People will race just about anything with two wheel and a motor at the Elsinore GP |
Destry Abbott is always a crowd favorite at Elsinore. |
Crowds line the fence and barriers along main street in Elsinore, home owners just pull up a lawn chair an watch from their front porch. |
Kelly Yance was able to keep a steady pace and break into the top 20 in the Mushman 100. |
Dusty Neighbor put in a decent ride and finished 16th. |
BMW debuts there new MXer. |
Michael Lapaglia stuned many as he kept up with the big boys on a 125.. |
Bonds sees eye to eye with fans atop their motorhomes. |
Joey lanza was on the gas and finished a respectable 5th. |
Mike from the Boys Republic came out to Elsinore to help the track crew. |
Goat Breker is the reason this race was brought back to the city of Elsinore in 1996 and continues to be the driving force behind continuing to bring this legendary race back each year. When Breker was a young boy, he helped pit for his Dad, who was racing at the same time the legendary Steve McQueen. Goat Breker's father is even in the movie, "On Any Sunday", as the guy unfortunately, getting stuck in the mud. When young Breker was old enough to race in the Elsinore Grand Prix, the race was gone. Breker went on to become a factory rider in motocross for about 10 years, and then a promoter of his own races. Now that Breker was a race event promoter, he thought that he could finely realize his dream of racing in the Elsinore Grand Prix, by bringing the race back himself. So he set out to win over the city officials with the assurances that the undesirable element was no longer a part of motorcycle racing, and it was very much a family sport now. It worked; Breker and his crew would bring back the historic race. Unfortunately, Breker has still never raced in the event. When asked about this he just smiles. Maybe there will be a time in the future that Breker can race in the Grand Prix that he brought back to life.
The weekend of racing really starts the week before. The water truck begins softening the hard pack and rocky earth, canceling out the long drought of summer. Next is the motorhome and truck migration. Every imaginable size and shape of RV descends on the hills above Lake Elsinore. What is normally open land, with only trails and fire roads, becomes a small city of temporary dwellers. Days before the event, race-fans stake out their favorite viewing spots on the four mile course on the hills just outside the downtown city area. The nights before the races are filled with the restless noise of generators and pit bikes. Normally a sleepy, lakeside, boating destination, downtown Lake Elsinore is transformed into a racecourse, and acres and acres of pit activity.
Saturday Highlights
Destry Abbott started in the first wave of riders, on the Expert line. Mike Alessi starting from the second line, which was the intermediate line, already at a disadvantage. Mike reeled in the leaders and looked to make an early pass for the lead until he made a mistake and was sent tumbling down a hill. Alessi was able to recoup and once again reel in Destry and the other leaders. Destry said that he hadn't had this much fun in a long time, sparring and changing leads over and over. Then while in the lead, Destry's fuel line came off, pouring fuel all over his boot. He stopped next to the track to investigate. In typical Elsinore GP style, some spectators rushed out to help him reattach the fuel line. While this was going on Alessi caught up and stopped with Destry to wait for him. When the mending was finished, Destry and Alessi would continue racing and finish at the top of each of their classes, Alessi in the lead at the finish line.
Next was the Vintage Class. Curiosity always brings a lot of people out of their chairs and up to the fence for this race. The "Vintage" Class is categorized as 1974 or earlier. Many of these classic motorcycles are lovingly restored to near showroom condition. The real hard core Vintage riders love the Elsinore GP and most have fond memories of the old days, In fact most of the vintage look like they came straight out of the days. With the legends Steve McQueen and Malcome Smith ruling the streets of Elsinore.
In the 250 Class race Mike Alessi was once again on the gas in hot pursuit of the leaders and looked to be in the lead shortly. He was riding on the edge and looked a bit out of control much like he did in the 125 race. The Elsinore GP is known for the high speeds and gnarly square edge bumps that line the track. Alessi found a square edge at speed and was spit off onto the ground breaking his collarbone and ending his weekend. Destry was able to put in a good smooth ride and take the win.
Sunday
Sunday is the day that the parking lots really get filled up. The morning of prior to the main event "aka" The "Harvey Mushman 100" which is the official name of the 100-mile, 26 lap, 3 hour event. Riders are staged in huge waves for the start in downtown Lake Elsinore. The race is called the Harvey Mushman in honor of the late Steve McQueen, who used "Harvey Mushman" as an alias so as not to call attention to himself. McQueen and Producer Bruce Brown really put this race on the map with the great documentary film On Any Sunday. Since the course is short enough, and the event is long enough, lapping becomes an issue, which makes spectating for the average race fan a real challenge. Unless there is a battle clearly happening in view, it really isn't clear who is leading the race. Usually, the fastest few riders will lap the field a number of times
As he the race got underway it looked as though Destry and Scott Sheak were going to do battle. But to the surprise of many, Sheak faded back quickly and Destry began to gap the field considerably. Destry Abbott then pulled of the track and darted back to the Semi with what we later found out, was a injured shoulder caused by running into a lapper. This mishap put Bobby Bonds in the lead, and a lead it was until Lance Smail showed and began notching away at Bonds lead. He eventually overcame Bonds and put a comfortable cushion on the field. Sheak began to wick it back up at the end and made his way back thru the field but wasn't able to make up for lost time. Smail held on to the lead for the remainder of the race. Micheal LaPaglia a up-and-comer in Motocross put in an impressive finish on his Suzuki RM125 finishing 6th.
Final results for the Top 20 in the Harvey Mushman:
Place Name
1 Lance Smail
2 Scott Sheak
3 Bobby Bonds
4 Scott Myers
5 Joey Lanza
6 Michael Lapaglia
7 Elmer Symons
8 Brian Brown
9 Mikey Childress
10 Robert Fouls
11 Troy Lee
12 Rob King
13 Ben Hale
14 Tyler Duncan
15 Tyler Keefe
16 Dusty Nabor
17 Kelly Yancey
18 Dan Hallada
19 Kyle Beshaw
20 Dean Price
There is always fantastic racing at the Elsinore Grand Prix, but racing isn't the only thing. Riding and having fun are the biggest part of this race. Some riders know they aren't competitive in races like the Mushman 100, which draws some big names from all aspects of motorcycle racing, but the ride for the love of the sport. Kelly Yancey (who coincidently broke into the top 20 in the Mushman 100), from Team KTM told me, "The fans really make this race fun, and they keep me energized."
There was another tradition from the early days of this race, that Breker wanted to keep alive. The legendary Steve McQueen, actor and stuntman, was actually from a youth home not far from Lake Elsinore. Steve always stayed humble and always wanted to help the boys from the home he came from. Breker wants to carry on that tradition. So every year, volunteers from Youth Republic, in Chino, California, come to the race and help flag, move barriers, and crowd control for Breker. So the legend lives on in racing, and in these young men. A special thanks to all the crew that comes out and helps Breker get the job done, and thanks to GFI for another fantastic year of the legendary Elsinore Grand Prix.
For More info on GFI racing, visit: www.goateyewear.com