VFORCE RACE REPORT – WHITNEY’S FARM GP

BROUGHT TO YOU BY MOTO TASSINARI
MOTO TASSINARI IS THE PREMIER MANUFACTURER OF PERFORMANCE ENHANCING REED VALVES

BATTLE AT WHITNEY’S FARM GOES TO KELLEY

On Independence Day weekend in the Berkshire Mountains that is steeped in History Factory KTM pilot Ben Kelley took on all comers and came out the victor. It wasn’t an easy win by any stretch of the imagination but it was the kind of victory that we have seen from him many times in his career where he stays focused on his goal and perseveres through adverse track conditions and tough competition and gets the job done. The Berkshire Mountains are a very special place for anyone who has ever been involved in off road motorcycle racing as the first time the International Six Days team event , then called the ISDT and now the ISDE, was held in the United States. The ISDT ran through these mountain towns starting in Dalton which is the next town over. The event was known as a very technical and difficult Six Days due to the rugged terrain and when water is sprinkled on rocks embedded in the earth that makes for an almost tractionless surface. Water was sprinkled on Whitney’s Farm in bucket loads for six hours early in the morning and even though the rain held off most of the rest of the day the tone was set for the Round Six of the FOX RACING J DAY Off Road GP Championship it was going to be a Mudder and would remain slippery throughout the day. Usually in a Mudder riders are cautious and take a single file approach but in the hotly contested PRO Class today it was far from the usual and the racing was intense as the J DAY regulars had to face off against one 3 time GNCC Champion, Kelley, and Josh Toth who has a GNCC Championship of his own. Moto number one would not start out bright for either as Toth crashed in the fast first turn and was relegated to way dead last from the start and his ride would be one of J DAY legend by the time the checkered flag flew. Kelley had a rough beginning and seemed to be mired somewhere back around 7th for quite some time but when Toth on his Enduro Engineering Gas Gas blew by at half distance Kelley admittedly woke up and latched on and in very short order the two of them decimated the field and waged a serious battle for the lead that went right down to the final turn and saw Josh Toth beat Ben Kelley for the first moto win. What an amazing ride for Toth who came from way dead last to win the moto and beat his friend Kelley who is definitely one of the fastest and most talented off road riders in the world. North Carolina resident Tyler Palmer rejoined the J DAY tour on his summer break from GNCC and showed he knows the New England woods well as he has strong ties to New Hampshire and understands rocky terrain and how to get traction where there is very little and he would take his POR Husqvarna to third in the moto. J DAY Championship points leader coming into Round 6 Chris Canning took his Factory Connection / MotorBikes Plus Gas Gas to fourth in the moto and defending J DAY Champ Simon Johnson would take his Plaistow Power Sports / AM PRO Yamaha to fifth. Rounding out the top 10 in moto 1 were Dominick Morse, Gavin Simon on his Edelman’s Husqvarna, Nate Smith on the MHR / FXR Husqvarna, Brandon Gregoire on a Factory Connection Yamaha and Brayden Nolette on the V3 Kawasaki.
The second moto would be a much better start for both the GNCC Stars but it was points leader and multi time NESC MX Champion Canning who would rip the holeshot and lead for the first two laps until Kelley would make a smart racing move and claim the lead on lap 3 of 7 and steadily build his lead to an almost one minute gap at the end over Chris Canning to take the Overall win and Canning would stand on the third step of the podium at Round 6. Josh Toth would get a better start this time out and seemed to be in a rut but an overheating motorcycle seemed to rejuvinate his ride and with two laps to go he moved into 3rd where he would stay to claim the second step on the podium. It sure was great for the fans to have Kelley and Toth back on the J DAY tour and it seems they will be back for a few more while on their summer break. Fourth in moto 2 and fifth Overall was Gavin Simon as he keeps his Championship hopes alive and rounding out the top 5 in the moto and fourth Overall was Simon Johnson who still has hopes of repeating as Champion in 2023. Rounding out the top 10 in moto 2 was Dominick Morse in 6th for sixth Overall, Brayden Nolette was 7th for seventh Overall, Nick Casey was 8th and 8th Overall, Scott Walker was 9th for tenth Overall on his Walker’s Machine KTM and Brandon Gregoire scored 10th for ninth Overall. There was great racing for all positions in this one and lots of fans lined the track and openly supported their favorite riders.

