousand dollar shopping spree in a single night. Sort of disorients you, leaves you spent the next day, if you know what I mean (pun intended). Now, where to begin?
First-things-first… got to call my buddy Rob. He got me back into this, and the last thing he said was “I don’t want to hear any more talk about ‘you might be ridding again’. Just call me when it’s a done-deal” So I call him. “It’s a done deal…when do we go ridding? I’m free this weekend.” After he stops laughing, he starts in with my education. “Buddy, you bought a racing bike. It’s got a red sticker and can’t be ridden anywhere locally un-til October”. Are you freaking kidding me? I get to stare at this thing for a month before I can ride it? I had some choice words for the California Tree Hugging and Clean Air Hand-Wringers right about then, to be sure. Whatever… I waited 27 years, three more weeks wouldn’t kill me. Besides, turns out there was much to do before my first ride, any-how. I really did need the time. So… I installed the slip-on pipe that morning. It gave
me a chance to get to know the bike mechanically. I was stunned. Every where I looked, it seemed like NASA designed and built the thing. Never mind the aluminum frame and Formula One four stroke engine. Most of the bolts were dished out to save weight! I mean, that’s strictly works-type stuff, you know? (Or at least, it was…). And it was big! Yes indeed, she was a big girl. Throwing a leg over the saddle took a conscious effort. My feet just made it to the ground. I wondered how shorter guys managed the height. I started her up with the intent of taking a few easy passes up and down
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the street. As it warmed up, I blipped the throttle easy, then a little harder. The damn thing revved faster than any 2-stroke I had ever been around. The exhaust howled with a nasty, snarling kind of tone. I remembered the sales guy telling me about the 53-4 h.p. the thing would have with the pipe in-stalled. I didn’t believe him at the time. Magazines and several conversations with other riders con-firmed that it was, indeed, an accurate number. Hmmm…over 50 h.p. and it revs like this. And it weighs what…230 lbs. or some-such? Sure, take it up and down the street a few times. Hey, it’s not like you haven’t been on a bike in more than 25 years. I shut the thing off and rolled it into the back yard. No one ever got hurt taking pictures of their new toy as it sat quietly on a stand. The magic day finally arrived. October 1st was a Friday. And if that was the first day I could ride back into dirt biking, then by gawd that would be the day! I called in sick to work, loaded 3 days worth of camping and ridding gear into my trusty Ford Expedition, and pointed the whole kitan-cabudle toward Soggy Dry Lake, where it had all started so long ago. Though many years had passed, I was surprised to be able to drive right out to ridding area with out so much as a glance at a map. The way there had been safely tucked into my head for all this time, and as I approached the lake bed on the old dirt road, I wondered at how very little had changed. I chuckled to myself, ‘It’s the desert, you idiot. Deserts don’t change…at least not in time measured by the passing of man’. I moved to the north-east edge of the dry lake, found a nice fire ring, and set up a proper base of operations. This is something years of camping and hiking experience can bring into a real art form. When I was done there were several tables set up for both riding gear and camp life (cooking, CD music player, etc). It was going to get pretty warm, about 90 degrees, so I had sev-eral awnings tied off from the truck’s roof rack to tent pools, attached to ground stakes. (No stinking easy-ups for this outdoorsman!) Shade was plen-tiful. When all was done I stood back, impressed. It was a camp fit for the occasion. Too bad Rob wasn’t going to be there. He and his wife had a prior obligation that weekend and couldn’t make the scene. I was bummed about that. So was Rob. He had strongly counseled me to wait a couple of weekends until he could join me, but there was no
chance I’d put this weekend off. Years later, sitting around another camp fire, he remarked this was his first real indication how committed I was to a dirt-biking comeback. He was surprised I’d gone out alone on my first ride. It wouldn’t be the last time. What he didn’t know was I had spent much of my life stepping out on solo adventures. A week backpacking deep in the High Sierras alone was something I did from time to time. It’s not that I pre-fer to go it alone, but waiting for other folks to line up their schedule with yours can burn up a lot of opportunities. So I just sort of evolved into some-thing of a lone operator, out of practical need. This weekend was no different. As it turned out, I would
