Unadilla AHRMA Pre-entry list is up

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I knew this event would be a better draw . 226 vintage entries and over 200 for post-vin . Guy Cooper and Trampas Parker are racing along with a bunch of regular expert heavies . Some classes have 20+ entries . Sure wish I was going . Too bad the other events are having such low attendance .
 
I had my mind made up on doing this race. The track is only about an hour from my sisters house I believe.

But! I've worked 13 of the last 15 Saturdays and 6 full weekends, many 12hr weekdays and in what spare time that I could squeeze in I got my 98 CR250 back together, and restarted on our 84 CR250 (Pit's old project) so the boy could race at Mid-Ohio. And blew head gasket on my car, which I hope to begin putting back together this weekend.

I realized that if I went, there is no way I would have any bikes ready for Athens AHRMA or Vintage Days.

Hate to miss it, and I'm sure you guys will have a blast and good luck.
 
You guys notice that AHRMA regular Jay Gref isn't listed? He's racing +45 this weekend at the Red Bud! I was surprised to run into him at a qualifier.
 
Jay looked good on a 4-stroke. He said his dad offered to buy him a new 2-stroke if he passed on the pig. He ended up with the pig.
 
Add me to the wish I was going (or even racing anywhere) list as with a good turn out & all that is going on there a great time would be had by all.

Oh well, always another season some day but that has been way too long for me after missing 3 years already.
 
I wonder if Henry will be throwing rocks at riders that beat Jay in the +45 class this weekend...... luckily there aren't too many rocks at Red Bud to pick up.
 
Inside joke for those that were at Smith Rd's one time AHRMA race, and there was plenty of class shown that day! Just depends on what you define as class........ I guess. Maybe someone can fill you in on the whole story and you can have a laugh about it too!
 
I was there . Not laying blame or taking sides . Just didn't seem like a joking situation to me and was hoping the incident would be allowed to fade into bygones .
 
It would be showing Hi Class and Low Class depending on which side of the coin you are on and what you think happened in the racing. But a grown father of a +40 rider picking up a rock and throwing it at another rider that he felt wronged his son on the race track while riding is a comical site and certainly not on the "High Class" list of racing incidents that you want portrayed of our sport.

If you can't laugh at yourself and the situations that you find yourself in............ then you shouldn't laugh at anyone else. I always make jokes about everything, that's just the way I am. And I have no hard feelings or ill will towards Jay or Henry Gref, but if you want to re hash it and make a comment like "Classy" towards me in this post when I was making a joke, I'll re iterate my side of the story and you can share your point of view too. Classy actions were shown on my part with the situation in my mind, and I feel the opposite is true of the Gref's and their actions, but that is my opinion and probably opposite of theirs.

In the +45 class this weekend, I hope Jay does well, but I'll be rooting for Dave Hand as my local guy that I want to see do very well and make the show. Of Course Sharc and Double D are in the Pitracer Posse and get all of our cheers and photo ops, but that is a tough class with only a few guys going to the show (5 I think from Regional) from the racing. Many Ohio guys running that class and I threw out a little inside joke for people that know the situation............. I guess I can't be funny on the Old Guys and Old Bikes forum. Oh Well.
 
Rocket-

Hope you still had a helmet & chest protector on when the rocks were flying!!!
Sounds like following a 500 2 stroke around in the old days.

Sure this was a rare incident for all & the Gref's always seemed like decent people but tempers can flare sometimes.

Good luck to all at at NY & LL's qualifiers.
 
Rehashing the incident is what I didn't want to happen and I guess that is why the joke sort of rubbed me the wrong way . I don't think the Grefs ( whom I only know from encounters at the races ) get on PitRacer ( yes , their choice ) and it seems like it was at their expense . Thus my comment as they have no opportunity laugh , rebut , or defend themselves .

In my opinion you did show class that day when I saw you pull over to see if Jay was OK . Some things said in the pits and later on this site didn't seem to take the same high road ( again IMO )

The pass , which is the root of all this , is debatable of course . Believe it or not , I still hear it mentioned on occasion ( No , not by me ) , what is now years later . I've been to quite a few AHRMA races and have seen some great competition , especially in the Expert classes between even World and National ex-champions and competitors . By what seems to be an unwritten AHRMA standard , the pass has been deemed too aggresive by those who have mentioned it . I know you haven't raced many AHRMA events . Also that you are a true competitive racer with many accomplishments to your credit . What is no big deal in AMA , CRA , etc. can be considered over the top in AHRMA . There are a lot of bunged up , fragile old men racing rare , fragile old machines . They frown on what they consider rough riding even among the " young bucks " of vintage racing . The " incident " may have had more import than you realize .

The Grefs are both respected competitors in AHRMA . From what I know , Henry grew up in Czechoslovakia and actually worked for CZ ; different culture , different time . I heard that he picked up a rock and now that a rock was thrown , but personally saw neither ( was standing at the finish line , fairly close ) . I would not support such an action nor defend it . As Mark said , emotions can run high and tempers can flare . It had been great racing until that point . No matter the outcome or opinions of what happened , I would prefer that it fade away .
 
