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Classic Racers

Salute a Classy Lady!

By Steve Caro

Photography by Kathryn Caro

Perris, CA  Sept. 10

 

 

The eighth round of the 2017 CALVMX/100 % vintage racing series rolled back into the historic venue of Perris Raceway on a warm and clear Sunday. To keep things interesting, the specially configured vet track was set-up to run in the reverse of the previous two rounds.

 

In addition to a full schedule of vintage and post vintage classes, the club bade farewell to a popular young racer who was a frequent entrant at CALVMX events over the past few years. Japanese native Sayaka Kaneshiro was making her final appearance prior to returning to Japan with her family. On a regular basis, the diminutive Kaneshiro absolutely dominated the Modern Expert/Pro support classes at CALVMX events. Her fluid style on her 250F Honda was a sight to behold. In her honor, a pre-race salute was held which saw Kaneshiro overwhelmed by the accolades as she clasped her hands and bowed to those in attendance.

 

On the day, it was great to see the return of Greg “Zeke” Landers who had been missing from the past several rounds of CALVMX events. Also making a rare appearance was a rider whose involvement with vintage racing dates back to the early 1990’s. Dwayne Scrivnor and his Husqvarna’s have been a staple in the Southern California vintage world for decades. Although now primarily a Grand Prix participant, Scrivnor periodically enters VMX events. On the day, he put together a 2-2 score in GP-1 250 Expert for second overall.

 

Three of the fastest racers in vintage racing headlined the Open Age Vintage Expert class at Perris. Greg Landers (CZ), Nick Lapaglia (CZ) and Ayrton Siega did not disappoint as they lapped the course with impressive speed in both motos. In their first race, Landers roared into the lead as the pack exited the starting straight, with Lapaglia and Siega right behind him. The roost was flying off their rear knobbies as the trio hammered the course with Landers leading the way. Lapaglia kept the pressure on Landers throughout the moto, with Siega never more than a bike length behind. All three racers showed no hesitation in launching their Czech built machines (never known as lite weights) high and far over the various jumps. By the white flag lap, Landers had extended his lead by a few bike lengths and held on for the moto victory, with Lapaglia and Siega rounding out the top three.

 

The second moto of the day saw Landers duplicate his holeshot of the first moto and he rapidly powered his way into a significant lead over Lapaglia and Siega. All three riders appeared to adapt to the recently watered course and its slippery mud filled corners. Landers quickly built up an insurmountable lead and flashed across the finish with a two-moto sweep followed by Lapaglia and Siega.

 

A mixture of European and Japanese machines populated the 60 Plus GP Intermediate class with examples of Maico, CZ, Husqvarna and Yamaha lined up at the starting gate. In the first moto, Tommy Luera (Yam) emerged with the lead following the start with Thomas Engelhardt (Yam) and CZ mounted Rickert Haag in third. Luera kept a steady pace going and powered his way to the moto win, followed by Engelhardt and Haag.

Engelhardt led the way at the start of moto two, with Luera and Maico mounted Don Hansing in third. Luera was riding on another level and quickly sped into the lead by the end of lap two. As the moto progressed, Rickert moved into third behind Engelhardt and Luera. Essentially unchallenged after lap two, Luera rolled to both the moto and overall victories.

 

Vintage Sportsman 250 Expert has been a fixture in vintage racing since the earliest days of the sport. At this event, Husqvarna mounted Ross Thompson and Bultaco rider Doc Alexander pushed their classic European mounts to their limits in their duel for first overall in the class. In their first moto, Alexander worked his way into the front spot and powered his classic Spanish mount to the moto win ahead of Thompson and Brent Wilkinson (Suz). The second moto saw Alexander an Thompson resume their battle for the overall win. It was a close battle throughout the moto and in the end, it was Thompson taking the checkers and clinching the overall victory, followed by Alexander and Wilkinson.

 

Other winners on the day included the guest of honor Sayaka Kaneshiro topping the Modern Support Pro and Modern Support Four-Stroke Pro classes in a show of blazing speed. Joining Kaneshiro in the winner’s column included Norm Himaka (Mai) in 60 Plus Vintage Intermediate, Lori Payne (Hon) in Women’s Open Expert, Ryan Davidson (CZ) in Open Age GP Intermediate and Mark Sandzimier (Suz) in GP2-125 Expert.

 

Round 9 of the 2017 CALVMX/100% series will be back at Perris on October 7th. Saturday, October 7 is the scheduled date. Several class championships are still undecided and riders of all skill levels with any era of bike are encouraged to participate. As with all CALVMX events, no membership is required to race.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further photos and race coverage can be found at:

Todayscyclecoverage.com

Next CALVMX Flat Track & Trials Event:

 

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