2-Stroke World Championships
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue…
Photos by Brandon Davis
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match made in dirtbike heaven as more than 500 entries filled the gates for the 2019 2-Stroke World Championships on Easter Weekend. More racers, an expanded vendor row and an infusion of fresh sponsorship were all positive signs for the moto-industry. The fact that it wasn’t just a bunch of old guys on 30-year old bikes also bodes well (although there were some dinosaurs out there from the industry enjoying themselves just as much at the kids in the 50cc youth classes). Fasthouse, Hoosier tires and Wiseco all stepped up their sponsorship levels this year. “Wiseco Performance Products was built from the roots of two-stroke racing over 77 years ago and has been supplying two-stroke performance parts to the industry ever since,” said Scott Highland, Director of Powersports for Wiseco. “We are all avid racers and enthusiasts, so we’re thrilled to support the iconic TwoStroke Championships at Glen Helen and share our passion with two-stroke riders everywhere.” As for something old, a galaxy of stars like Kurt Nicoll (the 1994 MX des Nations winner on CR500 went 1-1 to win the 40+ expert class); Dealernews contributor Chuck Sun (the 1980 National champ on a works Honda CR500 and MX des Nations winner that same year, went 2-2 for second in the 60+ expert class), and the evergreen Mike Brown (who finished 4th in the Open Pro class) representing the “seasoned” aspect. These “old guys” were joined by the new wave of moto racers lead by Robbie Wageman.
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Also new were most of the bikes on the starting gate. The latest from those OEMs still making 2-strokes outnumbered the old smokers by a huge margin, even in the open pro class. The one new guy on an old bike was AMA Arenacross Champ Tyler Bowers who borrowed a 1991 KX Guru-tuned KX500. Bowers blasted to second in the Open Pro class in moto one, but DNF early in the second moto (his 2-DNF put him in 19th). Instead it was a bLU cRU sweep as Yamaha-mounted mounted racers took the top 5 positions in the Open Pro Class. After winner the 125 Pro class the past two years, Robbie Wageman made the move up to the open class look easy, going 1-2 for first overall on the day. Fellow young guns Carlen Gardner (3-1), City Schock (4-3) topped the box ahead of Mike Brown (5-5). Mother Nature cooperated with a perfect spring day after watering the track earlier in the week. Even the Easter Bunny was on hand for the festivities. Nothing like “the aromatic and auditory bliss of full gates of two-strokes on the mainjets up the many hills at Glen Helen Raceway Park,” noted veteran moto-journalist Mark Kariya in is Cycle News coverage As Open Pro winner Wageman said, “I love the two-strokes! If I could race them all the time, I would. I love them. There’s something about the sound, the vibration, the smell — just everything about the two-strokes, it all comes together and puts a huge smile on my face.”