Official cool old racing story thread

It was Rapp who crashed, no?

If anyone's got a link to that video/race, please share it. I remember watching it on TV when it happened but havent seen it since.

Actually met Rapp and Doug Polen shortly after that round at Italian Motorsports (Ducati dealer in Farmers Branch TX) during a demo day.

 

You know...might be right. This is what happens when you get old. Thought it was Peegram.

 

Farmers Branch TX? When I lived in those parts, it was Carter's Yamaha, and another Yamaha on Central in Richardson, owned by a family I knew, my cousin worked for him. But that was in the 70's and I had my Naguchi YZ125 then. There were a few other shops like the Kawaski dealer near Forest and Central.

 

Yup, it was right off of I35. Just on the border with Carrollton. He had Ducati, Aprilia, MotoGuzzi, and Indian (oddly enough). Even had a Benelli Tornado in the showroom. This was '00-'03 when I lived in Lewisville.

 

We were there. I think they had applied some "sealer" the day before. Both of my team mates crashed and I rode most of the 4 hrs by myself. I think we won lightweight production on an RZ350. It was really hot and humid, too. The line was only about a foot wide and if you got off it, you fell down. It sucked. I borrowed Ed Key's Interceptor 500 for a sprint race on Sunday and crashed it hard. I ended up with my forearm rashed with "sealer" in it that seemed like a mix of #2 diesel and sand when they scrubbed it out of my arm. That sucked, too.

 

I think you're being generous at a foot wide. More like a few inches. The oil was bubbling up through it, so that made about 3 feet of slip & slide. Then you go wide, and hit the sand and bits from the pavement coming up, and boom! It's our own fault, as everyone used to complain how rough the track was before they paved it, but tell you what, it had incredible traction. It was never the same after that. Didn't EJ actually get involved in the paving himself, or was it contracted out?

 

I watched Tray Batey ride a wheelie, from the first pit stall, all the way down pit road, down the hill and damn near to T1 at Gratten in 2008, while leading the endurance race. Pretty sure they fined him $100.

 

Hey, were you running an Ascot in '84? I know I've got an IRP pic with you in it, but can't remember what number or bike you were on back then.

 

I was in that race riding with Dan Schmidt. During the riders meeting the Race Director said "watch the wheelies on hot pit, but we know the big bikes might get off the ground a few inches so don't worry about that". Tray Batey's front wheel was off the ground about three feet and he shifted twice, and Sublet was not amused (although the people watching on pit road were). In the riders meeting the next day Batey's fine was talked about, with a smile and in a soft drawl he said "I deserved it".

 

I apologize in advance for this being an example of a pro doing amazing things in the dirt. This example I saw with my own eyes shows there are riders who are actually aliens.

I road enduros in the 80s. Northeastern US was a center for professional enduro riders and it was not uncommon for a AA rider to ride a local enduro for practice. I noticed Terry Cunningham was at the riders meeting for an enduro in southern Ohio. He was the four time national enduro champion and multiple ISDT competitor.

I was riding thru a low wet area that ended at the side of a gravel road. On the other side of the road was a wet, long and steep hill that was covered in trees and stuck riders on bikes. As I approached the hill while still in the bog, I slowed to pick a line. I heard a small bike behind me absolutely honed. I knew I better hold up because this had to be a AA rider. Terry Cunningham passed me going very fast. He hit the near side bank before the road using it as a ramp. He jumped, cleared the road, cleared the ditch on the other side of the road and landed on the steep hill obviously at a trajectory that missed trees. He kept the 125 wide open and was up the hill in seconds.

 

Larry (#72) is in the picture right behind Rapp who is playing rag-doll in the middle of all the players.

I loved that he got right up and ran back to the pit to get on his other bike!

 

lol

 

The AMA, rental cars, & Brainerd

A lot of weird stuff happened at Brainerd 20 plus years ago. Turn one at the big track is so, so fast and probably over 170mph for most bikes. I think it was JH#4 that hit a seagull with his shoulder at the end of the front straight and didn’t get knocked off the bike. Steve Rapp was right behind him and at the airport he told me holy shit how did Josh stay on and thankfully I miss it.

A prominent SBK team got in trouble with a rental car company one year. It appears that they got to do some laps on Thursday and proceeded to wad it up into a compressed structure. And Friday when I got there said rental company was in the paddock looking for a check for said three-thousand-pound piece of twisted steel and plastic.

