(Originally appeared in
Motorcyclist magazine)
At high-noon, event organizer John Parker tried to make clear the need to play nice and stay on schedule to the gathered riders. Twice a year, Parker—along with promoter Daniel Schoenewald and Ventura
Raceway’s Jim Naylor—has his hands full with 200 riders, 1500 spectators and a
10:00 p.m. curfew. It’s like a rattlesnake roundup, only less predictable.
There hasn’t been much dirt-track racing
in Southern California since the demise of Ascot Park in 1990, but recently there
has been a resurgence. Gene Romero’s traveling West Coast Flat Track Series
gives the Pros a place to race, while Southern California Flat Track
Association events at Perris Raceway and a four-race Saturday-afternoon series
at Costa Mesa Speedway cater to amateurs. However, the Ventura races—billed as
an “Ascot Reunion”—aren’t affiliated with any of those, run as an old-fashioned
“outlaw” event.
Madera, California’s Brandon
Rothell doesn’t care about any of that. He’s a third-generation racer on his
first bike: a 2006 Suzuki RM85 prepped by his pop, Rocky. The 12-year-old has only
been riding for two years, but advanced to Expert in just a year and a half.
Chowchilla is the pair’s home track, but they travel all over hunting rabbits.
“You don’t learn anything being
the rabbit,” explains Rocky, which is why his boy spends his time following
more experienced racers on larger bikes. You can find him full-throttle,
playing the fox, on the inside. “They don’t mind him out there at all. He’s in
complete control of that bike and is a safe rider. That Suzuki is so clean
because he never crashes.” And because Rocky is all eyes and ears to any advice
given, sponsors line up down those spotless fenders. With so much bike control
on display, it’s surprising to hear that Brandon has never even ridden trails.
Go-karting was his childhood passion and his only seat time has been on the racetrack.
Until he wins factory support, he practices sliding his bicycle around a small
bullring in his backyard, carpet taped to the bottom of his left sneaker.
Despite old tires (“Saving them for next weekend”), #4 wins the Junior class
and places second in 250cc Amateur Modern.
Having a second bike is a dream
for some but a pain in the ass for others. The Hooligan Class rides their
machines to the track, removes their kickstands and leans them against giant
palm trees—natural shade from which to watch the other racers scrambling around
with tools, measuring pre-mix, changing tires and wrestling themselves into
tight leathers. Yeah, it’s a great show, but sure looks like a lot of work. Hell, who needs
bar-risers when you have ape-hangers? First or last doesn’t matter when all you really care about is parading your vintage iron around a dirt oval at
a brisk but modest pace.
Hooligans of a different variety
include Speedway stars, thrill-seeking motocrossers and hybrid supermotards.
Masters of bull rings, big air and brake slides, these dirt-track novices
bounce around the Ventura oval like Henry Rollins in a mosh pit. The varied
surface proves hard to diagnose: “Too muddy…too dry…too much
grip…not enough grip. Did you see me brush the wall?” Bystander and roadracing legend
John Kocinski suggests tighter suspension to Cycle World magazine's Mark Cernicky and it appears to help.
Blindly through the muddy roost of leaders, they ride with reckless abandon and
colorful body language, Visor and goggle tear-offs a welcome blessing.
And then there are those with
seemingly unlimited resources to take their passion to the limit. It's really hard to call
these men “Outlaws.” Enjoying all the
luxuries real sponsorship provides, they rumble through the dusty pits hauling
large trailers full of generators, EZ-Ups, multi-drawered tool-chests and
second, third and fourth bikes. Elite? Perhaps. But this is their calling and
they live to express it.
“We are living up to what a
fairgrounds should be,” Ventura Raceway’s Jim Naylor told the L.A. Times
in 2002. “This is not about dollars and
cents. This is Americana.” The City Council was looking at other, quieter,
options for the property despite the raceway’s historical importance. Six years
later, the tax board would still prefer something that looks better in travel brochures. Okay, but someone tell me what’s prettier than roaring motorcycles gliding around a slippery dirt oval.
Call (714) 403-3581 or email keithterrillmay@gmail.com
