Minimoto Sx
MINIMOTO SX
RACE WATCH
Small wheels, big-league fun
JIMMY LEWIS
ALL THE ATTENTION WAS FOCUSED on the starting line, smack dab in the middle of the arena floor. The “Jumbotron” was flashing, the announcer was going nuts, but it was impossible to hear anything over the screams of the fans and the throaty Thumpers ready to rip. I was stuck on the second row of the packed starting grid. Race gas burned my eyes and nose. To my left were seven-time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath and 29 other lunatics-all on itty-bitty kiddy bikes, all decked out with thousands of dollars worth of modifications. Off to the right, a bunch of kids were hanging out of the stands, going nuts and signaling me to throw them my goggles. Before the race? No way! Some guy forced to start from the third row nudged up my leg as we waited for the starter to turn the 5-second board. I knocked my Two Brothers Racing Factory 50 (displacing somewhere around 120cc) up into first gear and watched for the gate to twitch. It dropped and the crowd went wild as the fast-moving blob of full-sized riders on 10-inch-wheeled bikes wedged into the first turn all elbows and knees.
What the hell was going on here? 1 was racing in the inaugural Parts Unlimited MiniMoto Supercross National held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas the day before the final round of the AMA Supercross series this past April. Playing to a packed house on a Friday night, MiniMoto is a cross between the tight neighborhood confines of the legendary Langtown Backyard Supercross and the high-stakes excitement of the U.S. Open of Supercross, with everyone riding four-stroke minibikes.
The stars were out in force. McGrath was joined by fellow former AMA SX/MX champs Jeff Stanton, Jeff Emig and Guy Cooper, plus multi-time AMA Arenacross titlist Buddy Antunez. Kenny “Cowboy” Bartram and Trevor Vines represented freestyle. Even SX announcer and FHM covergirl Jamie Little was in on it-and racing! Other celebrities were hanging around, too, some prohibited from riding due to “contractual obligations.” This was a pretty serious event. Seriously fun. that is! With no purse money, no start money and only a few trophies to be handed out, what was dragging all these top names out to race? “I’m just here having a good time,” proclaimed a smiling and relaxed Emig, who was riding in the Midsized Mod Pro class on a Kawasaki KLX110. “I think this event gives the average guy a chance to live a dream. They get to race against all the guys they see in a real Supercross-in the same environment, with spectators and everything. This has the Supercross feel.” No stranger to racing Honda XRlOOs around a tight track, I had planned to attend the event, but race? After a few telephone calls to scrounge up competi-
tive machinery, I was hooked up in all three Pro classes. For 50 Mod, Two Brothers Racing’s Joel Albrecht prepped a spare 10-inch-wheeled Honda XR50, though that number doesn’t reflect the engine’s true displacement. Kawasaki Media Relations Coordinator Greg Lasiewski had a very trick KLXllO pumped up to I30cc with KX65 suspension and wheels. He was looking for a competent rider to showcase the bike’s ability, and with all the headliners booked, I was able to fit right in Midsized Mod for bikes with 12and 14-inch wheels. Finally, I had my beat-buttrusty BBR TT-R125 that I always ride in Clutch Mod. which is for the big bikes of minibike racing. When the day began, no one was really sure of anything. After all, this was a first-time event. The track was tight by anyone’s standards, but we were racing minibikes so it fit them to a T. There were nearly 400 entries, with classes for everyone and everything from truly stock Honda CRF50s to girls racing any kind of minibike. Practice consisted of swarms of minis shuffling in and out of the stadium at 40-bike intervals. The pits were a hotbed of activity similar to Main Street in Daytona, right down to the chains,
piercings, leather, tattoos and skin-only the average age was at least 20 years younger. There was a vendor row, and tons of camera-toting journalists shooting all the trick stuff and grabbing interviews with riders. And yes, everybody was making a video! Qualifications were held during the day to narrow the field down for the evening’s main events. Each rider got two practice sessions and two opportunities to qualify for the night show. I was surprised to make it straight into the main of the packed 50cc Mod class. Finishing third in my heat on a bike I rarely ride was quite an experience-sort of like carrying a 15horsepower basketball between your legs while jumping through hula-hoops and dodging other guys trying to do the same thing. Thank God I only had to race that little monster one more time! I also finished third in my Midsized Mod heat, which netted me another main-event ride. At least I was more comfortable on that bike. Finally, I won my Clutch Mod qualifier, which I sort of expected. After all, I am the seven-time World Backyard Supercross Champion. Hey, who are you laughing at?!
