DualSportr
Member
- Aug 22, 2000
- 527
- 0
We just got back from a week in CA, and spent our first vacation day at Langtown.
In case you aren't familiar with it, this mini race has gone on for 18 years, missing '01 because of 9-11, but coming back strong this year, I'm happy to say! The race is held in Bob & Linda Langin's backyard in Thousand Oaks CA. Don't think big here - this is truely a typical BACK YARD -- neighbors on three sides, and the whole yard taken up with an awesome track that sees lap times of about a minute. Yup, it's tight! Miss a corner, and you'll be buying new wood for Bob's fence!
ESPN2 and the Bernardo invasion was held at bay in '02 at the request of Bob & Linda Langin. They hoped for a bit quieter event than years past, and thought that maybe the ESPN truck and crew may have been a draw (imagine that!).
The front yard of Langin's place was still a circus of Easy-Ups, $10,000+ minibikes, racers and bike chicks, with a smattering of motorcycle mag writers/photogs in attendance.
The list of pros was a hodgepodge of familiar names, from Stephane Roncada to Chris Gosselar, past multi-time winner Jimmy Lewis, and some very fast local SoCal talent. Eric Kehoe was in attendance, not as a team manager, but as a rider - and a fast one!
The old guy taught the new kids a trick or two, and would have come away with first place if it weren't for a little bobble towards the end of the 20 lap main. RonRon, who looked very tentative in practice and his heats (had to win the LCQ to make the main!) came alive, took advatage, and ran away with the win, Kehoe coming in second.
RonRon was treated to rousing applause, typically only given to local Langtown favorites. Stephane really won over this crowd, spending most of the day talking to everyone and generally being a nice guy. He's won me over as a supporter!
Eric Kehoe is a very interesting fellow. This is a guy who's really been there and done that. He's quiet and doesn't boast, but listen to him talk for a few minutes and you're likely to hear more about what's going on in the industry than you'd get from months of magazines!
As usual, the BBR guys were there, this year with two of the very new Honda CRF 150 engines bolted into their always-trick chassis, Kehoe and Gosselar were the pilots. Also on hand was the ultra-trick XR50 BBR built for RC. This thing started with a hand-built swingarm with a REAL shock and just got better from there!
This year Powroll had a bunch of parts floating around in winning engines, but didn't sponsor anyone. It was fun to go and simply spectate, rather than be worried about our bits breaking or riders unhappy with performance (not that this happens, but I'm a worrier!).
Anyway, if you ever have a chance to be one of the 400 people invited to this event, don't miss it! It's the most fun racing you'll see all year!
In case you aren't familiar with it, this mini race has gone on for 18 years, missing '01 because of 9-11, but coming back strong this year, I'm happy to say! The race is held in Bob & Linda Langin's backyard in Thousand Oaks CA. Don't think big here - this is truely a typical BACK YARD -- neighbors on three sides, and the whole yard taken up with an awesome track that sees lap times of about a minute. Yup, it's tight! Miss a corner, and you'll be buying new wood for Bob's fence!
ESPN2 and the Bernardo invasion was held at bay in '02 at the request of Bob & Linda Langin. They hoped for a bit quieter event than years past, and thought that maybe the ESPN truck and crew may have been a draw (imagine that!).
The front yard of Langin's place was still a circus of Easy-Ups, $10,000+ minibikes, racers and bike chicks, with a smattering of motorcycle mag writers/photogs in attendance.
The list of pros was a hodgepodge of familiar names, from Stephane Roncada to Chris Gosselar, past multi-time winner Jimmy Lewis, and some very fast local SoCal talent. Eric Kehoe was in attendance, not as a team manager, but as a rider - and a fast one!
The old guy taught the new kids a trick or two, and would have come away with first place if it weren't for a little bobble towards the end of the 20 lap main. RonRon, who looked very tentative in practice and his heats (had to win the LCQ to make the main!) came alive, took advatage, and ran away with the win, Kehoe coming in second.
RonRon was treated to rousing applause, typically only given to local Langtown favorites. Stephane really won over this crowd, spending most of the day talking to everyone and generally being a nice guy. He's won me over as a supporter!
Eric Kehoe is a very interesting fellow. This is a guy who's really been there and done that. He's quiet and doesn't boast, but listen to him talk for a few minutes and you're likely to hear more about what's going on in the industry than you'd get from months of magazines!
As usual, the BBR guys were there, this year with two of the very new Honda CRF 150 engines bolted into their always-trick chassis, Kehoe and Gosselar were the pilots. Also on hand was the ultra-trick XR50 BBR built for RC. This thing started with a hand-built swingarm with a REAL shock and just got better from there!
This year Powroll had a bunch of parts floating around in winning engines, but didn't sponsor anyone. It was fun to go and simply spectate, rather than be worried about our bits breaking or riders unhappy with performance (not that this happens, but I'm a worrier!).
Anyway, if you ever have a chance to be one of the 400 people invited to this event, don't miss it! It's the most fun racing you'll see all year!
