Is there a happy ending to the VMXdN Evo troubles?
By Anthony Sutton on 19th Jan 18
Regular readers may remember a little rant I had last September about the legality of certain Evo-class bikes at the VMXdN. Event promoter Dave King certainly will because he had a little counter-rant on Facebook that he tagged me in and then untagged me from ooh, the controversy!
Anyhoo, my point which was totally valid but may have been overlooked in the emotion of it all was that the bike that Mike Brown rode didnt fit in with the rules. It was at best a 1996 model Husqvarna 610 which would have placed it in the Super Evo division and not the Evo class.
The counter argument was that the rider in question probably wouldnt have come at all had he been offered a pre-1990 Husqvarna to race it has to be a Husqvarna as hes a contracted athlete and so in the name of entertainment a little rule bending was allowed to ease things along. The residents of Sandford would have no doubt described it as being for the greater good which is something I get
On the flipside, I feel that half the charm of any form of classic racing is modifying your riding style to work with the limits of the machinery involved.
Monsters
The bike is meant to turn badly, handle poorly and lay down its power in a wholly disappointing manner, as thats just the way it was back then and being reminded of all that is what makes racing these old monsters fun. But I digress
To save himself from any snide comments at/after this years event the 10th edition of the VMXdN takes place at Farleigh Castle on September 8/9 Dave King has stood up and stated that for the Evo VMXdN team races only capacity bikes up to and including 1996 will be eligible.
Obviously, this not only ensures that Brownie can return on the same bike as last year but will also open up the floodgates to a whole new batch of bikes that were previously ineligible for the biggest races of the weekend. The regular Evo classes will still be up to and including 1989, so theres no change there and the Super Evo boys will still be catered for too, so everythings good, right?
The initial post caused some ripples on social media but for the most part the early announcement and clarity was welcomed. And while not everyone agrees with the rule change at least, they do all know about it now and can prepare accordingly, which is a good thing
In other news, Id like to take the opportunity to plug the March edition of Dirt Bike Rider magazine thats on sale now in all good newsagents and has a rather awesome Dougie Lampkin interview inside written by our very own Lord (I kid ye not) Lawless.
Yep, Seans gone and got himself an official title thats a damn sight more impressive than the ones weve labelled him with over the years but regardless of that fact its a rather awesome read, wrapped around some rare imagery of the 12-time world champ. Check it out if you get the chance
More like this…
Ecosse revs up for third Winter event - can you challenge Husband?
Penultimate leg of the Ecosse XC Rock Oil Winter Series heads back to Dunbar on Sunday, January 28
Ecosse XC Winter Series round two race report
The second of four stand-alone races running under the banner of the Ecosse XC Rock Oil Winter Series, again enjoyed a tremendous turn out of riders on Sunday, January 7 2018
Take a look: New-build classic Triumph Special
Custom build spec that would qualify for classic events with a 1968 Triumph T100 engine. This is a new-build classic Triumph Special