AHRMA at Talladega Grand Prix September 8-10th.
The Setting
Gearing up for Little Talladega, race prep had a new twist this time, and her name was Irma. For the Dime City Race Crew, all based in Florida, she gave them a lot more to think about than tuning carbs and checking safety wire. Understandably, a then category 5 hurricane bearing down on our hometown resulted in a much smaller DCC Crew for this event. Despite the disaster headed our way, we still had a strong stable of riders consisting of Scott Turner, Jim Korn, and Rian Mondriaan. George Hernandez arrived at the track from racing in Utah, only to have to divert back to Florida. Irma mentioned she would stop by, and George, having been in Utah hadn’t had a chance to prepare for her arrival.
The weather in Alabama was beautiful, sunny with a slight touch of fall in the air. Although thoughts of Irma taunted the crew, when Saturday arrived they donned their battle gear and all thoughts were focused on the win.
The Racing
The LeMans race saw Scott take 4th, while he struck another podium score, taking 2nd in the Sportsman 500 & 350. Jim and Rian enjoyed a friendly battle, with Jim wrangling a podium 3rd in Production Lightweight and Rian a close 4th. The tables turned however in Production Heavyweight, with Rian taking the checkered flag and Jim hot on his heels in 2nd. With that said we would like to congratulate Rian on his first AHRMA win! We have a feeling he’ll only get faster.
With the impending arrival of Irma in Florida and an uncertain path thereafter, AHRMA made the decision to race only on Saturday with a double points provision. So while this race summary is short one day of results, and missing a few of the DCC Crew, it turns out Irma didn’t have her way after all. We were all grateful for the racing we were able to enjoy, and would be even more so after Irma left and no injuries were sustained.
A very special thank you is in order to the owners of Talladega Grand Prix Raceway. We very much appreciate your hospitality and safe haven before the journey back to a soggy and ravaged Florida on Monday. Also, a thank you to all of our fellow racers, families, friends and people we didn’t even know in Alabama, for all your prayers, fuel cans, and offers for places to stay.
It’s not just the thrill of racing that keeps us coming back; it’s also being part of the huge loving AHRMA family!
The final race of the season is up next at Barber Motorsports Park in October. If you’ve never been, it is an absolute Mecca for vintage motorcycles, and the like minded folk who keep them running. Not to mention the heated action of racers vying for the last remaining points of the season. Be sure to stop by and hang out with the Dime City Cycles crew in the fan zone, and in the paddocks. Until then, keep it shiny side up.
Photos by Larissa Mondriaan
(via Dime City Cycles)