Wow, throwing a rock is not good. But I am gonna defend Jay and Henry. I have known both of them for a long long time. Both are great guys that would help anyone out at the races. We all have had moments at the race track perhaps we wish had not happened, but did. Rather than throw a rock though, it would have been a little better if Jay just took Rocket out in the next moto, turn about is fair play. Henry was actually going overseas for some big Vintage race just a while back sometime. The guy is a racer, pushing almost 70 and still going at it.
 
As I stated before, I have no hard feelings about the racing that day or what happened. There was a protest filed by the Grefs and the referee for the event interviewed many people before coming to me and getting my story of what happened. I told my side to the referee and he said that my story matched the fans stories that had a clear view of the action and that the protest would be denied.

Did Jay ever come and say good race? Did he even come to the awards ceremony? Did they pack up and leave without talking to anyone after the protest was denied? Did Henry stand in my face and lecture me about racing while I was on the line for my next class? Did he apologize for throwing a rock at another racer?

Anyway, whether I am on a new bike or old one, if I sign up to race, then that's what I'm there to do and I'm on a bike that is almost irreplaceable in that Husky only brought 200 of the 1983 510 4 strokes into the USA and I have 1 in the Ultima class. I get not wanting to bang up your priceless 1957 BSA that there are 2 left in existence but we are talking about a 1983 Honda Cr 480 here which there are a lot of out there...

In my opinion it was a racing incident and Jay got the short end of going down when his back wheel skipped out left into my line, when he went down I immediately stopped right there and asked if he was OK to which I got a bunch of cuss word responses. I stopped again after the finish line and waited to apologize and talk to him about what happened but he wouldn't stop and acknowledge me at all. The I went right to the line for my next class and got a nice long lecture about how "we" race in AHRMA from Henry without so much as any harsh word from me while he droned on and on (you know respect your elders kind of thing). But I guess none of that shows any class to the normally nice guy regulars who deem me as too aggressive a rider for old bike racing! Not to worry, I have no plans to race old bikes much anytime soon so you don't have to worry about me upsetting the system any more than I already have. And I still think it's funny that a 70 year old dad threw a rock at someone who he thought screwed his kid up (and it wasn't me he threw it at it was the lapped in front of us who Henry thought caused jay to fall) which makes it even funnier if you think about it. Imagine if your the guy who is almost getting lapped and then an older man is charging at you with arm raised with a big rock to throw at you and you have no idea why!!!! That guy posted on here that he ducked out of the way of the rock and was thinking WTF is going on here? That's funny stuff in my book!

For those that personally know Henry and Jay, you can tell them I think it makes for a great racing story that's funny and it doesn't bother me at all. No hard feelings here. Seems to bother others more than it did the participants!
 
Rubbing is racing ! Besides it was it was a slow corner anyway....know I have done my fair share of rubbing elbows over the years & occasionally someone tips over...been about equally a tipper & tipped back! Expert class & the front of Intermidate are going to be a little more agressive anyway as the race is on!!!

Back in the early 80's Fred Guidi & I would always t-bone each other in a hair pin at the bottom of the power hill at Pymarid Valley and still joke about it today! He did land on the back of my bike on the first lap of practice one day in 1980 & I was like wtf as as we had just got on the track....paid him back with a big mud hole a few weeks later!

Just don't like people who bang on jumps or whoops as people get seriously hurt there.
 
The fact that a single pass from 2009 is still talked about today just shows how effed up ahrma racing is......if people don't want to race then just make it a parade.

The bias in judgement with the rules is what I could never get over with the whole ahrma scene. Robin races ONE race and they tell him he's a black striper, but the person that BEAT him in both motos in one class gets to stay in intermediate.....my second race I jump a couple easy table tops at Tomahawk and they tell me I need to move up, yet they don't say anything to the riders that BEAT me that day. How is that fair?

The entire skill level scale in ahrma is complete BS. 90% of the riders there should be racing novice, but because they want to pretend they are intermediates - anyone that can actually get the tires off the ground is labeled as a black striper. They should get rid of all the skill levels and change the classes to "racer" class and "sport" class. A/B riders go in "Racer" and novices and people that just want to enjoy the ride go in the "sport" class.
 
PitRacer said:
Robin races ONE race and they tell him he's a black striper, but the person that BEAT him in both motos in one class gets to stay in intermediate.....my second race I jump a couple easy table tops at Tomahawk and they tell me I need to move up, yet they don't say anything to the riders that BEAT me that day. How is that fair?
Click to expand...

What is their official response when you respond with a logical/sensible answer to this "move-up" suggestion?
 
NQ1965 said:
What is their official response when you respond with a logical/sensible answer to this "move-up" suggestion?
Click to expand...

I know what it was for me, "that's the decision". Curious that in my case it was after
the two-day "qualifier" in southern OH where I made the mistake of pushing extra hard
to beat my buddy Steve. When I won intermediate class in that x-country, suddenly
the powers that be moved me up in MX. Typical AHRMA transparency.

On Henry Gref, a good friend had me call him long before I ever ran AHRMA anything.
My buddy warned me about his demeanor and how he can come across. But that
friend loves Henry, as I do. He's a classic. And yes, he was a CZ factory rider.
 
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