be far from alone, anyway. With all the supporting details attended to, there was no getting around it. Time to ride! It only took about 30 minutes to climb into all the new ridding gear. And that, after I had put all the stuff on at home a couple of times. Fully clad, I felt like an Imperial Storm Trooper as I approached the bike. How was I gonna’ be able to ride with all this stuff on? Oh well, climb aboard and light her off. As I raised a leg over the seat, the extra weight of the big, plastic boot caused me to hook my toe on the rear fender and damn near fell over right there. It would have looked just like the tricycle guy on Laugh-In, but I saved it, along with some dignity. The bike started on the 3rd kick. That’s when things started getting real. I let her warm up, grabbed the clutch, and tapped down for low. A little throttle and we’re off, ridding a motorcycle
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for the first time in 27 years. I was quite pleased with myself. No stalling, no crazy stuff, just pulled away out onto the lake bed. Take her easy on the rpms, short-shift through all 5 speeds and every-thing is fine. I was impressed with how it was all still very natural, clutching, shifting up and down, and braking. It’s true you know… you never forget how to do something you really love, no matter how much time goes by. So I rode around that flat
lake bed for 10 minutes, then went back to camp for an equal cooling-off period, ‘cause that’s what the owner’s manual said to do. Three of those and I could start to boogie with the thing. The sun was getting a little warmer, but all in all, it was a fine day. I kept checking the fuel level in the tank, but it never moved. After the third break-in cycle, I was convinced the bike was getting about 264 mpg. Now it was time to get off this dry lake and do some real dirt biking. Before hooking off into any serous desert, I rode over to a group of 4-wheelers whose camp was a little ways from my own. I told them I was a dirt biker long-time-gone and now returned, was out here alone (because I couldn’t wait), and could they please keep half and eye out for my return, in case I didn’t. Now, these guys were extremely cool and it was my great good fortune that they be camped near-by. They pro-ceeded to tell me that I had picked a hellava week-end to come back to Soggy. It was opening day for all ORVs, and San Bernardino County Search and Rescue was throwing its annual Opening Day Festival. By night-fall, there would be about a thou-
sand or so ORVs camped all over the place, live bands, a mobile stage and dance floor, organized rock crawls, hill climbs, rescue classes, and so on both day and night through Sunday. Wow. This particular weekend being alone would not only not be a problem; it would not even be possible. I had hit the good luck jackpot. The guys said they’d be happy to keep an eye out for me. Much reassured, I headed for the nearest dirt roads and trails. It was about here things got a little goofy. I pointed the Honda north toward an area where the lake turned back to desert and a beat-up dirt road defined my trail. It was real rough. Erosion had made the ground strange, hard and very bumpy, as if the land couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be open desert, or continue as part of the lake bed. I wasn’t going that fast, and it tossed the bike around a lot. I remembered to stand up, but oddly that didn’t help much. I cleared the odd section and took off up some trails. There were woops ev-erywhere and I couldn’t begin to manage them. I slowed down even more and searched around for some single track, but nothing really worked. The bike wallowed in soft dirt or sand, and went wide or threatened to pitch me off the high side in any turn. It wouldn’t power-slide no matter what I did. What it would do was go forward in a big hurry. Arm stretching, eye watering acceleration it had no problem with. It seemed like the motor was hooked directly to the ground, like there was zero wheel-spin, which explained why I couldn’t get it to slide. Oh, the brakes worked mighty well, too. The front one almost threw me over the bars the first time I really grabbed it. I tried this and I tried that, but all-in-all, I had to admit that it was just not working. It was nothing like the fun I remem-bered… Nothing at all! As I road back to the camp, an icy ball started to form in the pit of my stomach. Could this be happening? Is this for real? Did I just make a ten thousand dollar mistake?!?! People change. The world turns, and time goes by. Things aren’t always like you remember. The home-com-ing queen from high school you bump into at the airport 20 years later… She’s shaped like a pair, ugly as a mud fence, and married to some junk-bond salesman. I put the bike on its stand, made a sandwich and grabbed a beer. Sitting in my fa-vorite old camp chair, I stared at the Honda and thought hard. No! I refuse to accept this. I freak’n-well remem-
