Vintage Motocross

Round 1 in Feilding

maddix park mx

 

 

Round 1 of the Vintage MX Series gets off to a great start in Feilding. 

 

 

 

Lots of “new” old machinery turned up bringing the total of bikes to 125 and the total of riders to  more than 85.  Lots of "old-school" gear was present as well – open faced helmets, rat pants, vintage boots and some riders were even so "old-school", they didn’t wear gloves!   One person even turned up with a vintage race transporter – a Ford Anglia towing a trailor.  

It was an awesome day's riding . The weather was amazing although there was a very cold lazy wind that blew all day - but it did blow the dust away. The track was great, very fast and had a cool jump over a drain, It was a good days racing had by all.

A large number of Tauranga riders went down to Feilding.  Peter Ploen impressed everyone  not only because of the fact  he can still fit into his 70s gear  but also because of  his speed.  He won the EVO Open race on his 1976 Suzuki RM 370 with Colin Davidson on a 1980 Maico 440 in 3rd position.  The EVO 250 race saw Ray Hutt (1979 Honda CR250) come in 3rd with Shane Snowden (Suzuki DR400) in 5th and Craig Ryder (1979 Honda CR250) in 19th.

The Link 125 class had Julie Managh on her Honda CR125RF in 5th place with partner Ian Conway 3rd in the Link 250 category on his Honda CR250RF.  Ian also took 3rd place in the Mr Vintage Midbore race with Ray Hutt and Shane Snowden in 4th and 6th place respectively.  Shane had a problem with a peg.  He hit one, but in revenge the peg dented his pipe then went up into the swing arm making Shane think the brakes had come on.

Keith Paterson was second in the Link Open on his 1985 Honda CR500 with Craig Ryder on a 1984 CR 500 in 10th place.  It was Keith’s first foray into the vintage MX scene and he thoroughly enjoyed it. “I failed miserably in the first race”, he says, "I was trying to ride an old bike in a modern style.  It's a different sport. I had to change – the others were all sitting down. It was a bit tricky but I got into the swing of things.  Had a good battle with Josh Coppin’s old mechanic. I’ll definitely be doing it again.  It’s a fun group of older people".  "I think you have to be at least as old as your bike,” he adds.    

Keith gained a 2nd place as well in the Mr Vintage Open ahead of Peter Ploen in 4th and Craig Ryder in 5th.  Craig also had a famous (or perhaps infamous) moment on the day.  His wife Jeggs says "Craig was the only one who came "a croppa" crashing in front of the spectators, with both pants and undies being pulled down to his knees ha ha ha, he didn't realise that he had broken his little finger until after he'd pulled his pants up, ha ha".   Neil Ritchie joyfully announced that “Craig Ryder has been literally caught with his pants down!!!”.

Round 2 of the VMX will be in Taupo on December 5th and there will also be a VMX section at Summercross. Keith Paterson is even contemplating riding his old bike in the main event there as well.

Full results are on the website  www.vmx.livewire.gen.nz . Thanks to Jeggs Ryder for the photos..

 
  • Keith #56  Ian # 15  » Click to zoom ->

    Keith #56 Ian # 15

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  •   » Click to zoom ->
  • Shane #72  Julie #115  » Click to zoom ->

    Shane #72 Julie #115

  • Craig Ryder  » Click to zoom ->

    Craig Ryder

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  • Ian Conway  » Click to zoom ->

    Ian Conway

  • Keith #56 Craig #27  » Click to zoom ->

    Keith #56 Craig #27

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