ActionshotsNH: 91st Annual Loudon Classic

Sunday, June 22, 2014

91st Annual Loudon Classic – Bike Week 2014

Kevin, his friend Jeremy, and I headed out at 8:30AM for the 91^st Loudon Classic motorcycle races. I bought infield passes and drove through the infield tunnel to find a place to park. I backed up to the fence so we could sit in the back of the truck if we wanted to.

I brought my grill, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, plenty of Gatorade and water, and chairs so we could tailgate once we got hungry.

Kevin brought a ripstik and Jeremy a long board so they didn’t have to walk. They were off to check out the motorcycles as soon we parked. I did a lot of walking through the garage area, all over the infield to different turns, through the tunnel to turns outside the track, back to the truck, etc. It was much easier for Kevin and Jeremy to get around.

I grabbed my camera and headed for the garage area. There were some nice looking bikes. The riders and crews were friendly making it fun for me to walk around and take pictures.

There were 13 races scheduled with all different classes of bikes. Last year there were thunderstorms in the area so they cut the length of the races down to try to fit them in before it got wet. This year it was a perfect day for racing. Clouds here and there but dry.

Something new so I did a second blog post this year called “Car Drifting at the Track”. Drifting was fun to watch and the course for them was near one of the track corners where I like taking pictures. I watched the cars drifting between the motorcycle races.

Just after noon I fired up the grill and started cooking. I was pretty much finished with the burgers and dogs when a security truck pulled up. They said the eye in the sky spotted me grilling … normally not a big deal except that I was close to a brick structure where gas and oil waste is stored. HMM … I DIDN”T KNOW THAT !! They said as long as I was more than 10 feet from the building (I was 30 feet away) it wasn’t a problem. They have cameras all over the infield to monitor track events most of which use high octane fuels and oils. Next year I’ll tailgate a bit further away from that building ...

The vintage and modern sidecar races were fun to watch. It would be fun being the second person constantly moving around the platform hanging over the sides. Several sidecar motorcycles went so fast into the corners they slide sideways. One slid off a corner into the gravel and came to a stop before hitting the tires. The track guys were frantically waiving at them to stay put but the pair quickly charged back onto the course to continue racing. When they did all the gravel that covered the platform was deposited on the track which is what the track guys wanted to prevent. When the race ended a big street sweeper was brought out to clear the track before the next race.

There was lots of action on the track. Scott Greenwood on the #4 won the 91^st Loudon Classic 20 lap race which was a fun race to watch. I like the Motard Cup race bikes. They look like motocross/off road bikes with street tires.