….And now for the rest of the story

The Kenda Pee Wee Challenge ripped out of the start chute at 8 sharp and the battle was on from the beginning and in front of tons of family and friends the local boy Sawyer Langenback kept the family honor and blazed to his first ever Pee Wee Overall victory in front of the home crowd. Tucker Aldrich would fight his way to second and Jack Ford would join us for the first time on the Red Bull Podium and stand on the third step. Dino Luchetti took Squirt class honors, Bantam class was all Crue Hopkins as he grabbed the holeshot and cruised to victory and even came to the Red Bull podium for an awesome interview. Hunter Aubin again had the Trail Rider division handled and Isla Kastel took the Pee Wee Girls win.

Super Mini saw New Jersey rider Canyon Richards go 2-1 for the victory after some recurring bike problems, Mini A was DJ Leblanc, Mini B victory belonged to Anthony Natale, Mini C winner was Trentin Hurley and the Girls Class was all Addie Harris who would go on to have a history making day in the Womens class.

The C Class is always exciting racing and the battle for the C Overall was decided by 3 seconds over 2 motos with the 2nd moto deadlocked on the same time and it was Joe Kruzewski in the 200 class nudging out 250 class winner Max Rivera by 3 seconds total motos time for the overall win. Sam Vincent took top honors in the Open division.

Today was a day that J DAY Off Road history was made when 14 year old Womens AMATEUR racer Addie Harris from Rhode Island made us all proud and took the 2nd moto win and second Overall in the PRO Womens Class on her way to the Amateur class win as well. The Trail Jesters KTM rider who I like to call the “ Rhode Island Rocket “ took her Super Mini bike with smaller wheels and smaller engine size to an astronomical win over the best Womens PRO racers in the Northeast and when I brought her up to be honored at the podium she showed the utmost respect to the racers she admittedly has looked up to for so long. The respect was shown both ways as all three top PROs Savanah Kipp, Ruby Fustini and Taylor Johnston mentioned her in their post race interviews which were a blast as always. Addie is slowly being welcomed into that elite club and it is nice to see the veterans Kipp and Johnston helping and guiding both Fustini and Harris along the way.
Ryno Brown took his first ever Super Senior win on his HK Powersports Kawi, Masters class went to Mike Hauser, C Vet win went to Pedro Lacerda and C Senior went to the consistent Joe Hinckley.
The PRO 125 Class is always one to watch and first moto winner Tyler Palmer watched his second moto and overall win melt away as his steaming POR Husqvarna left him stranded on the sideline late in the race. Gavin Simon would take full advantage and cross the finish line with the moto and overall wins. Brandon Gregoire would have better fortune today in this class and bring it home second and Jake Desmairais, who is always fun to interview took the third step on the Red Bull Podium.
Junior A class win went to Ryan Amancio on the Factory backed KTM, B Overall and Open class win went to Austin Brouillette, Brendon Paquin took the 250 class and Robbie Webb scored the win in the 200 division.

Senior A Class win went to Leo Silva, B Vet winner was Brian Hopkins, B Senior victor was Emerson Cayer and the Junior B Division went to Oliver Cortis on his Husqvarna.

Great racing continued in the moto inside the last moto of the first half and at the end of the day with A Vet top honors going to Wassley Teixeira in a tough battle with Ryan Bliven who won moto 2 and The Kawboy Clint Angwin having a better day in the top 3 during an injury plagued 2023 campaign.
250 A Winner Van Gosselin also took the Overall in the A class and Dan Desmairas won the 200 class. The A Open class was won by Grady Hall on his Gas Gas as he continues his improvement and a bright spot on his season was Nate Marr winning moto 2 in the Open class to score second Overall.

Former National Champions, strong competition from the regular J DAY competitiors, an historic day for Addie Harris in Womens racing, a Gnarly track and another great event put on by the Hoosac Valley Motorcycle Club and all their great members.

See you in two weeks at MX207 and until then this is JJ Saying “ See You at the Next J DAY “