“SATURDAY AT THE GLEN” MOTOCROSS: PRESTON TILFORD, PETE MURRAY, AREK KRUK, VAL TAMIETTI & THE BUSHNELL BUNCH

Preston Tilford (491) blew everyone away in the Pro motos. Kent Reed asked Preston to break-in the suspension on his brand-new 2022-1/2 KTM 450SXF Factory Edition. Kent felt that a fast Pro could speed-up the suspension break-in process faster than he could,

PHOTOS BY DEBBI TAMIETTI

Most SoCal racers from the 1970s and 1980s, remember the famous “Saddleback Saturday” races run by Jim Beltnick. SMX held long motos, a quick program (so that the riders could get home and prep their bikes for Sunday’s AMC, CRC or CMC events). Although, Sunday has always been the traditional motocross day, Saddleback Saturday’s success convinced a lot of racetracks across the country to introduce Saturday racing. The draw was that it didn’t interfere with Sunday family life, church or visiting grandma. Most of all, it gave the hardcore racers a chance to race on both Saturday and Sunday. So it was no surprise when 35 years ago, REM’s Frank Thomason elected to hold races on Saturday’s instead of Sunday—first at Carlsbad Raceway and then at Glen Helen. By that time, Saddleback and Carlsbad were closed and the demand on race tracks increased three-fold when Indian Dunes joined the ranks of the big name tracks that were no more. It has never been easy to get a race on Glen Helen’s schedule—they are booked solid. By choosing to hold a race on Saturday, opportunities opened up for more races.

Brandon Sussman (286) swept both motos of the 250 Pro class.

When REM elected to fold its tent and fade into the sunset  in early 2022, there was a lot of concern about what would happened to Glen Helen’s now longstanding tradition of Saturday motocross. Although there were plenty of suitors to replace REM on Saturday, Glen Helen  didn’t want to just give it to anyone. They had a short list of candidates that they were thinking about, but in the end made the decision to run the “Saturday at the Glen” races themselves. It turned out to be a seamless transition because most of the previous REM workers (flaggers, scoregirls, sign-up personnel, track workers and starting line staff) agreed to stay on and smooth he transition to the new “Saturday at the Glen” motocross races.

Josh Kaller (115) might just be a tad close to running off the track on his way to a 2-2 day in the 250 class.

And Glen Helen sweetened the pot for their loyal Saturday racers, by lowering the gate fees from the previous $30 per bike to $10 per person. They also dropped the entry fee from REM’s $50 to $30 for riders who pre-entered ($40 for post entry). For a weekly Saturday racer that could add up to a $40 savings—made possible because Glen Helen managed the financial transactions at the front gate and the sign-up booth.

Travis Longfellow took the 250 Intermediate victory.

The racing hasn’t changed a bit because the riders are the same, the sign-up girls are the same, the guy prepping the track is the same and even the few teething problems that surfaced on week one, which were limited to the practice schedule, were fixed before the next race.

Tanner Longfellow went 4-2 for third in the 250 Intermediates.

As always there were lots of interesting riders at the Saturday races. They included 125 two-stroke hero Pasha Afshar, former Suzuki Amateur coordinator Cole Gress, 6D’s Bob Weber, Speedway racer Randy Skinner, O’Neal clothing founder Jim O’Neal,  DOC Racing’s David O’Connor, Arek Kruk, Rick Richards, AME’s Bob Rutten, Saddleback star Val Tamietti, Australian Dan Alamangos, 6D’s Robert Reisinger, ProRide’s Phil Cruz, MotoPhoto’s Rich Stuelke and ESR’s Ron Schuler. Plus, Luther French, Marc Crosby, Greg Groom, Dave Eropkin, Ed Guajardo and Luc De Ley. Sit back and enjoy Debbi Tamietti’s photo gallery of action shots. Enjoy!


Pete Murray was the Rider of the Day.

Pete Murray not only won both the Over-50 and Over-60 Experts classes, he did them back to back. In the Over-60 class Pete dueled with Ed Guajardo, Robert Reisinger, Fred Nichols, Dave Eropkin, Val Tamietti, Luc De Ley and Bob Rutten. Pete’s 1-1 was impressive, but he didn’t have time to take a bow as his Over-50 Expert class was already lined-up when he went under the checkered flag. With no rest, Pete had to face down Polish racer Arek Kruk (Arkadiusz Kruk to be accurate). Kruk  has been in the USA for a decade, but rose to fame when he led Team Poland to third place in the 2020 World Vet Championship World Cup.

On Saturdaay, Kruk would run down and pass Pete Murray late in the first moto to take the moto win ahead of Murray, Eddie Davis, Luther French, Bob Weber, Phil Dowell, Nick Waters and Pasha Afshar.

