Marty Tripes BIG 3 Two-Stroke MX
Round 1: Cahuilla Creek MX Park
Story and Photography by Tom Corley
Marty Tripes, after getting a handle on the whole process of motocross promoting, followed his instincts and leaped off the gate: It was time for the opening round of the BIG 3 Two-Stroke MX! Racers were thirsty for a taste of Cahuilla soil, and this race fulfilled that yearning. The stage was set for everyone to play a part in this series and take home cash and prizes and have fun!
Former factory racer Shaun Kalos, riding out of Litchfield Park, Arizona, applauded this event: “What a blast! For a first-time event, it was laid back, and even though it got a late start and motos had to be cut back, it ran very smoothly. It had a great atmosphere with all the older bikes and some of my heroes I saw and got to talk to from before my era of racing. I’m really glad I was there, won some races, and took home some cash to top it off, thanks to Marty and his sponsors.”
“I had a great day at the first round of the BIG 3!” CZ and Husky ace Nick LaPaglia exclaimed. “Showing up at the beautiful Cahuilla Creek MX is always bound to be a fun day. The track was better than ever and, in my opinion, the best track to race Vintage at. Good group of guys, always nice having a new race thrown in the mix from our usual routine.”
Enjoy the following presentation of this special event, and it is recommended viewing this on a laptop or large-screen PC. Here we go!
“The Marty Tripes race was awesome, a lot of old-school talent mixed with the up-and-coming youngsters,” Brent Wilkinson remarked. “The Cahuilla track has always been one of my favorites, and it did not disappoint – nice jumps and fast straights. Racing the YZ490 is always an interesting time, but it – for the most part – behaved, and I won my class!”
Mark Sandzimier competed in the Open Over 50 Intermediate and Early Modern 250cc Intermediate classes.
“I was excited to race at Cahuilla,” Sandzimier said. “It had been a couple of years since riding that track. The track was fun and challenging, as usual, and prepped well. I felt I finished well going against racers over half my age [in the Early Modern 250cc Intermediate class]. Tripes put on a fun event for all.”
“This was my first time at Cahuilla,” Shaun Hamer reported, “and I thoroughly enjoyed the track. I do have to admit it was pretty hard on the RM370 in order to try and keep up with the ’81 Maicos that populated the rest of my group. Attendance was spectacular, with what appeared to be every fast rider in the region turning out for the event on a variety of bikes and racing various classes. By Saturday night, the pits were already full, even before the Sunday morning race. The meeting got off to a late start, and with 17 races and two blocks [motos] of racing, it turned into a long day, but the organizers did a great job of expediting the racing and making the day flow well.”
“I had a lot of fun at Marty Tripes’ event and saw a lot of old friends,” reported Early Modern 125cc Expert racer Rich Truchinski. “In the first moto, I was able to keep it on two wheels and keep Burner [Scott Burnworth] in sight for most of the race. In the second moto, I got the start on Burner and led for about a quarter-lap. Then Burner got by on the inside. Don’t leave the inside open if Burner’s behind you. Then I missed a shift and went down in a corner and got back up and was able to finish. I haven’t been practicing and I only race, so my condition is not too good – but it’ll get better.”
Overall, it was Scott Burnworth taking the win, over Truchinski.
Burnworth also raced to the win in the Early Modern 250cc Expert contest, over Loren Dimond.
“There were no plans to race the Open class,” Shaun Kalos said, “but my friend was not feeling it in practice on this bike [a 1983 490 Maico] that day, so on the spur of the moment he asked if I wanted to ride it. He chose to ride his 100, so I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ I am so glad I rode this bike – smooth with good power, turns on a dime, don’t have to use the clutch, just twist the throttle and have fun… great bike! For an Open bike, it was easy to do cross-ups on. I never rode an Open-class Maico until this, and it is an all-around fun bike to ride.”
Kalos won the Post-Vintage Open Expert class, ahead of Clark Jones, who was also Maico mounted.
“The ’85 CR500 is my personal bike that I only ride once a year,” Kalos said. “The ’85 CR500 is arguably the fastest production bike made. You have to be smooth on your throttle, flow with the track, and respect the nature of the beast. The track was perfect, as it was fairly smooth, with the right amount of jumps and high-speed sections to really use this bike to its potential.”
Shaun went on to win the Early Modern Open Expert class, with Ryan Surratt topping the Mid Modern 250cc Expert three-man race.
