TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: SATURDAY’S HEROES FROM THE LAST RACE OF 2014

ISDE Gold Medal winner and leader of the victorious Team USA at the Six Days in Argentina, Justin Jones slices through some loam on his way to the 450 Pro victory.

PHOTOS BY DEBBI TAMIETTI, DAN ALAMNAGO & ERNIE BECKER

It’s over! After 40 motocross races, which started back in January, the 2014 Glen Helen motocross race series is in the books. It was a year of great racing, constantly changing track designs, boiling hot weather and freezing cold temps (anything under 70 degrees is considered cold in SoCal) and weekly wars played out between friends and enemies.

The KTM factory has a lot of faith in young Mitchell Falk for the future. Falk, fresh off of an 85, has been spending time on a KTM 125SX two-stroke to prepare himself for big bikes. He won the 125 Intermediate Two-Stroke class, but had the speed to win the 250 Intermediates.

What is amazing is how many Saturday motocross racers  manage to race every REM race on the Glen Helen schedule. They do it through sickness, injury and family pressures. This is down home motocross — not a motor home convention-style amateur national, no minicycle parents with 12 bikes for Junior to race, no focus on who’s got what and no “four laps and a cloud of dust” motos. Instead, there are long motos, great organization, transponder scoring, a different track design every month, lots of famous old guys and a promoter who cares.

The 2015 series will start on January 10, 2015. Enjoy this week’s photos of the final race of 2024..

MXA’s Dan Alamangos (58), shown here chasing Dave Eropkin (811), didn’t see Luther French’s fallen bike in the second moto of the Over-50 Expert class. Dan hit it wide open and was catapaulted 50 feet up the track.  Dan’s X-rays showed a broken hand and cracked vertabra. Dave Eropkin (811) ended the day in third overall with a 4-3.

Chris Cole (45) just moved up to the Over-50 Expert class a few races ago and has shown amazing speed. Cole, who won his first-ever Expert race this weekend, even managed to hold off Over-50 Elite winner Pete Murray (7) for several laps.

The combined age of these two racers is 149 years. It boggles the mind that Lars Larsson (80) and Jody Weisel (192) could still be racing against each other 50 years after they first met on the field of battle. Lars has won the majority of their interpersonal battles, but they are rarely farther apart than this.

Val Tamietti was second in the Over-50 Expert class with a 3-2. Tamietti had been in contention for the Glen Helen number 1 plate since early in the season, but missed the top spot at the final round.

Randel Fout (57) is still recovering from the ankle he broke back in May. His leg is well enough to race, but he still needs to wear a larger boot on the left leg (Note the different Fox logos on the boots).

Mark Hall is a motorcycle industry insider. He has worked at the White Brothers, VP Racing Fuel, MTA, 6D Helmets and Pro Circuit. Mark races every weekend and went 7-6 for sixth in the Over-50 Experts this weekend.

You have to admire Rollie Rodriquez. He decided that he wanted to start racing again after 20 years off. But, the only bike he had was his old 1983 Maico. So, he showed up on it and went 15-13 in the Over-60 Expert class.

Jon Ortner (192), on Jody’s KTM 350SXF,  was been part of a giant MXA fork test for two last month of the year. At the final race of the year he raced his motos with different sets of forks each time, along with two other test riders. These are WP Factory Service forks.

Jerry Black and Bryan Friday (43) dueled in both motos of the Over-50 Experts. Black got the gold

Nothing can ever compare to a Full Floater, especially one that gets second in its class 33 years after it was built. Tim Hoole (40) can make that “Screaming Yellow Zonker” work.

By luck of the draw Dutchman Ralf Schmidt’s (73) two classes were back-to-back. He won the Vet Novices and the Over-40 Intermediates. Gary Renko (28) is behind the Dutch TM rider.

Swede Jonathan Magnusson won the 250 Intermediate class for an all-Sweden podium.

We don’t see a lot of Hungarian motocross racers in SoCal, so Imre Adamek (132) was a surprise.

Brian Martin (65) was the Over-60 Novice winner.

Speedway racer turned motocrosser Randy Skinner (383) and his two shadows. Later they all went out for dinner and a movie.