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ber how much fun ridding a dirt bike was, those memories are real, and I have the finest one available sitting right in front of me. It’s me! I’m the weak link here. Get back on that sucker and do it like you remember. So I did. I checked the gas again. I had only burned about a pint or less. I brought ten gallons. Running short of fuel would not be a concern. This time I headed east, up a valley well remem-bered from the old days. My family used to make our camp in this big rock formation that stands as kind of island, in the middle of that rising valley. There were a number of good trails and I just hap-pened to pick one that was not overly rough. As I started up the long rise, I sort of spoke a little encouragement at myself…’Get your act together. You know how to do this! Remember. Stand on the pegs; crouch down low, the DeCoster Crouch. Re-member. Yeah. Center your weight and grab the bike with your legs. Rock and roll with the terrain. This sweetheart has a foot of suspension travel at both ends. Use it! Yeah, now feed her some throt-tle and let’s see what she’s all about!’ There are moments which can profoundly change a person’s life. In an instant, the very essence of who and what we are, and why we are, can right-there-and-then be utterly redefined. What occurred next, for me, was just such a moment. Heading up the valley trail I short-shifted around 3rd gear and let the motor pull under a good throttle. The slight rise made the front end light as it skipped over the bumps. I kept my weight centered as the bike built speed and rpms. I was immediately aware of how much more stable the bike felt when I properly attached myself to it. Time for the afore-mentioned, life-affirming mo-ment. The engine hit the heart of its power band, but unlike before, I didn’t back off the throttle. For
some insane reason I gave it more. At the very instant the bike exploded forward under full power, the ground fell gen-tly away. The trail dropped a short distance into a wide,
shallow, dry stream bed that crossed the valley. The trail dropped, but the front end didn’t. Without any deliberate intention on my part, that beauti-ful red sled flew into that depression and carried the front wheel 2 feet off the ground all the way across! Any bumps or ruts disappeared under the rear suspension like special effects in a movie. As 3rd gear wound out and the front end came back down, I tagged 4th almost unconsciously and nailed the throttle. There was a long, gradual climb on the other side of the dry wash. The bike ripped up and out with the front end coming up again at the crest of the rise. I held the throttle steady for a few moments more, then backed off all together when I realized bike and rider were doing almost 60 mph. My heart was pounding in my throat, alpha waves were flashing through my brain at about the 70-megawatt level, and if I’d have taken a blood sample right then, it would have read 50% pure endorphins. Ridding up that valley on that particular trail, with a force of will and faith in great memories, it all came together. This was why we ride dirt bikes. And I’m back, doing it again! I turned around, went right back down to the dry lake, and shot up the valley again. About six times. Each time was better than the last. I was working with the bike and all the cool stuff was sparkling again. Damn! It was just like it was, and it was a stone-cold blast! On the last repeat up the valley I kept going un-til I hit the rock island and the old family camp. I rolled into the middle of the site, shut the bike off, and looked around. It was just as I remembered from so many years ago. My buddy Jack and I put our tent over there. Mom and dad put the big tent here, and the neighbors (with the Hodaka) put their camper over there. Yeah, it was memory-city
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sitting on that bike in that old camp. I even looked over a section of rocks we used to practice trials ridding on. I let myself soak up the sun-bathed nostalgia for a little while, then fired up my Hon-da. We circled the camp a couple of times before heading back down the valley. Got about 30 yards and my beloved new toy up and quit running. I mean, it just died right on the spot. “What-the hey!” This can’t be happening…It’s a Honda…It’s brand new! Everyone said the thing would be as reliable as a falling brick! I looked down at the lake bed. It was about a mile and a half down the valley. It was just after noon and the temperature was getting pretty nasty. My camp was on the far side of the dry lake. “Come on, no, for reals?” A