WORLD VET CHAMPIONSHIP IS TWO WEEKS AWAY: ARE YOU READY?
The World Vet Motocross Championship celebrates its 33th year at Glen Helen Raceway on November 4-5, but it is really a four-day festival of speed 2016—because there are two days of practice before the weekend races.
Dubya Wheels is the 2017 World Vet Motocross Championship title sponsor, but there is a bigger story behind Dubya and the World Vet Motocross Championship. Tom White, who owned White Brothers back in the day, sponsored the first World Vet in 1984, and actually founded the event and sponsored it for the first 26 years. After selling the White Brothers, the new owners gave up the sponsorship of the race, but Tom wanted to keep the race moving forward, so he had his daughter and son-in-law’s company, Dubya USA wheels, become the title sponsor in 2014. And they are back for 2017 — bigger than ever.
Here is the schedule of events for the most important Vet race in the world—start making plans now.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2: Thursday will feature an open practice from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The cost is $25 per bike. The 2017 Dubya World Vet Motocross Championship wants to give out-of-state and out-of-country riders as many chances as possible to adapt to the track — while riding on Thursday with AMA National Pros and 16-year-old kids. It’s a wild day. Smart World Vet racers skip riding on Thursday and stand back and watch the mayhem. Many riders skip both Thursday and Friday practices to save themselves for the actual races. Thursday Open Practice: 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ($25 per bike)
There is free camping at Glen Helen for the weekend. A weekend-long pass is $25 each. The one-day spectator entry fee is $10. If you camp, which is free, you can hear the race announcers on 93.4 FM on your radio.
The Glen Helen National track is always mellowed out for the World Vet, per orders from founder Tom White, but don’t think for a minute that the lack of big doubles makes it an easy track. No one will see the full 2017 World Vet layout until the REM Octobercross the weekend before the big race.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3: Friday offers a special practice, limited to riders who have pre-entered the 2017 Dubya World Vet Championship. This practice costs $25 per bike and runs from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. On this day the vendors will be setting up shop and the Glen Helen/Troy Lee Museum will be open in the afternoon. Sign-up for the weekend is open from Noon to 5:00 p.m. Pre-entry is $40 a class (the three pro classes, 30, 40 and 50, are $50). Friday Practice: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ($25 per bike)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4: Saturday, November 4, is essentially a warm-up race to lessen the advantage that Glen Helen locals have. It is no surprise that foreign and out-of-state riders need time to get used to the roughness, elevation and size of Glen Helen—it is a tough track that gets rougher with each lap and each day. Only the Over-40 Pros are racing for a World Vet Championship crown on Saturday, November 4th. Gates open: 5:30 a.m., Practice: 7:00 a.m., Racing: 8:30 a.m., All Classes +25 and up, Feature Purse Race: +40 Pro
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5: Sunday, November 5, 2017 is the official World Veteran Motocross Championships day. All the same classes that ran on Saturday will race again on Sunday — only this time it is for all the marbles. The exception is the Over-40 Pro class (who named their Champion on Saturday, but can race for purse only on Sunday). The big classes on Sunday are the Over-30 Pros and Over-50 Pros. Gates open 5:30 a.m., Practice: 7:00 a.m., Racing: 8:30 a.m..Feature Purse Race: +30 Pro, Edison Dye Lifetime Achievement Award: 12:30 p.m. (in museum)
SUNDAY AT NOON: THE EDISON DYE MOTOCROSS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: On Sunday at noon the Edison Dye Motocross Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented for the 20th time. Initiated to honor individuals who have made a positive contribution to our sport, the award has been received by Edison Dye, Roger DeCoster, Jeff Ward, Joel Robert, Torsten Hallman, Bruce Brown, Feets Minert, John DeSoto, Lars Larsson and many others. Each inducted rider gets a marker on the Glen Helen Walk of Fame (see Bob Hannah’s below).
Bob Hannah received the Edison Dye Lifetime Achievement Award ten years ago from World Vet founder Tom White.
THE RULES: CLASS JUMPING & MOVING DOWN AGE GROUPS: Riders can ride in their age appropriate class and are then eligible to move down one skill level for every ten years (for example, an Over-50 Expert can race the Over-40 Intermediate class). Old riders can ride in younger classes, but young riders cannot ride in older age groups. This system works like this: An Over-60 Expert can also race the Over-50 Intermediates and the Over-40 Novices—he could also ride the Over-30 Novices and Over-25 Novices.
As of October 18, pre-entered riders have signed up from California, South Dakota, Maryland, Washington, Kentucky, Hawaii, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Wash D.C., New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Ohio, Texas, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Michigan, Florida and Virginia. Foreign entries, who have pre-entered, are from England, Sweden, Ecuador, Australia, Canada, Spain, Germany, New Zealand, Holland, Japan, Mexico and Brazil.
FREE TRANSPONDER SCORING: Scoring will be by transponder and you must bring your driver’s license to sign-up to prove that you are the right age before transponders will be handed out. No driver’s license—no race. There is no charge for the transponders, but you must leave a form of identification (driver’s license or credit card) to insure that you bring the transponder back at the end of the day. Pre-entered riders must check in along with post-entry riders. For more info or to pre-enter go to www.glenhelen.com
THE HARD AND FAST AGE RULES: It doesn’t matter if you will be 40 the next day, you cannot race in the 40 class until you are 40 years old. Cheaters are frowned on—especially in the Pro classes (where true ages are easily verified). The same goes for the Over-25 and up classes. No exceptions. No cheating. Bring your driver’s license to sign-up when you check in (and you must check in regardless of whether you pre-entered or not). No driver’s license — no race for you.
WHO CAN RACE THE WORLD VET CHAMPIONSHIP? The 2017 World Vet Championship does not require membership, licenses or special paperwork. If you show up, you will be allowed to race. Racers come from 20 different countries to race all the classes. It is the original Vet race and titles have been won by many famous motocross racers — including Gary Jones, Rex Staten, Jeff Ward, Erik Kehoe, Warren Reid, Kent Howerton, Torlief Hanssen, Alan Olson, Rich Thorwaldson, Ron Turner, Feets Minert, Kyle Lewis, Casey Johnson, J.N. Roberts, Lars Larsson, Eyvind Boyesen, Pete Murray, Andy Jefferson, Zoli Berenyi, Ryan Hughes, Pete DeGraaf, Kurt Nicoll, Travis Preston and Doug Dubach.
WORLD VET CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES: Any rider who wins his class on Sunday—regardless of the skill level can claim to be a World Vet Champion (with the caveat that they are the “Over-40 Novice Champion,” etc). However. The true World Vet Champions, the ones that will be recognized for posterity, are the Over-30 Pro, Over-40 Pro, Over-50 Pro, Over-60 Experts and Over-70 class.