2010RACE2

Perris Raceway
CALVMX/AHRMA SoCal Regional Series, Round #2

BURNWORTH DOMINATES WATER LOGGED PERRIS
By Steve Caro
Photography by Kathryn Caro
Perris, CA. Feb. 28

Torrential rains less than 24 hours before the start of round two of the 2010 CALVMX/AHRMA regional series had everyone involved on edge. Fortunately,
Mother Nature relented and the skies began to clear a few hours before the gates at Perris Raceway opened.
It took frantic action by two bulldozers to return the flooded course back to useful condition. Riders were warned to be extra cautious in practice and during
the first few motos as the track still had several slick areas. Although numerous inevitable ruts formed on the course, the track remained “vintage friendly”
throughout the day.

Over 200 entries were recorded on the day. What made this event unique was the turnout of machines that are rarely seen on the track. Two of these were
from extremely different eras of the sport. Don Watts brought out an early 1960’s Greeves that was in immaculate condition. His only variances from stock
were a 21” front wheel to aide tire selection and a hand made expansion chamber in place of the original “Blooey pipe”. For those unfamiliar with this type
of pipe, it dates to the pre-expansion chamber era for two-strokes and resulted in noise levels not unlike the high decibel sounds created by “modern” four-
stroke machines.

The second unique machine seen on the course was an ultra-rare Cannondale ridden by Gabrielli Romain. Despite the reputations this ill-fated machine
garnered from the industry during its short life, Romain had no problems in taking the overall victory in the four-stroke modern support class.
Former factory rider Scott Burnworth continued to prove he can make any machine with two wheels and a motor go very fast. Honda mounted Burnworth
dominated the Open Age GP Expert division with two wins over the strong challenges of Loren Dimond (Hon) and Bryan Paquette (Yam). Moto one saw
Paquette taking the lead as the pack exited the rutted first turn. On his fender was Burnworth, followed by Sterlyn Rigsby (Yam). Two turns later, Burnworth
timed his pass perfectly and powered into the lead. Behind him, Paquette and Dimond sparred for second. A see-saw battle ensued between Paquette and
Dimond for the remainder of the moto. Throughout the majority of the moto, the two were seldom more than a few bike lengths apart. At the checkers,
Burnworth took the moto victory with a large lead, while Paquette withstood Dimond’s challenge to take second, with Dimond in third.

The start of moto two saw Paquette and Dimond time the gate perfectly and they exited turn one virtually side-by-side. Less than a bike length behind was
Burnworth. Paquette was setting a torrid pace as the three front runners sped into the back half of the course. The front running trio was sailing far over the
numerous jumps on the course. Approaching a downhill turn, Burnworth set up his move perfectly and executed a text book perfect pass on Dimond and
Paquette. The roost from his rear knobby could be seen from the far side of the track and showed he was on-the-gas.
Burnworth proceeded to pull away from the pack as the moto progressed. Behind him, Mark Sandzimmer (Hon) began to challenge Paquette and Dimond
for a podium spot. Lap three saw Dimond in second with Sandzimmer taking over third on lap four. At the checkers, Burnworth clinched the overall, with
Dimond second and Paquette, with strong 2-4 finishes, in third overall.
In the Manufacturers Cup Challenge, Mike Salsman (Hus) powered his way to the overall win with two strong first place finishes. In the first moto, Salsman
took the lead on lap two over Randi Perkins (Hon) and Wendell Clark (Yam). Salsman clearly had no problems navigating the rain rutted course which
enabled him to establish an insurmountable lead. At the checkers, it was Salsman, followed by Perkins and Clark.
The second moto saw Salsman caught in traffic just after the start. Up front, it was Kevin Lewis (Bul) ahead of Perkins. Salsman powered through the pack
and zoomed into the lead late on lap two. Behind him, point’s leader Norm Himaka (Mai) took over second from Lewis. Salsman kept up his torrid pace and
put several bike lengths between the pack and him. Himaka maintained a steady pace to hold onto second, with Lewis just a few lengths behind in third.
The finish saw Salsman garnering first overall with Himaka and his 4-2 scores in second, followed by Perkins in third overall. Himaka added to his points
leading total in the season long duel for the Manufacturers Cup.
Round three will see the vintage/post vintage racers making their first appearance of the year at Barona Oaks Raceway on March 20. If the first two events
of the 2010 season are an indicator of things to come, this year will be a great one for the vintage racing movement in Southern California.