Vintage question on Unadilla

NQ1965

NQ1965

PR Elite
MW850 made mention of that "Ohio is not Unadilla" for the Ohio track owners in the MX/General, Route 62 race thread. It got me thinking and raised a question, but I figured we just might need to shift it back to the Old Guys & Old Bikes section.

So here it goes:
We've had a lot of discussions in the past on what attracts Vintage (pre-1974) racers and the types of tracks they enjoy. How does Unadilla fit into this? I understand that the track is historic and Iconic and that make's up a lot of the attraction. But, Unadilla is no soft-easy track.
How much do they modify it for the pre-74 bikes at the AHRMA event ?
 
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Nobody would call Unadilla soft, but they definitely tame it down a bunch for the AHRMA event, in fact when we show up on Thursday night it is covered in grass that has been seeded every year following the national. That being said its no "grass track", but its perfect for a 1974 Yamaha MX. I think the fact that there were 243 Vintage entries this year indicates how well it is received by the Vintage guys.
 
Looking back at photos of racing from that era, and also from video footage that I have, the most noticeable difference that I see in tracks is, it looks like they utilized natural terrain changes differently and the tracks don't look like they've ever seen a chisel plow or disc. Lot's of hard pack, and naturally developed accell and braking bumps. A lot of the jumps even looked quirky.

But some of the pic's also show that their tracks got pretty mean and nasty too.
 
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Tamed down compared to what pro national is, but on vintage guys run same track as Pv guys do on Sunday, but for Pv usually tracks gets ripped some.
 
OP
When I last raced Unadilla it was 1996.
Nothing about the track was tamed down, nor should it be because unless you are Guy Cooper you will not be jumping anything huge.
Racing the Dilla was fun because as stated above the grass was tall and it had fresh loam added, being the first ones out to break through the grass was fun and put me in the former tire tracks of legends.
The only thing that was annoying was the rocks and how gravity cavity was eroded away on the down side.
I got my picture on the cover of Vintage Views making a turn around the apple tree.
Which is why I enjoyed racing the AHRMA tracks of back then.
Unadilla, Road Atlanta, Budds Creek, Southwick, Peoria, Hollister, High Point etc.
Come to think of it I raced the CRA Faircross series on my snore and nothing was tamed down for that event, so just ride the track (s) and have fun.
 
DO NOT GO TO UNADDILLA..................... unless you want to go back every year, its the ultimate vintage motocross weekend / event on this side of the Atlantic.

We went last year for the first time and it is now a permanent fixture on our calendar.
 
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