North American WarHorse, Dunmore PA -
Round #3
November 12-13, 2005
story & photos
by: Ryan Verrastro
Dunmore, PA (11/13/2005) - With the
sun shining and the race fuel fuming, the stage
was set for round three of the Atlantic Grand
Prix series hosted by North American Warhorse.
This is a brand new series, which is dedicated
to several forms of ATV recreation. Many of the
events are two day events which incorporate dealer
demos and/or ATV safety training courses on Saturday
followed by a Cross Country Race on Sunday. All
the series events are located within a three hour
drive of the large metropolitan areas New York
City and Philadelphia, so far the series has held
two one day events with a cross country race event
held in Eagleswood, NJ followed by trial ride/dealer
demo event two weeks ago right here in Dunmore,
PA.
|
|
|
Pennsylvania
Mountain Top View |
These Trial riding occasions are part of Dale Freitas’
(the director of the series) creative formula to schedule
and book venues that otherwise wouldn’t be interested
in hosting a race event. Dale, a long time patron
of off-road motor sports, has been riding for the
past 35 years, and has been involved in promoting
events for the past 20 years including three GNCC
races held in New Jersey several years ago. Dale told
me that if he were to approach landowners and said
he wanted to put on races he would never get the land.
Then after visiting local dealerships, he noticed
that the majority of the floor space was occupied
by recreation and utility quads with the minority
of the space going to sport quads, and that got him
thinking. What if “We” were to lead off
with ATV safety training and responsible ATV recreation
and then timed cross-country events? This is how Dale
proposes ideas to state governments and local municipalities
to gain access to land, and so far it’s working.
He said, “There are clubs out there, but for
a club to go out and organize an event with insurance
and everything is really a monumental task”.
What was needed is an organization with political
contacts, experience with putting on races and a type
of professionalism excepted to be found with a national
race organization, and that is exactly what Dale hopes
to offer everyone.
Mark Allison and his Bombardiers were out on Sunday
in full effect. Mark, the District Sales Manager of
the Northeast Region for Bombardier, supplied the
officials, and even this photojournalist, with more
than enough power and capability to move about the
track. Thanks Mark! Bombardier is one of the many
carrying sponsors for the new series and in the future
look for his trailer with the new Visco-Lok demonstration
stand.
|
|
|
(left
to Right) Dale Freitas - AGP Series Promoter
& Mark Allison - Bombardier's Sales Manager
|
The track was composed of a 10 mile course snaking
between tight trees, sloshing through mud pits and
scaling atop a mountain of exposed slabs of rock (which
provided the nicest scenery this reporter has ever
seen from a track). The start was an interesting one
with a 50-yard wheelie-fest through the rear parking
lot of the adjacent dealership then a slight uphill
that bends to a downhill s-turn than back up and into
the woods. This region of Pennsylvania is known for
its rocks and black dirt (culm deposits from old mining
operations that once populated the area), which proved
to very demanding on both rider and machine. Some
riders I talked to didn’t know what to expect
from the dense woods and anthracite alleyways. This
unfamiliarity showed its presence with bikes being
towed back to the pits throughout the race. Dale said
“We’re not in the business of destroying
peoples’ equipment…the next event will
have less rocks if possible and wider passing areas”.
Maybe in the future racers will harness one of the
unique opportunities offered by this series in being
able to preview the course on one of the trial rides
held at all the events before the actual race. Although
Dale promises the set-up for the trail course will
differ from that of the harescramble, it will still
help you gain an understanding of what you’ll
be up against.
|
|
|
|
|
The
Mud Section brought many machines to a halt
which required some team work for many to get
through it |
|
Sean
Neidlinger negotiates his way down one of the
creek sections which cleaned off some of the
mud. |
The racing format was very similar to GNCC series
with a youth and morning race followed by the afternoon
Race. The youth race concluded with Daulton Dernoski
taking the checkered flag in 8-14 90cc production
class. Dave Berry, Jason Fay, Stephanie Verkade, Timothy
McAndrew, Chad Kline, Pete Armellino, Jason Pritchard
and Kevin Crawn all add up to the morning race’s
top finishers for their classes.
