REM OCTOBERCROSS RACE REPORT: THE ONLY PLACE BUSIER THAN OCTOBERCROSS IS GRAND CENTRAL STATION

On Oct 18, 2020 Last updated Oct 18, 2020

Dennis Stapleton (84) and Kurt Nicoll (2) ran roughshod over the younger Pros. Dennis won the first Pro moto and Kurt won the second moto. They have the same birthday. Kurt will be 56 and Dennis will be 40 on November 15.

PHOTOS BY DEBBI TAMIETTI, DAN ALAMANGOS & JON ORTNER

Glen Helen is a crazy place to call home. It’s like Grand Central Station on the weekends. On the Saturday of the REM Octobercross event, there was a Lucas Oil Off-Road Truck Championship race taking up the south side of the park, while the Octobercross was on the North side. The East side, where the REM track sits, was being used as a practice track for the first half of the day and then there was a Hell On Wheels Hillclimb on one of the big hills on the back portion of the REM track in the afternoon.

The Pro riders casually begin filling up the starting gate. There isn’t a bad starting spot on the 40-man gate. The Octobercross was sponsored by STI tires.

Meanwhile, the Glen Helen Stadiumcross was being made ready to be turned into an AMA National Endurocross Championship course—which has its first of four National Endurocross events starting on Friday the 23. Spectators are allowed at the four events on the 23rd, 24th, 29th and 30th. You can purchase tickets online by Clicking Here. Of course, there will be an REM race on Saturday, October 24 on the REM track and a SocCal Vintage race on the National track.

What follows are the photos and results from selected classes at the 18th Annual REM Octobercross.

VET PRO CLASS RESULTS
1. Kurt Nicoll (KTM)…2-1
2. Jeff Loop (Yam)…3-2
3. Dana Dreier (Yam)…4-3

Kurt Nicoll (2) is an amazing 56-year-old racer. He still has Pro speed.

Braden O’Neal (123) is racing Kent Reed’s KTM 450SXF Factory Edition while Kent is laid up after neck surgery.

450 PRO RESULTS
1. Braden O’Neal (KTM)…2-1
2. Dylan Gaszak (KTM)…1-3
3. Todd Sibell (Kaw)…3-2

The Pro start was strange, they blasted off the line and within 100 feet the first group had opened a gap on the rest of the pack. This gap would work to Dennis Stapleton favor when he crashed in the Talladega first turn and would have been run over if not for the slow start of some of the Pros. You can see Dennis’ crash on the home page or a tease of the sequence below.

When Dennis gets up from this crash he will find out that his bike doesn’t need him.

250 PRO RESULTS
1. Fermin Ciccimara (KTM)…3-1
2. Max Lee (KTM)…2-2
3. Brian DeRuter (Kaw)…1-4

450 INTERMEDIATE RESULTS
1. Juan Obregozo (KTM)…2-1
2. Connor Steele (Hon)…1-3
3. Lauren Woods (KTM)…3-2

The first turn after the banked Talladega bowl turn is called Shoei Hill. It goes straight up to what looks like the top of the hill, but that is just the halfway point. It goes up even steeper on the second half.

125 INTERMEDIATE RESULTS
1. Noah Viney (TM)…2-1
2. Preston White (KTM)…1-3
3. Riley Ojeda (KTM)…3-2

OVER-50 ELITE RESULTS
1. Luther French (KTM)…1-1
2. Bill Sauro (Hus)…3-2
3. Alan Julien (Yam)…2-3

Dylan Gaszak went1-3 in the 450 Pro class to be edged out by Braden O’Neal’s 2-1 We don’t know exactly what Dylan is doing here, but he needs to stop it.

At the bottom of the Shoei uphill are four separate walled-off lines. It is designed to give the riders who are still packed together after Talladega a different line choices to avoid a log jam on the start. But, log jams still happen. Tony Amaradio (130) took the longer but higher speed outside line to pass these two riders.

OVER-50 EXPERT RESULTS
1. John Griffin (KTM)…1-1
2. Bob Weber (Hon)…2-2
3. Robert Kuhry (Hon)…4-4

OVER-50 INTERMEDIATE RESULTS
1. Greg Anderson (KTM)…1-1
2. Wayne Rhoden (JTM)…2-2
3. Jim Quaschnick (Yam)…3-3

Jeff Ward’s son Aryton was fourth in the 250 Pro class. He borrowed a KTM from Troy Lee’s son Max.