brand new bike and it won’t run. What, electrical? Clogged jets in the carb? Nothing made any sense. Then it hit me… clogged jets in the carb meant no gas for the engine. Something else might mean no gas for the engine, either. I kid you not, I looked around to make sure no one would see what I was about to do. I’m in the middle of the freak’n desert and I look around because I know what’s about to hap-pen, and I’m just hopping I can keep it to myself. Yep, I unscrew the gas cap and look inside…bone-dry. Yes indeed, I was having so much fun, was so overwhelmed with good-time juices and feel-good memories, that I lost all track of time and ran the damn thing right out of gas. I was lucky. There was just enough slope in that valley that I could coast the bike almost all the way down. I did have to push the bike across the lake bed. My new friends in the 4-wheeler camp where true to their word. They spotted me with binocu-lars and actually came out in a jeep to check on me. Great guys. “Break down?” They ask…’nope’, says I. Then I tell them…” You know, I read the owners manual cover to cover, twice. It says what gas to use, and where to put it. But no where in there does it say you have to keep putting gas in the thing”! We all had a chuckle and they towed me back to camp. An hour later and I’m dumping fuel into my bike for another ride. I hear a bunch of car horns go off, cheering and clapping, so I look over in the direction of the racket. About a half ‘dozen of these clowns are waving gas cans in one hand, beer cans in the other, cheering my re-fueling efforts, and laughing their arses off! I took a
bow and did a perfect 9-count waltz with the empty gas can. You had to be there… The sun was setting late Sunday afternoon. I was heading down the highway, on my way home. It had been an incredible weekend. I had ridden until I was so sore I could hardly hold on to the bike. I was invited to join the 4-wheelers for dinner Saturday night, and those guys were truly off-road characters. I couldn’t thank them enough for their hospitality and camaraderie. I was awash in re-flection. Dirt biking was indeed the coolest thing I had ever done, and now I was doing it again. I thought of the fun I’d had, the incredible rejuve-nation of spirit, and how much I’d learned my first time out. I was equally aware of how much I had yet to learn. My ridding skills were next to zero, but that was to be expected. Ability would change with time and practice. And time and practice would be all I was about for the next several years. Indeed, everything else would fall by the wayside. Dirt bik-ing had returned as my life’s cause, and I mar-veled at the clarity of my commitment to the sport once again. Driving home as that sun set, another thought twinkled in the back of my mind. I had to be careful with this one. People had warned me…things had changed in the past 25 years; “take it easy on this one”, were the words they said. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was out there, waiting for me, just like Soggy Dry Lake. I’d have to be patient. I’d have to be very careful. I’d have to get my ridding skills well advanced from what they were that first weekend, cruising home from my first ride in 27 years. But as sure as I’d come back to ride the desert, to be a dirt biker again, I would find my way back to the source. The sum-mit, the panicle of any dirt biker’s universe… Yes, I would the next return in my own good time. The source…Motocross.
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Kevin Worrell2013 SoCal OTMX #1
Kevin Worrell: Interviewing the Champ!
Kevin Worrell has earned the number one for 2012. He will run the big #1 on a red num-ber plate throughout the 2013 season. I had the pleasure of sitting down with “Pigpen” at Keno’s in Anaheim for a couple of hours to delve into his history, and what makes Kevin tick! First of all, we ordered dinner (it was on me as a reward for his hard work). What did he order? Keno’s famous fried chicken dinner, of course! Me, I had a club sandwich. Kevin grew up in the town of Corona, right up the 91 from Keno’s. He basically has lived there his entire life, aside from a brief stint in Or-ange. He attended Washington Elementary and Rainer Jr. High as a youngster, later moving on through Corona High School until his graduation in 1983. Kev didn’t mess around with college or “higher education.” He went straight to work. His chosen professions were (and are) auto repair and machining. Kevin’s first motorcycle was a 1973 Hoda-ka Ace 100. He was one of those thousands who received their off-road baptism on a Hodaka. His Corona High School buddy, Roger Kokos (who also races with our club but is currently recuper-ating from injuries) and Kevin rode all over the Corona area, as back in the 70s there was plen-ty of open land there, and the authorities were,