Could you guess that Arek Kruk (790) was a European rider by the way he dressed. It’s all common gear, but configured differently. A Polish racer, Kruk came very close to winning the Over-50 Expert class.

The second Over-50 Expert moto saw Pete Murray get to the line late after winning his second Over-60 Expert moto. On the start Luther French took the lead with Arek Kruk in second, Eddie Davis in third and Pete Murray in fourth. But Murray was on the move. He got Eddie Davis and Arek Kruk and then swept by Luther French to take the lead. On lap six Kruk passed Luther French to get to second. All of the top four poured it on, with Arek Kruk finally catching up to what was obviously a very tired Pete Murray on the last lap, but Pete had enough gas in his mental tank to win the moto and the Over-50- Experts with a 2-1 over Arek Kruk’s 1-2,. Luther French’s 4-3, Eddie Davis’ 4-4 and Bob Weber’s 5-5.

Dan Alamangos (42) and Cole Gress (19) used different lines and body positions to achieve the same results.

Other riders who were impressive at this week’s “Saturday at the Glen”motocross included Chad, Travis, Tanner and Kaleb Longfellow. Travis won the 250 Intermediates, Chad won the Over-40 Novice class, Tanner was third in the 250 Intermediates and Kaleb was fifth in the 250 Novices. Meanwhile, Tyler Nichols took the 450 Intermediate win, while his dad Fred was fourth in the Over-60 Experts.

Ed Guajardo (27) can and often does win the Over-60 Expert class, but not when Pete Murray shows up. Of course, the same thing happens to Pete when Kurt Nicoll shows up. Ed went 2-2 behind Murray, but got the satisfaction of beating archrival Robert Resinger’s 3-3.

Former Saddleback Pro Luc DeLey prefers to race 125cc two-strokes or 250 four-strokes in the Over-60 Expert class. That means that he starts in the back in a class dominated by 450s. But, he’s fun to watch.

This is the battle in the Over-60 Intermediate class for domination of the middle of the pack. Ray Poltack (223) ended up 12th, Marc Crosby (17) was 9th, Greg Groom (959) was 5th and Jim Hanson (83) was 11th.

Where’s the all-white helmet? Randy Skinner won the first moto of the Over-60 Intermediates, but cruised to 13th in moto two.

Arnie Davis (119) didn’t just want to just take Vetrano’s place, but he wanted his tires to run in the same track. Luckily for Pete (37), he flinched or his handlebars would have plowed a different track.

Ireland’s David O’Connor (30) went 3-3 in the Over-40 Intermediates..

Kent Reed figured that if having Preston Tilford race his new Factory Edition in the Pro class would soften the forks and frame before he chose to ride it, then having Jim O’Neal (491) race it in the Over-65 class class would break it in even faster.  

This is the real Kent Reed. He may have other riders breaking in his 2022-1/2 Factory Edition, but that’s only because he has a totally modified GasGas MC 450F that he prefers to race anyway. By the way Kent, the hidden pocket on your all-new O’Neal gear isn’t hidden if it has a tag announcing where it is (see inset).

Val Tamietti (31) puts pressure on Bob Rutten (83) in the Over-65 Expert class. The fought hard for the win (but with kid’s gloves because they are buddies). Bob won the first moto and Val won the second. They also double-classed it in the Over-60 Experts, where Val went 6-6 and Bob fell.

Ace photographer Debbi Tamietti hates it when riders dress in all black because it clumps up and makes the shadows disappear. So leave it to MXA test rider Randel Fout to strip her gears. Actually, the black and white gear looks good on a black and white Husqvarna FC250 Rockstar Edition—they just don’t photograph well.

Damian Collier (126) is the son of SoCal legend Sean Collier. Photo by Dan Alamangos

Craig Bouman (262) went 2-2 in the Over-40 Intermediates.

Christian Daly (123)won the 7-to-8 year old Pee-Wee class.

Stanley Cook (11) styled on his way to the 85cc class win.

Axell Middleton (135) needed dad to help him through the rough stuff. That’s what dads are for.

Henry Enyart (16) has the stare that all great racers develop to keep them focused on the job at hand.

MEET THE BUSHNELL BUNCH

Shawn Bushnell (804) brought the whole family out to “Saturday at the Glen.” Shawn won the Over-40 Expert class.

Alison Bushnell (13) swept both motos of the Over-40 Intermediate class against the men.

Jet Bushnell (31) was third in the 85 Beginner class, while his brother Bode (699) was fourth.

“Saturday at the Glen” motocross will be racing for the next two Saturdays in a row— May 9 and May 14. To pre-enter for any “Saturday at the Glen” Click Here to see the pre-entry sign-up system. Pre-entry is only $30, post entry is $40 on the day of the race. You can sign up for the next “Saturday at the Glen” motocross on as late as the Thursday before. For more info go to www.glenhelen.com.

 

You might also like

Comments are closed.