AHRMA Revs up on its Way to Monterey, While Remembering a Racing Legend

June 14, 2021 by WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

There's a distinctive roar a vintage motorcycle makes as it fires up, and that sound will fill the air at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca July 16-18, which is the culmination of West Coast Bike Week in Monterey.

The AHRMA Classic MotoFest of Monterey will bring its unique brand of racing to the picturesque setting. Vintage road-racing motorcycles will take to the track for exciting competition – from 1920s-era hand-shifter V-twins – to booming Grand Prix single-cylinder machines. It features road racing, vintage motocross, observed trials, cross country and dirt track racing.

'We're ready for a great experience,' said Rob Poole, a veteran of vintage motocross who's been competing for 22 years. 'We're setting up a great track and hoping the atmosphere will be festival-like with all the different types of racing going on. I've always really liked Laguna Seca, and the road racers are very excited about coming because it's a pinnacle track and it's on everybody's bucket list.'

While Poole and some of the motocross competitors have been to WeatherTech Raceway before, it's not the same story for the road racers.

Many of the road racers, including 67-year-old Pete Jorgenson, have never been on the fabled road course.

'I know it's a famous place – everybody knows what Laguna Seca is,' Jorgenson said. 'I'm looking forward to seeing and experiencing it. I've only ever seen it in a magazine, and I knew that it was a place I wanted to race someday.'

There's been plenty of anticipation as the July 16-18 dates draw near.

'I'm excited, and so are the rest of the AHRMA racers,' Jorgenson continued. 'People have been talking about coming to Laguna Seca for a while – at the last event we were at there were conversations going on in the pits about wanting to compete there. So, this is going to be a big deal for us.'

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While the AHRMA members are looking forward to the present and future, they are doing so with an eye on the past. The organization lost one of its founders and most cherished members when legendary racer Dick Mann passed away April 26, at the age of 86.

Mann was a two-time winner of the American Motorcyclist Association Grand National Championship. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1993, and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998. He was one of the few riders to ride motocross as well as dirt flat tracks, TT (tourist trophy) and road racing.

Mann, along with Fred Mork and Mike Green, started the California Vintage Racing Group, which would go on to become one of the charter groups under the AHRMA banner in 1989.

'He spent his entire life around motorcycles and promoting vintage racing,' Mork said of Mann. 'All motorcycle enthusiasts owe him so much. Dick Mann was a racer's racer – meaning that the racers all looked up to him and people would try to emulate him. He stood out and had a lot of grit and was well-respected. He was the father of vintage motocross.'

Up until his final years, Mann was still active in the vintage motorcycle racing scene. He would help lay out the motocross tracks and offer encouraging words of advice to anybody who crossed his path.

'We're honoring Dick this season,' said Poole, who credits Mann with getting him into vintage racing in 1989. 'This season is kind of hollow without him because he's the guy who made this all happen. He worked tirelessly to help vintage racing take place and did a lot for the sport. He taught me a lot about motocross track layout and bike setup.'

Jorgenson recalls an encounter with Mann early in the AHRMA days that still sticks with him.

'The first time I went to an AHRMA race and saw Dick, he told me that every time I came to one of those races, it was always going to be 1969 on the track. I thought that was really cool because that was a great period in motorcycle racing.'

There's no doubt Mann would've had plenty of input into how the motocross track at WeatherTech Raceway will be set up.

'He spent his entire life around motorcycles and promoting vintage racing,' Mork said of Mann. 'All motorcycle enthusiasts owe him so much. Dick Mann was a racer's racer – meaning that the racers all looked up to him and people would try to emulate him. He stood out and had a lot of grit and was well-respected. He was the father of vintage motocross.'

When the AHRMA Classic MotoFest of Monterey comes thundering into WeatherTech Raceway, the competitors will be part of the Dick Mann Team Challenge. The challenge is based on teams made up of one competitor from each AHRMA competition discipline. The results of individual team member performance at selected AHRMA events during 2021 will determine the winning team.

Don't miss all the family friendly AHRMA action when it comes to Monterey. Tickets for the event are on sale.