Former champs like Einig and McGrath were allowed to ride in a special practice and got right into the mains.
They deserved the rock-star treatment. Not so the couple of also-ran Pros who tried to sneak in on the special-treatment clause. Spoiled-brat, ex-wannabe Supercross stars trying for a fleeting moment of fame on minibikes? Get a life! Lights, Camera, Action! The show was starting and the inside of the arena was pumping with energy. Riders flooded in and out of the stadium. Even the 50cc Stock-class guys got a minute up on the podium to thank their sponsors-“Al’s Lawnmower shop, the guy who straightens my shift lever and the guy who bumped the guy 1 ran over, allowing me to take the lead. Oh yeah, and Mom and Dad." The event really had a down-home feeling, while still showcasing just how huge customizing and racing these little bikes has become. If you counted the different companies sending riders to the line in the Pro classes, there had to be at least 20 guys on fully sponsored machines. My mains were less spectacular, performance-wise, than my qualifiers, but I had a great time. McGrath, AX frontrunner Tommy Hofmaster and Cooper, all of whom were racing as if it were a real Supercross, lapped me in the 50cc race. In the end, Hofmaster stole the win.
I was running third in the Midsized Mod race until I got “parked.” One of the things about minibikes is if you can’t get around them, you can always try to go through them. Here’s the way I look at it: If someone hits you hard enough to move you out of the way, you’re going too slow. So, after being “moved” back 15 positions and dodging all the bikes snaking around my downed ride, I “moved” my way back up to 10th. McGrath took the win, later apologizing to the fans for riding in his sneakers. It’s pretty common for 5()cc riders to wear regular shoes so they can shift more easily. I wear trials boots for the same reason. But Mac was so hyped up after the 50cc event, he forgot to go back to his truck to put on his boots!
Kicking back outside the arena waiting for the Clutch Mod main, McGrath commented, “ I can’t believe how serious some of these guys are.” Take a look in the mirror, buddy! The rumor mill had McGrath practicing exclusively on minis during the week leading up to the event. It showed!
After swapping his tennies for boots, McGrath proceeded to tear up the Clutch Mod class, too. My pathetic start left me to spend most of the race putting tire marks up the side of Bobby Langin Jr., son of Langtown owner Bob. I was cutting laps in this kid’s backyard when he was in diapers, and now he was holding me up from battling with McGrath and Stanton! With my moment of true minibike glory fading away, all I could do was put the kid into the haybales-just like I used to do to his dad! Okay, so I took my time and was nice to him, and
ventual1y finished just inside the top 10. That's it, right? Not quite. Just when I figured the event was over, that there couldn't possibly be another way to race minibikes, the Legends team race was announced. I was teamed with downhill mountain-bike racer Cohn Bailey and my former Dakar teammate and 1982 250cc MX World Champion Danny La Porte. It was a real madhouse race, with each member of the team on a different type of machine.
I placed pretty high in the single-moto shootout riding my BBR 150, as did Bailey on a KLX110. And LaPorte, who had never ridden a 50, wasn’t too far back. I did the math and figured we’d done pretty well, but scoring such a mess and having the results ready for an arena full of screaming fans is another thing altogether. Which is why I think the promoters made up the result. At least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Officially, Arenacross vets Chad Peterson, David Pingree and Denny took the victory. At least Mcdidn’t win again!
At the end of a long day, I’d had a great time, but I was through with minibikes for a while. Everyone else, however, was talking about next year. As if the scene could get any bigger! It will be hard to top this event, especially the part about completely filling the stands on a Friday night, which is somethat even the U.S. Open can’t do. Emig, a life-long minibike fan, summed up the event: “I have to correct myself. In the beginning, it was really fun-underpowered and under-suspended bikes, riding around in someone’s backyard with your buddies. But this," he said, looking across a starting line of 40 adult men on pumped-up 50s, “is out of control!” □