We are pretty sure that this isn’t how you do it, but Arnie Davis (2G) was able to cross rut himself to fourth overall in the Over-50 Expert class.

This may look wrong also, but actually this is how Australian Chris Alamangos rides all the time. At least at this moment he still has both hands in contact with his Husqvarna TC125 two-stroke. Chris’ all-or-nothing riding style is very entertaining and was good enough for a 4-4 in the Over-40 Intermediates.

Cole Thompson (133) won the 250 Novices for the umpteenth time and will be moving up after the first of the year, meanwhile Tristan Morts (314) took the 450 Novice victory over a top five of Brandon Reid, Daniel D’Agostino, Mark Taylor and Alex Witham.

The Scandanavian Army was back in force with Norwegian Per Sturla Waernes (863) finished between Swedes Anton Stahlberg (1-1) and Marcus Hansson (3-3) in the 250 Intermediate class. The first American was Tyler Murrie, from Wisconsin, in fourth.

You only need a passing grade in High School geometry to see what’s about to happen between John Roggero (222) and Norwegian Per Sturla Waernes (863) in the 250 Intermediate class.

Four-time 250 National Champion Gary Jones (1971-72-73-74) has never stopped racing and 40 years after his last AMA National Championship he’s still out railing berms. Will we see Ryan Villopoto in 2054.

Kendall Stanley (251) went 5-5 in the Over-40 Intermediates to cap off what has been an up-and-down year for the Kawasaki rider. He has won some and lost some.

Pasha Afshar (L7) gets to spend a moment in front of offroad, ISDT & Baja racer Paul Krause (835). Krause raced  a 125SX two-stroke to second overall in the Over-50 Elite class and won the 125cc two-stroke Adult class. Paul’s pie plate front number looks more like a section of wallpaper from his bathroom.

The final race of 2014 saw the return of Mike Monaghan (14) to racing. Mike broke his wrist in a spectacular crash that also broke Bryan Friday’s femur back in May. Friday, actually returned to action two months ago, but Monaghan’s wrist took a little longer.  Mike won both motos of the Over-50 Intermediates.

Ignoring the dark berm on the outside Robert Pocius (153) cuts into the drier rubble on the inside line. Pocius went 2-4 for third behind Monaghan’s 1-1 and Darren Cortines’ 3-2 in the Over-50 Intermediates.

Lonnie Paschal’s 1-6 relegated him to third overall in the Over-50 Novices behind Kenard Lipscomb’s 2-1 and Mike Hillion’s 3-4. Syd Woods (5-3) and Frank Villa (4-5) rounded out the top five.

Robbie Carpenter (132) is always a front runner in the Over-50 Intermediates, but went 10-10 in the final race of the year.

Cary Larock (65) swept both motos of the Over-40 Novice class in front of Jeff Bowles, Pete Vetrano and Gary Taylor.

Jim Latendresse (564) won the Over-60 Expert class for the second week in a row. For some unknown reason, the Over-60 class has exploded to become on the largest class on Saturday at Glen Helen.

AMG Mercedes sports car racer Ernie Becker (18) tries to sweep around Mark Hall. Or, is Mark Hall trying to get inside of Becker.

In the course of every moto, some riders are just hanging on, some are pacing themselves and some are flat out. Ron Shuler is the epitome of “Flat Out.”

AS A SIDEBAR, WE THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY OF THE RACERS SHOWN AT THE FINAL RACE OF 2014 ARE STILL RACING IN 2024 —IT IS AN AMAZING LIST.

Dan Alamangos, Pasha Afshar, Ernie Becker, Arnie Davis, Dave Eropkin, Bryan Friday, Luther French, Mark Hall, Tim Hoole, Gary Jones, Paul Krause, Jim Latendresse, Lars Larsson, Mike Monaghan, Pete Murray, Jon Ortner, Lonnie Paschal, Robert Pocius, Gary Renko, Rollie Rodriquez, Randy Skinner, Ron Schuler, Val Tamietti, Gary Taylor, Pete Vetrano and Jody Weisel.

Sadly, Randel Fout was killed in a crash at a cross-country Grand Prix event in February of 2024. We miss him.

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