Glen Helen Hosts 2024 Cal Classic
| April 17, 2024
The state’s fastest amateurs met at Glen Helen Raceway for the 2024 Toyota of Redlands Cal Classic Amateur National on April 13-14. More than 30 competitive classes lined up for close racing on a rainy weekend.
Current off-road heavyweight Trevor Stewart showed up for some motocross racing at the Cal Classic and took home his fair share of hardware. The Purvines Yamaha racer collected the overall win in the 450 Pro class via 1-2 finishes. A poor start in race two forced him to battle his way through the field, but a second-place finish behind Honda’s Luke Kalaitzian proved sufficient for the overall title. The two traded positions again in Open Pro, with Stewart grabbing another moto win but finishing second overall after swapping positions with Kalaitzian. Stewart also swept the 25+ division with dominant 1-1 finishes.
Kalaitzian found his flow during the weekend, claiming the title in Open Pro after battling with Stewart. The Honda rider grabbed a moto win in 450 Pro but was held back to third overall after his eighth-place finish in race one. Dayton Briggs put together a consistent pair of fourths to take second overall in the 450 Pro class.
The 250 Pro division went to CJ Benard, who swept both motos with 1-1 scores. Benard moved through the pack in race one and put himself in the top spot with two passes on the same lap late in the race. Moto two proved to be a wire-to-wire win for the KTM rider. Jeremy Fappani and Parker Ross traded spots to take second and third, respectively.
Aidan Zingg proved to be a top amateur, with consistent finishes and two titles over the course of the weekend. A 1-2 gave him the title in Supermini 1, while 2-2 results earned the KTM rider top honors again in Schoolboy 1.
Cobra’s Jaydin Smart came out on top in the 65cc Open (7-11) division after trading race wins in multiple divisions with KTM’s Chase Brennan. Brennan struck first with a big victory in race one but came up just a half-second short in the final moto of the Open category. His 1-2 scores put him second overall, just clear of the 7-9 division winner, Talon Hinson, who went 3-3 for third in Open.
The multitude of 85cc divisions are on another level these days, with lap times rivaling some of the big-bike classes. Alex Campigli raced his GasGas to a championship in the 85cc (9-11) class with Nolan Ford taking home the title with two wins in the 85cc (10-12) Limited division.CN