2016 AMA Vintage Grand Champions
The AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days wrapped up this past weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, and three riders were crowned AMA Vintage Grand Champions: Trevor Kline, Gary Roach and Todd Narduzzi.
Trevor Kline out of Hebron, Ohio, managed to cinch his position of AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Champion for the second consecutive year in a row. Gary Roach, coming out of Belpre, Ohio, also had some good luck over the weekend and claimed the AMA Off-Road Senior Vintage Grand Champion award. The two competed in a number of events over the weekend which included hare scrambles, motocross, and trials – all of which were part of the AMA Vintage Off-Road Grand Championship.
Kline eked out a first place in the Open A vintage hare scrambles class, took a win in the 250 A motocross class and managed a third place finish in Open A motocross. He also took first in the trials competition during the Vintage Lights Expert class.
“It’s great to win this award,” Kline said. “This was not even on my agenda really. I thought we were going to have a little one, so we took it day by day and drove back and forth [from Hebron to Lexington] every day.” That’s quite a commute but seeing as Kline’s wife is 40 weeks pregnant and currently expecting a child any day, you can see why the race commute made sense.
During the Open A class race, Kline raced the 1974 Husqvarna 360 that his friend Mike Scholl gave him at the 2015 AMA Championship Banquet.
Todd Narduzzi out of Marshallville, Ohio, was named the AMA Track Racing Vintage Grand Champion; his stellar performances in road racing and the half-mile dirt track event at Ashland County Fairgrounds saw to that. Narduzzi is no stranger to the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days events, as he’s earned top honors in 2011 and 2014.
“It took me six attempts to win three awards,” Narduzzi said when accepting his trophy. “So that shows that it’s not an easy thing to do. But this sole event is what keeps me from retiring from racing. “I want to thank the AMA for keeping VMD (Vintage Motorcycle Days) here and for letting me race. Everything went really well this weekend.” Narduzzi raced in the 500 GP, the Clubman 500 and the 70/750.
Just eight months after a full knee replacement, Gary Roach claimed his AMA top honors. “I never really thought about what it means to win this,” Roach said. “I just rode my motorcycle.” Roach seems a man of modesty, and he road in the events a few years ago. Roach was happy to participate; given that he’d just come off an injury.
Roach claimed second place in 40-plus Expert in the hare scrambles, third in 40-plus motocross, fourth in the 50-plus motocross and won the Old School Expert trials class.
The AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship and AMA Off-Road Senior Vintage Grand Championship are based on cumulative points from the three vintage off-road events: Hare scrambles, trials and of course, motocross.
Moto Armory sponsored the off-road racing segments of the AMA Vintage Grand Championship, which included the motocross, hare scrambles and trials competitions. Moto Armory which maintains a stable of over 600 vintage motorcycles in East Moline, Ill., was also on hand displaying some of the hottest vintage items for all the fans.
For additional information about AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, visit American Motorcyclist > Events > AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days.