“I rode an ’83 YZ100, thanks to Paul Johnstone,” Kalos explained about the above bike. “The track layout was perfect for older bikes – not too technical, just a fun, flowing track with sweeping corners, wall berms, and enough jumps to get some air time that weren’t too big… 100’s are so fun, as you just stay on the pipe 98 percent of the time.”
“The Big 3 opener was a huge success!” declared Brad Morrison. “Big turnout, big prizes, big fun! It was good to see all the racers and friends who I haven’t seen in a while. Great day of racing for me – two first places, in the Over 60 Expert classes. Can’t wait for the next Marty Tripes race at Glen Helen!”
“I was happy to get the overall in the 250cc Expert and 500cc Expert classes,” Nick LaPaglia confided. “It felt like I had the drive to take home the 100cc overall, but I foolishly missed the first gate.”
“Ended up taking home $800, which I was thrilled about,” concluded LaPaglia. “Looking forward to the next round, and I’m sending my friend Marty Tripes well wishes as he battles with his illnesses.”
Round Two of the Big 3 was canceled as our promoter and dear friend Marty Tripes had to go in for surgery.
Harley-Davidson Blues…
Alongside the highway with a handful of screws. Actually, it was a clutch that went out on the orange bike with 90,000 moto miles. Thanks to my friend Sabas Vasquez for picking up the bike and taking me back to Whittier so I could take another van and make it to this special race.
– Tom Corley
Cahuilla Creek MX Park
Anza, California
Results: September 21, 2019 (Round 1)
Race 1
VINTAGE 500 NOV: 1. Pauly Chambers; 2. Robert Anselmo; 3. Charles Finnegan; 4. Tim Vasquez; 5. Donald Dalby.
VINTAGE 500 INT: 1. Matt Howard; 2. Fred Wachter; 3. John Woolsey; 4. Gary Kortz; 5. Robert Finnegan.
Race 2
MODERN 125 NOV: 1. Noah Hartill; 2. Matt Bernabe; 3. Harlem Nelson.
MODERN 125 INT: 1. Kalob Klohe.
MODERN 250 INT: 1. Nick Conklin.
MID MODERN OPEN EX: 1. Ryan Surratt; 2. Dane Rouse; 3. Greg Landers.
LATE MODERN 125 EX: 1. Richard Taylor; 2. Michelle Horton.
Race 3
VINTAGE OPEN EX: 1. Nick LaPaglia; 2. Robbie Conklin; 3. Parker Jones; 4. Craig Bouman; 5. Aaron Fitzsimmons.
Race 4
POST-VINTAGE 125 INT: 1. Ben Eisen; 2. Marcus Crider.
POST-VINTAGE 250 NOV: 1. Kenny Redelsperger; 2. Bob Kelley.
POST-VINTAGE 250 INT: 1. Darrell Spilsbury; 2. Rick Price; 3. Matt Howard; 4. Patrick Vernola; 5. Nick Awtry.
POST-VINTAGE 500 NOV: 1. Tony Everhart; 2. Donald Dalby.
POST-VINTAGE 500 INT: 1. Trevor Cox; 2. Ron Ratigan; 3. Rickert Haag; 4. Mike Lillevig.
Race 5
65 (9-11): 1. Grant Schafer; 2. Ivan Green.
85 (4-11): 1. Jesse Ortiz.
85 (12-13): 1. Alvaro Ortiz; 2. Harlem Nelson.
Race 6
VINTAGE 125 NOV: 1. Dave Murphy; 2. Marty Eisen.
VINTAGE 125 INT: 1. Michelle Horton.
VINTAGE 250 NOV: 1. Jeff Apple.
VINTAGE 250 INT: 1. Shawn Awtry; 2. Mike Korgan; 3. Danny Gonzalez; 4. Ron Renzulli; 5. Marty Desbraw.
VINTAGE 250 EX: 1. Nick LaPaglia; 2. Micah Davis; 3. Charlie Richardson; 4. Jim Beachamp.
VINTAGE 125 EX: 1. Jim Stein.
Race 7
OPEN 40+ NOV: 1. Pauly Chambers; 2. Travis Fleming; 3. Jeremy Smith; 4. Dee Tryon.
OPEN 40+ INT: 1. Robert Kong; 2. Mike Diffenbongh; 3. Nick Luciano; 4. Jacob Schwartz.
