Jean Turner | May 7, 2024
Scott Burnworth’s SoCal Vintage MX Classic was once an annual one-off event, but has now grown to become its own series. The 2024 season sees three stops on the calendar, and round two recently took place over the “SoCal De Mayo” weekend, Sunday, May 5, at Barona MX in Lakeside, California. The San Diego County location saw a packed house of not only vintage motocross iron, but modern motorcycles, as well. With classes for all bikes from present-day dual-sports to early two-strokes, and liquid-cooled minis to air-cooled twin-shockers, there was every flavor of fun at what is now being called the SoCal Vintage and Modern MX Classic, presented by Yamaha.
Entries included a lot of the usual suspects, including Nick LaPaglia, Doug Dubach and Scott Burnworth, himself. All race entries came with a free Mini Team Race entry, as well, which provided further entertainment on the track. The fun continued off the track with food and giveaways from sponsors such as Maxima, 100%, Dunlop, Thor and Hallman.
In a continued tribute to fallen motocross legend Marty Smith, the event kicked off with the Marty Smith Memorial Cup feature race, presented by Vintage Factory. Marty Smith’s son Tyler came out to race the event, as did his grandson in the modern class.
“We were worried about the weather at first, but it turned out to be pretty perfect conditions,” said event promoter Burnworth. “There was a little rain in the morning, but overall we still had a great turnout of vintage and modern bikes.
“We’re on to the final round in October 5, 6 at Glen Helen Raceway. That will be the last race in the three-race series—the championship final. We’re doing vintage on Saturday and all modern on Sunday. First time we’re doing a two-dayer so it should be fun.”
For more information and results, visit socalvintagemxclassic.com.
Jean Turner