no one really had power washers at the time either so dealing with it was quite a challenge to say the least. Of course we made due and didn’t even really think about it that much. That’s just how it was back then. The Expert Nationals made a return trip to Hully Gully in 1986. While this event was not televised, it’s a race that I remember vividly to this day. As track announcer and local legend in his own right Irving Ford made his patented pre-race call “Pitter patter let’s get at ‘er, it’s time to put the hammer down,” local Hully Gully Honda sponsored rider Kevin Moore rocketed out to a wicked holeshot and a lead over a full gate of pros that included Canada’s own moto superstar Ross Pederson. Moore rode like a man possessed and was able to hold onto the lead until the final lap of the race when Ross finally bulled his way past the young upstart. The crowds lining the fences were going crazy. What a race it was. Kevin basically grew up riding at Hully Gully and he had the place wired, which showed on this day. He was not a regular on the Canadian National circuit at the time, preferring to stay and race close to home, but he was always one of my favourites to watch. He put on a real show that day giving the Rollerball everything he could handle. On top of that, one of my old pals Dave Beatty from Sarnia, who was also a Hully Gully specialist, held on for 3rd in the same moto, which was the best pro finish of his career. To say it was exciting would be an understatement. What a day! Kevin Moore retired from moto shortly after that race when he got a job working full-time for the railroad. He passed away in 2011, way too young, but he certainly did provide his share of memorable moments during the course of his riding career. I always thought I would see him again at the track one day, maybe riding the vet class or something, but unfortunately it was not to be. 1986 was also the year that the Collins family decided to expand their business and open another bigger, state of the art dealership 50 miles south of Varna in London, Ontario. “Originally we thought that both places could run successfully together,” remembers Chuck, but it soon became apparent that having two places operating that close together wasn’t going to work in a business sense. “It was almost like they were competing against each other,” Collins recalls. Obviously, London
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was the future so the painful decision was made to close the Varna dealership and with it the track and trails. The last race took place in the summer of 1987. It was a beautiful day as I recall. Chuck had the track ripped up and prepared as well as it had ever been. I seem to remember they even had a Monster Truck there putting on a show between races. There was always something interesting and diff erent going on at Hully Gully. Chuck or his father Randy may have even ridden their snowmobiles across the pond to entertain those in attendance as this was always a favourite intermission past time over the years. As my time with Chuck winds down, I asked him what some of his favourite memories of “The Old Place” were. “That’s a tough question,” he replies, “There were so many great people. It’s the people I guess. Over the years we sponsored and helped out kids like Jeff Sutherland, the Motor Mouse.” Sutherland was known for wearing mouse ears on his helmet when he raced 80s. “Kevin Moore, Jeff Devereaux, Al “Spaz” Strickert and the Thompsons to name a few.” Currently, Chuck is helping local Intermediate racer Cole Stevens. Chuck takes a long
pause at this point and even gets a little misty eyed thinking about his younger days at the track. “It was just such a great sport to grow up into,” he concludes. “Really, it was just great.” The Hully Gully track has been gone now for a lot longer than it was ever around. Although I’ve never gone back I’ve been told that the property hasn’t really been touched since the final race in ‘87. The spectator bridge still stands and Chuck admits that rarely a week goes by when someone doesn’t come up to him wanting to reminisce about the place. “You know, I was in Spain for the Moto GP race last weekend and a French Canadian gentleman came up to me and asked if I was Chuck from Hully Gully,” Collins laughs. “He told me that he raced the Schoolboy National at Hully Gully way back in the day, and oh boy, was that ground ever hard. We had a good talk; this type of thing happens all the time.” Truth be told, any of us who grew up racing during the ‘80s in Ontario has stories and memories about Hully Gully. Lots were good, some were maybe not so good, but all are definitely part of the ever-growing history of Canadian motocross.
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Hully Gully Story 15.06.indd 26
2015-11-25 4:36 PM