by choice, lax, giving rid-ers like Kev and Rog the opportunity to ride locally. Ah, those were the days!!! Kevin started racing around 1979. His first real race bike was a used 79 KX 250. He raced a lot at the tracks we all knew and loved. . . DeAnza, Arroyo, Carlsbad, Saddleback, and OCIR! He attended the Carlsbad MX School in 1981. From 1986 un-til 1996--a span of 10 years—Kevin was off mo-torcycles. In 1996 Kevin acquired an 82 YZ490
and started riding again. He later picked up an 86 CR500, which became one of his all-time favorite bikes. He resumed racing (desert racing) in 2004 on a CRF450X. In October of 06, he was racing D-38 when he had a major crash and crushed five vertebrae. It took a full year to heal up. But like all of us, Kevin was not done racing despite his inju-ries! Toward the end of his recuperation period, he jumped on the Net and did some surfing for potential racing organizations. He discovered the Old Timers, and since the meeting place was right down the road from Corona, he decided to show at a meeting to check it out. At the Wednesday meet-ing, he liked what he saw and heard. The next day, Thursday, he bought a CRF250, and on that Fri-day broke it in at Milestone. SoCal had a race at Milestone on Sunday, and Kevin was there with his new bike. No, he did not win! His first breakthrough race came at AV Motoplex, where he won the 40 Novice class. He moved up to the 40 Amateur class. Gaining speed and confidence every week, he soon moved him-self up to the Expert class (at one of our Ridge-crest races). Kevin’s memorable races tend to be recent ones. His famous mud race with Randy Blevins came to mind (he followed RaceDog the entire
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race but never was able to get around him), as did his overall win at a Glen Helen race (the war-mup before the International) where he beat Doug Goodman. Kevin now enjoys Master class racing, mix-ing it up with Alan Burtt, Nick Waters, Steve Piat-toni and Truk. One of his great memories was run-ning elbow to elbow with Sofka and not worrying about being punted off the track! Kevin mentioned his gratitude to Factory Dave Eropkin for show-ing him the ropes of setup and preparation, and to Dan Berg for advice on riding ruts and turning techniques. He also mentioned by name Steve Pi-attoni and Kurt Sofka for giving him help and en-couragement. Another major influence on his suc-cess has been Nick Costello at ProValve. Kevin also thanked all the club sponsors who support us—they are on the sponsors’ link on the website—and to Corona Motorsports and MTA. Pigpen mentioned that his #1 plate con-quest was certainly not easy. He had to fight through injuries the last five races of the season. He credits Truk610 with saving his #1 plate efforts at the last Hillside race. Kevin went down hard, and was going to pack it in when Kurt encouraged him to get up and finish; it turned out to be one of the critical finishes that helped solidify the cham-pionship. That injury carried through the last three races, but Kevin gutted it out and took the crown. What is in the future for Kevin? He indicat-ed he has been a full-time racer for the past five years. This year culminated in the IOTMX M-B championship as well as the club M-B champion-ship and the overall #1 club position. That is quite an accomplishment for a single season! Kev indi-cated he won’t be getting after it as much for 2013, although he will be sporting the #1 plate and plans on making the majority of the club races. At this point he is not planning on hitting the IOTMX cir-cuit. Kevin indicated he plans to enjoy a few other activities, like fishing, during the coming year. He plans on just enjoying himself! He noted that he derives more enjoyment and satisfaction from rac-
ing now than when he was young. He has more friends, is more mature, and running in the expert/master divisions gives him more satisfaction that he ever imagined! Kevin was a pleasure to interview and talk with. As I paid the dinner check, Kevin ex-pressed thanks to all the club officers and workers that make our races happen. He gave thanks for the Board, and for the signup/scoring ladies. He voiced appreciation for the club giveaways, and again thanked his sponsors. He told me his Mom (who passed away last November) had always been one of his biggest boosters, and mentioned how is brother, Bill, was also a great supporter. Kevin gave thanks that he can still do “this moto-cross thing.” My opinion: Kevin is not only a very worthy racer to carry the #1 plate, but he is an honest, down-to-earth super nice person. I am very hon-ored to have him as a fellow racer and a friend!
Kevin Worrell: Interviewing the Champ!Interview and photos by the Photoman
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