Troy Lee’s son Max went 2-2 in the 250 Pro class.

Kurt Samuleson’s 6-7 score earned him seventh overall in the Vet Pro class.

Brazilian Fermin Ciccimarra (18) is staying at Dennis Stapleton’s Stapo MX camp. The 20-year-old from Tandil, Brazil, won the 250 Pro class with a 3-1.

OVER-50 NOVICE RESULTS
1. Eric Barr (Yam)…1-1
2. Gabi Ebaiov (Yam)…3-2
3.Jame DeRidder (Yam)…2-3

Ed Guajardo won an Over-60 Expert class filled with World Vet top ten finishers. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Ed ran the epic Zaca Station track until it was closed last year.

OVER-60 EXPERT RESULTS
1. Ed Guajardo (Yam)…1-4
2. Pete Murray (Yam)…4-1
3. Robert Reisinger (Hus)…2-3The view from the top of the 22-story high Mt. Saint Helen is breath taking, but not as breath taking as the fast downhill that has to be taken at speed.

Pasha Afshar and daughter Chloe during the track walk. Pasha is paying the Pro Purse for the Over-30 125 Pro and Over-50 125 Pro classes at the upcoming World Vet Championship. Get that 125 out from behind your grandma’s Buick. Photo: Jon Ortner

Luther French won the Over-50 Elite class with a two-moto sweep. The Elite class is used to separate out the really, really fast Over-50 year old riders from the just really fast 50 year old Experts.

Jon Ortner (10) and Robert Kuhry (33) search for traction on this fast flat sweeper.

OVER-60 INTERMEDIATE RESULTS
1. Rob Collins (KTM)…1-2
2. Nick Wukmir (Yam)…3-2
3. Stephen Braseny (KTM)…2-3

OVER-60 NOVICE RESULTS
1. Todd Hammock (Hus)…1-1
2. Marcio Campos (KTM)…2-2
3. Bobby Hunt (Yam)…3-3

Australian Dan Alamangos (95) and former CMC and REM number one rider Val Tamietti dueled in both motos. Val race the Over-50 Experts and the Over-60 Experts, but finished in the same place regardless of which class he was in.

Dan’s buddies seemed really excited about how well he did in the second moto, Dan was confused because he was eighth. Photo: Jon Ortner

OVER-65 EXPERT RESULTS
1. Mic Rodgers (Hus)…2-1
2. John Fitz (Hon)…3-1
3. Doug Smith (KTM)…1-5

Gene Boere is the Caterpillar repairman of the stars and also the Octobercross Over-65 Intermediate winner. Photo: Jon Ortner

OVER-65 INTERMEDIATE RESULTS
1. Gee Boere (KTM)…1-1
2. Tony Parson (KTM)…3-2
3. Bil Seifert (KTM)…2-3

Pete Murray, the current Over-60 World Vet Champion, wanted to win the Octobercross Over-60 Expert class on a YZ125. He didn’t do it because of a bad start in the first moto, but he came back to win the second moto by a solid margin. His 4-1 was good enough for second overall.

Doug Frankos (710) was fourth in the Over-60 Experts, while Will Harper (7) was sixth.

D. R. Clements was back in action, but he may have gotten dressed in the dark as his jersey is from Fox and his pants are from FXR.

450 NOVICE RESULTS
1. Omn Naor (kaw)…1-2
2. Ben Lima (Kaw)…4-2
3. Danny MInney (Kaw)…3-3

250 NOVICE RESULTS
1. Caleb Adams…1-1
2. Lawson Dye (KTM)…2-2
3. Jaxk Carrigg (Kaw)…3-3

Bob Weber (6) and Robert Reisinger (95) are the powers that be at 6D Helmets. Isn’t it comforting to know what they do on their weekends when not designing helmets.

Mark Crosby (15) and Ron Collins (77) eyeball the sand section. The sand is really made up of decomposed granite that has tumbled down the river next to Glen Helen. It is not beach sand.