On to the afternoon race with the start of the Pro/Pro
Am classes. As the flag dropped, it was Tyler Lenig
who grabbed the Holeshot. Tyler held on to the position
until the second lap until he found himself stuck
in the mud, which allowed Chris Borich to make the
easy pass for the lead. Borich stayed in first all
the way up to and through the finish line. Steve Stracka
came home with the number one plaque in the Pro-Am
class after loosing his silencer for the second race
in a row.
|
|
|
|
|
GNCC
4 Stroke A Racer, Cory Vickerd made the trip
down from New York to try out the Atlantic Grand
Prix |
|
Barcode
scoring system is utilized for the series with
a transponder system in the work for 2006 |
The Open A start had John Cunningham Jr. launching
off the line with a sideways Holeshot through the gravel
littered pavement, but he then dropped two places and
wound up with third for the day leaving John Cunningham
to take win. Ben Rollison grabbed the top finish in
Open B. 4 Stroke B was the line-up that offered the
most action at their start with Dean Forney and Justin
Kosmer jumping off the line together and staying side
by side up until the bottleneck at the first turn where
they were both passed by Joseph Papa who held on and
came out on top at the end of the race. In the Vet class
it was Douglas Moore who lead at the start followed
by David Bishop with his two-wheeled dash down the starting
grid, Douglas did not relinquish his position and finished
in first. And last but not least, Ron Mann’s overall
first in the Senior class wraps up the afternoon coverage.
|
|
|
Chris
Borich broke his Rear Shock Clevis in the first
lap from hitting one of the many rocks on the
course. |
After the race I had a chance to speak with Chris
Borich who, by the way, broke his rear shock linkage
clevis on the first lap and was still able to pilot
his machine through the rest of the race in first
position. He told me that he liked the “hardcore”
woods track and would definitely attend future events.
So far there are two more events scheduled for year
with the next race right back here at North American
Warhorse for Round #4 scheduled for the December 3-4th
followed by the final round of year in South/Central
New Jersey on December 17-18th
Just like everything in life, the series is experiencing
some growing pains. Turn-out for the North American
Warhorse harescramble was low due to the ripeness
of the series, but I’m sure that will fix itself
as the word of the new series is spread and more riders
come out and taste what the Atlantic Grand Prix has
to offer. There was a concern amongst the riders about
the amount of track hands available on the course
for assistance. Officials told me they were out there
(and I did see them), but with a 10-mile track there
is only so many bodies to go around. Some people did
need assistance and were taken care of and towed to
the pits in a timely manner. There seemed to be good
communication between the pits and the track, and
I am told to look for more officials, including EMTs
from local firehouses, to be blanketing the course
at the next event. This time the race did not payout
to the pro-am class, but will be fixed next time around.
For the rest of this season the electronic barcode
system you are all familiar with will be used for
keeping time. In 2006 they are hoping to use transponders;
however that effort is being hampered by interference
caused by helmets with metallic coatings, a small
hurdle that will need to be ironed-out before implementation.
The Atlantic Grand Prix series is one that is committed
to the riders. They offer events that everyone in
the family can participate. Next year’s venues
that feature trial riding events will also host ATV
safety training seminars. If an individual purchases
an ATV, they will then receive a one hundred dollar
coupon towards the training. All of the Races on the
series roster are both AMA and ATVA sanctioned events,
so start minding your points. 14 events are scheduled
for 2006 covering New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New
York. This is a professional and determined organization
that, when it reaches maturation, is positioned to
arrive amongst the ranks of other National Series.
Any riders in the NY, PA, and NJ area and beyond that
are looking to get involved with a series that has
fresh ideas, rider-oriented priorities and diversity
of terrain offerings should check out the Atlantic
Grand Prix series.
www.atlanticgrandprix.com
26 Brentwood Drive
Burlington, New Jersey 08016
609-217-8494