One year I was at the Brainerd Hertz counter waiting to get my car and a well-known manufacturer peep stops and we chat. Remember Brainerd airport is tiny, and he overhears from another nearby rental counter that said company was looking for him because of previous car damages, so he ducks out the door.

What caused this you ask? At a past Road America he left his car in the pits Saturday night and a bunch of riders/mechanics wrapped the doors closed and covered the windshield with duct tape. Yep they used rolls and rolls and rolls of duct tape. Can you imagine how hard it was to clean that shit off? And I think he left it at the track and told them to come and get it.

Then a different year at Road America he left his rental parked on the street next to Siebken’s bar. Later the police come into the bar and ask whose rental is out front? He goes its mine and they say come with us. Why the problem? Well a few riders/mechanics rocked it up on its side until it was sitting on its doors next to the curb.

One year I’m in an airport on my way to Brainerd and I get a call from the Pirelli truck driver. He’s says they holding our truck until last because they don’t think there’s enough room in the pits. Finally, after waiting for hours he gets it in. The next day I chat up the AMA peeps and ask WTF (nicely) we have paid the fees, we have been racing with you for years, we have 30 plus riders on our stuff, and etc. They talk in circles for 15 minutes and I get nowhere. In those days a few factory teams would pit in the big garages while others would work out of their Semis under canopies up. That Saturday night a huge thunderstorm/almost a tornado rips thru the area. Sunday morning finds it sunny but many of the factory guys canopies/frames are twisted piles of crap. And I think the AMA’s trailer and canopy got messed up too. So, I have always wondered if someone from above was trying to send a message?

 

Yep. I didn't see him running back to the pits, as we were hiking down to T1. I didn't see the initial bump that caused it, but heard when the bike hit the ground, and turned to see Ducati flying in all directions. Still amazed that someone didn't get clocked by debris.

 

to this day still remember dodging a gas tank flying from the right side

 

I had an XL500S based single at that point. I think I was running 119 but I tried # 3? for a while as all of the guys I was travelling with were in the 30's. Mike Snyder 31, Gary Gibson 32, Alex Bub 33, Ed Key 34, Phil Schmidt 35, Steve Schmidt 36, Charly Buse 39. I also got an FJ600 for the Yamaha money. C production was a meatgrinder at that point. All of the fast guys go FJs and I could barely finish top 10. I let Phil Schmidt race the FJ in the money race as he would typically finish either first or second with Ed Key. I made enough money off my half of the winnings to pay for the bike, the Fox shock and tires. I raced it in the non-money classes.

 

Mullins, Whibley, Bach, Duvall, Strang and a lot of the top GNCC guys like to show up at the local rounds. Just like road racing, it's poetry in motion, in the woods!

 

I met Kurt Hall on a Saturday track day at TGPR pre 87 race season. That was when you signed the waiver, handed Mike or David 35.00 and rode all day. Team Hammer was there as well as few other really fast guys. Kurt was great guy and answered every question I had for him with a smile. Fast forward, first race 87. I installed a FOX shock on my FZ600 a few weeks earlier and was talking to Kurt about its setup. He said ride over and let him look at it. I did, he did, and said want me to test it. Me, sure, and he took it out and rode it during the Novice 600 practice. Fast forward again to lunch. A guy and his gf walk by my pit and stop and stare at my bike. He then says, looks like the rest of us are racing for second place. I said what, and he repeats himself. Man, you were passing everyone out there like they were sitting still last practice session. I laughed and told him that was Kurt Hall. His reply was, he ain’t a Novice, he’s going to get protested. I laughed and said, maybe not. Told Kurt the story, he chuckled.

Or, also 87 TGPR, second race of the season I believe. Walked by Doug Polen’s pit who is there for the Cup money that weekend. I said how’s it going, he looked at me like was I there to steal his wallet. I kept walking.

 

I knew you were on a thumper, but couldn't remember what it was. I thought Buzz Pritz was 119...or maybe that was 109. Stand by, as I've got some pics of most of those guys..lol.

 

Pretty sure I've got you at BHF, along with Alex and Ed, Phil and Mike Harlow. My first spectator race was IRP in '82 or '83. Was friends with Gibson, and he sucked me into it. Pretty sure this is the weekend that he pitched it in the carousel, and created his 'Crashing Sucks' t-shirts from the picture that resulted.