Tony Armada - R.I.P.

Tony Armada will be missed by many, me being one of the many.

I have been riding IOTMX now for about 12 years. When  I first started I used to watch some of the “OLD GUYS” race in the Super Geezer (+60 and  +70) classes. Tony Armada was just one of the guys I used to marvel at how he still wanted to get out and do battle with his friends on the track.

I used to watch Tony and always told myself I wanted to be like that and still go racing at his age.

One of the best things I can remember about Tony is that he always had some good stories to tell. They were not all about the races either, just stories of life. It was always a treat to go visit him on the weekends of racing when we were camping at the track. He would sit by the fire in his pit until late at night talking, laughing, well making me laugh anyway and just B.S.ing in general. I would laugh so hard sometimes that I remember my sides would hurt. I can remember more than once after spending hours laughing I would look at the clock and think holy smokes it is almost 11pm! Then I would look around and realize all the other Old-Timers had gone to bed.

His famous phrase to me was, “these kids now days are punks”,  they use guns now to get into fights. He used to tell me how when he was younger they got into fights but had some honor.  Maybe some ruffian would bring a knife or a chain but nobody ever brought guns to their fights. I was entertained but realized what an era and rough neighborhood Tony must have grown up in. They were little gangsters and hoodlums running around his neighborhood but they had some respect and honor in everything, including fighting with each other.

So I assumed Tony was still fighting and doing battle in his own way just as he did in his younger days, only now he did it on the track. His new ruffian buddies were all the other Old-Timers in his class and he liked it because they still had some honor  and respect in the way they choose to do battle.

Tony has moved on to a new battlefield and I am sure his new adversaries will soon learn from Tony how to compete against him with Honor and Respect.

Godspeed Tony and Thank You for being a part of my life,

#33

Sierra OT National

#33 Here,

I attended  the International Old-Timer Motocross race this weekend in Marysville, Calif. It was hosted and presented by the Sierra Chapter Club and sponsored by Dr.D racing.

With a  great weekend of weather, albeit a bit breezy during the two days of racing there was a good turnout of riders and spectators. There were several great races throughout the weekend that provided some of the best entertainment anyone could ask for at any level of racing.

The 50 novice class had one rider in particular, Dave Neitzel, who continues to improve his riding and racing progress by winning a few of his motos. Dave has shown significant improvement this past year by working on technique and it seems to bring new found speed to his game.

The 50 Master class looked to be the one to watch with several riders showing good speed, riding ability and fitness from 1^st through 6^th place.

Mark Kaestner has been the dominant rider in this class this year and looked to be unbeatable. He failed to show for this event and much like James Stewart not showing up at the starting line, it seemed to breathe new life into every rider on the gate.  During the 5 motos run over the weekend I believe I could have covered 2^nd  through 6^th place with a blanket during any of those races. It seemed that Mike Harper thought he should take Kaestner’s place this weekend and went a perfect 5 for 5 wins to rule the 50 Master and collect the 1^st  place plaque at the completion of the weekend.  He never got to cruise for long as Alex Jorgenson, John Volk, Ed Marchini, Robert Stone and the rest of the field made sure he earned his win. It was one of those races that when you go to watch the start you are not sure who is going to win with the talent being so deep and such a large group of riders that were each capable of winning should anyone slip up. It was a slugfest and aside from Mike Harper winning all 5 motos every rider swapped positions on the track and crossed the finish line in a different order each race with Alex Jorgenson riding a calculated weekend of racing to earn 2^nd overall.  John Volk did his best to break up Alex’s plans and did well enough to secure the 3^rd place spot.

The 40 Master being the premier class showed the same kind of depth the 50 Master’s brought. It appeared that Dave Coupe’  was all set to imitate Mike Harper’s streak but after winning 2 motos he apparently ran into mechanical problems. That left the door open for the rest of the field and everyone wanted it. It was another great race to watch with Don Rohmann, Kevin Williams and Tim Tynan and the rest of the field.

With Coupe’ out after the 2^nd moto the racing took on a bar room brawl type of atmosphere. Everyone thought they were next in line to win and it was apparent with a different rider winning every moto from there on out. In the end the most consistent and overall went to Don Rohmann on his 450 Honda with Kevin Williams following him by the slimmest of margins to finish 2^nd overall and Tim Tynan using 2 different brands of motorcycles to come home in 3^rd place.

The final a probably least coveted award, The “Grand Geezer” plaque that is awarded to the rider that pulls the best bonehead move of the weekend went to +60 Master rider Larry “Hurricane” Hartnett.

Larry  filled his tank with just enough fuel in the gas tank so as to not carry the extra weight during his race. Apparently Larry’s new bike used just a little more gas than the old bike and he made it to within half a lap of the finish and ran out of gas! He was seen pushing his bike behind all the vehicles parked in the pits, presumably so he wouldn’t attract any attention.

One of the Geezer spies spotted him and immediately nominated him for the Grand Geezer plaque award for the weekend.

Till next time, ride really fast and jump really high!

#33