Weekend At Del Mar
A 500-bike concours, an AMA Mile, roadracing and vintage flat-tracking; in other words, a really big show...
Weekend at Del Mar
WENDY F. BLACK
DEL MAR RACETRACK IS NO STRANGER to legendary competitors. Renowned steeds such as Tinners Way, Best Pal and, most recently, Cigar have all vied for titles at the celebrated track. But last October, a different breed raced at Del Mar. And it was the revving of engines, rather than the pounding of hooves, that reverberated through the autumn air. Located just north of San Diego, California, the opulent Del Mar facility provided a meeting of the motorcycles for Team Obsolete, the Vintage Dirt Track Racers Association, the AMA and the San Diego Antique Motorcycle Club.
The result was an eclectic mix of events that included both vintage and modern machinery racing in the dirt and on the asphalt. The program began on Friday with Team Obsolete’s roadracing events, which incorporated Singles, Twins, the Cycle World-sponsored 500 Premier race and Harley-Davidson 883 SuperTwins competition.
“The racing was everything we hoped it would be,” said Team Obsolete’s Rob Iannucci. “It was a win/win/win/win situation. The track was safe, nobody got hurt. It was great.”
Laid out in the parking lot before Del Mar’s terraced grandstands, the course wound its way through lush landscaping and sculpted fountains. Said competitor Elliott Iverson, who raced his Wood-Rotax FT600 dirt-tracker, “The roadrace course was perfect for this bike because it’s basically a paved TT course. If it just had a jump out there, I’d be set!”
VDTRA-sponsored vintage events included Saturday night’s Skip Van Leeuwen Short-Track Race.
Although the crowd was relatively small, it was an enthusiastic bunch. Bundledup spectators braved the chilly weather to cheer as racers rounded the tenth-mile dirt oval, churning up chunks of mud in their wake. Exclaimed one spectator, “Where else can grown-ups go out and have so much fun? They get to go act like squirrelly kids on motorcycles!”
Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the 10-year-old VDTRA was founded by John Isaacs, who saw a need for an organization dedicated exclusively to vintage dirt-trackers. “I’ve actually achieved more than I ever expected to,” said Isaacs about VDTRA’s success, “so being included in Del Mar is just icing on the cake.”
VDTRA also sponsored Monday’s Vintage Mile, which was the retro-racing highlight of the weekend. In the pits, Royal Enfields, BSAs, Bultacos, Yamahas and Triumphs lined up next to Indians and Harley-Davidsons, and the atmosphere was more jovial than competitive.
Indeed, vintage-miler Gerald Jessup claimed that the racing is all about having fun. Decked out in full leathers with a cap perched jauntily on his 61-year-old head, Jessup holds the Number One plate in VDTRA’s Dinosaur Class-1951 or older with no brakes. Said Jessup, “I just enjoy racing and I’ll keep doing it ’til I don’t enjoy it anymore.”
Competing with Jessup for VDTRA honors was former factory Triumph rider Eddie Mulder, who at age 16 became the youngest winner of California’s now-defunct Big Bear enduro. After turning Pro two years later, Mulder swept most of the West Coast’s off-road events. He won the 1962 AMA Cross-Country Championship as well as the 1963 National Hare and Hound title. Mulder went on to become the high-point TT rider at Ascot Park for eight years.
Retired in 1974, he only recently began competing in vintage events. “Here I am, 53 years old, and I get to run around a racetrack again,” he says with a bit of incredulity. “A lot of guys get too into it, though. I guess they weren’t that success-
ful when they were younger, so they gotta set the world on fire now. But that’s not the issue here. The issue here is to have fun.”
The legion of vintage events was broken up only by Sunday’s Del Mar Mile, the AMA’s Grand National season finale. The mile has been held at Del Mar for the last three years, put on by Chris Agajanian, son of legendary Ascot promoter J.C. Agajanian. Previously, only one national motorcycle race transpired at Del Mar, and that was in conjunction with automobile events in 1949. Unfortunately, the death of car racer Rex Mays resulted in the banning of all motorized sport from Del Mar, until it was revived with an IMSA sports car race in the facility’s parking lot in 1987.
