RACE TWO ( POST VINTAGE )
Any thought Brian Grove had of knocking down two AA class wins were spoiled by Steve Mason Jr as he had his Yamaha IT flying . Grove kept Mason on his toes being consistently within twenty seconds , but Mason would take the win in AA and the overall , with Grove taking second in both categories on his Husqvarna .
Darrell Wassill was no slouch either , laying down lap times close to the top two and nailing the third spot on the podium ahead of seventyeight others . Post Vintage 50 + Intermediate laid claim to the largest class of the day with a whopping sixteen riders vying for the crown .
Vince Monks would spoil the day for the rest when he took the lead on lap two and soldiered to a commanding win on his YZ . Tommy Tippett ( Can- Am ) and Anthony Yannitelli ( Maico ) tried to reel in Monks but to no avail as they had to settle for second and third . Kurt Flachbart made the trip down to PA from Maine to serve as the guest speaker at Saturday evening ’ s Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region awards banquet , where he humorously told his tale of a life-long motorcycle love affair and path to becoming the owner and editor of Trail Rider Magazine .
While in town , Kurt lined his Husky up in the Post Vintage Open Intermediate row and capitalized on Josh Horvath ’ s early exit to take the lead and hold on to the capture the checkers followed by IT-rider Mike Flaherty and Potomac Vintage Riders ' head honcho Tommy Grimmel in third . In more Open class action , Steven Perrotto , Mark Hummel , and Dane Brownawell swapped leads multiple times before Hummell ’ s Husqvarna took over for keeps on lap four . Dane maintained the runner-up spot on his Yamaha with Perrotto just behind . Laci Horvath followed up her earlier Women ’ s Vintage Expert win with another victory in the Women ’ s Post Vintage Expert class .
For several years now , the trio of Yamaha IT ’ s of Shane Reichert , Josh Stewart , and Eric Rupp , collectively known as the Dover Vintage Riders , has become a familiar sight in the Post Vintage 200 Intermediate class . While all are consistently in the mix in a competitive class , Rupp is the only member of the “ team ” to not yet have claimed a first-place finish at some point . That all changed at Locust Gap as Rupp was riding at the top of his game . Steadily shrugging off any challenge to the top spot and pushing his IT200 to fast and consistent lap times , Eric finally stamped his name in the winner ’ s column by mere seconds . It was truly heart-warming to see the joy shared by this group of close friends and their families as they celebrated the long-awaited victory together .
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 198