OPEN 40+ EX: 1. Rob Wilson; 2. Craig Bouman.
Race 8
MT WERKS INT: 1. Mike Tripes; 2. Seth Duckett; 3. John Forsythe; 4. Mark McNulty; 5. Randy Okada.
MT WERKS EX: 1. Chris Heinrich; 2. Don Adams; 3. Nick LaPaglia; 4. Shaun Kalos; 5. Micah Davis.
Race 9
OPEN 50+ NOV: 1. Bob Morales; 2. Chuck Peterson; 3. Jeff Adair; 4. Tom Kapella; 5. Dee Tryon.
OPEN 50+ INT: 1. Robert Kong; 2. Eddie Jaramillo; 3. Mark Sandzimier; 4. Ray Zuchowski; 5. Darrell Sedig.
OPEN 50+ EX: 1. Loren Dimond.
Race 10
MODERN 250 NOV: 1. Kalob Klohe; 2. Anthony DeBenedetti; 3. Steve Bredemann.
OPEN 30+ NOV: 1. Chris Tedesco.
OPEN 30+ INT: 1. Trevor Cox; 2. Jeff Konicre; 3. Nick Awtry.
Race 11
SUPERMINI: 1. Noah Hartill; 2. Albaro Ortiz.
OPEN WOMEN: 1. Christi Duffy; 2. Angie Wright.
STOCK 100-140: 1. Ernie Barba; 2. Randy Okada; 3. Jim Stein; 4. Ted Cordova.
OPEN MINI MOD 140+: 1. Ray Hensley; 2. Michael Bierman; 3. Bob Seki; 4. Michelle Horton; 5. Ken Wilson.
Race 12
POST-VINTAGE OPEN EX: 1. Shaun Kalos; 2. Clark Jones; 3. Shaun Hamer; 4. Rex Staten; 5. Parker Jones.
POST-VINTAGE 250 EX: 1. Ben Meza; 2. Steve Ellis.
Race 13
EARLY MODERN 250 NOV: 1. Ted Cordova; 2. Greg Labranche; 3. Chris Weedon; 4. Jay Rouse; 5. Michael Lewis.
EARLY MODERN 250 INT: 1. Seth Duckett; 2. Keith Loonsfoot; 3. Aaron Fitzsimmons; 4. Mark Sandzimier; 5. Ray Zuchowski.
EARLY MODERN 500 NOV: 1. David Ogilvie; 2. Jeremy Smith.
EARLY MODERN 500 INT: 1. Brent Wilkinson.
Race 14
EARLY MODERN 125 NOV: 1. Jeff Hughes.
EARLY MODERN 125 INT: 1. Robert Kong; 2. Robert Donovan; 3. Jim Decker; 4. Jacob Schwartz; 5. Oleg Kourov.
EARLY MODERN 125 EX: 1. Scott Burnworth; 2. Rich Truchinski.
LATE MODERN 250 EX: 1. Richard Taylor; 2. Josh Mosiman; 3. Brent Rouse.
Race 15
OPEN 60+ NOV: 1. Brian Shaw; 2. Kenny Redelsperger; 3. Charles Finnegan; 4. Ake Hart; 5. Robert Anselmo.
OPEN 60+ INT: 1. Kirk Chapman; 2. Darrell Spilsbury; 3. Ron Ratigan; 4. Jack McCormick; 5. Ron Rinden.
OPEN 60+ EX: 1. Brad Morrison; 2. Ed Zornes; 3. Steve Ellis; 4. Michael Bierman; 5. Rex Staten.
Race 16
4-STROKE MODERN 250 NOV: 1. Greg Labranche; 2. Angie Wright; 3. Colt Cooper.
4-STROKE MODERN 450 NOV: 1. Dan Paulson.
4-STROKE MODERN 450 INT: 1. Mike Diffenbongh; 2. Shawn Awtry; 3. Nick Awtry; 4. Ken Wilson.
4-STROKE MODERN 450 EX: 1. Ben Meza; 2. Bryan Paquette.
Race 17
EARLY MODERN OPEN EX: 1. Shaun Kalos; 2. Greg Landers; 3. Shaun Hamer.
EARLY MODERN 250 EX: 1. Scott Burnworth; 2. Loren Dimond.
MID MODERN 250 EX: 1. Ryan Surratt; 2. Dane Rouse; 3. Jacob Ahi.