“I had been trying to get back into Del Mar for years,” said Agajanian. “Now, we’ve had three years of near-sellout crowds, and the race has been very successful.” Seven-time Grand National Champion Scott Parker agreed: “Del Mar is a beautiful facility with a great track. Plus, it’s a good show for the fans. It can only get bigger and better.”
But Del Mar wasn’t just about racing motorcycles, it was also about admiring machines at the 25th Annual San Diego Antique Motorcycle Club Concours d’Elegance. Dedicated this year to the late Jack Milne, 1937 World Individual Speedway Champion, and 1937 Daytona 200 winner Ed Kretz Sr., Del Mar is unique in that the event honors former racers as well as showcasing some of the West Coast’s most beautiful and collectible motorcycles. Gary Nixon, Sammy Tanner, Bobby Hill, Gene Romero, Reg Pridmore, Ed Kretz Jr. and 100-year-old board-tracker Jim Davis were just a few giving interviews at the concours.
Said show promoter Bob Bishop, “I got tired of reading about old racers after they were gone. There are lots of motorcycle shows that have nice bikes and lots of vendors, but we have the human element-relationships with the oldtimers. That’s what makes the show magical.”
Held on Del Mar’s lush infield, the show attracted a diverse audience of 15,000 spectators. Trendy twentysomethings traded observations about restored bikes with leatherfestooned bikers, while listening to interviews with retired racers over the PA system. Aftermarket vendors displayed their wares, motorcycle manufacturers showed new lineups and the parts exchange drew the truly hardcore.
But, as they say, that’s not all. The Victor McLaglen Motor Corps built mobile human pyramids, the San Diego Trials Riders “cleaned” a moving car, and three Globe of Death stunt riders pushed the envelope of all that is sane and good in this world. Want more? How about Wheelie King Doug Domokos and his one-wheel exploits? Or nutball Bob Correll, who flew 302 feet through the air on his parasailequipped Yamaha? Or pyromaniae Gary Cerveny, who lit the fuse on his 2000-horsepower jet-powered dragbike?
Of course, the showbikes were the real attraction. Near the main stage, one small complement of timeworn racers included two 1930s-era Indian Scouts, a yellow-as-can-be Cyclone board-tracker and Joe Leonard’s 1959 HarleyDavidson, complete with autographed numberplate. Said owner AÍ Bergstrom, who recently displayed the bike at a vintage TT honoring Leonard, “He saw it and got tears in his eyes. Leonard was one of my dirt-track heroes, so owning this bike is a real thrill for me.”
The more than 30 concours classes ranged from the very obscure to the somewhat common, and more than 500 entries decorated the infield. In some categories, Nortons and Harley-Davidsons lined the grass almost as far as the eye could see. In others, more uncommon marques such as Wanderer, Motosacoche and British Matador were kings. There was a class dedicated to modern custom Harleys, including the prestigious Concept class, and a Special Interest class, which boasted the Star Trike, a motorcycle dubiously patterned after the Starship Enterprise.
But the Best of Show award went to Jack Silverman’s 1937 Crocker, which, according to Silverman, is “a real bike, not a made-up machine-no repo parts, and all its numbers match.” Silverman entered eight motorcycles in the concours and went home with 10 trophies. Although he is an avid collector, Del Mar is the one concours in which he participates. “I only show at Del Mar,” he emphasized, “because the judges know what they’re doing. There are other shows in the U.S., but I don’t like their infrastructure.”
It was former dirt-track legend Skip Van Leeuwen, however, who best summed up the weekend. “What makes Del Mar so hip,” he said, “is that it’s the Who’s Who of motorcycling. People are here from Seattle to Massachusetts. It’s amazing.” Over the last 25 years, the concours has grown from a small parking-lot show into an event that incorporates vintage racing and the Grand National Championship. Said Bishop of plans for next year’s event, “We want to bring back everything that was there this year, and then add more.”
Bishop’s “more” includes motocross, ice racing, extensive swap meets and an expanded vintage program. “I think Del Mar is like the movie, Field of Dreams,” he said. “Build it, and they will come.” Consider Del Mar just about built. □
