The 1st Annual 70cc Regatta at Dumont Dunes trip report by dunefreak

On February 28th, 2009, over 20 Honda 70's showed up to the very first annual 70cc Regatta at Dumont Dunes. The event was a gathering of friends, family and members from DDR who not only share an interest in Honda 70's, but know how to have a good time.

The day started with everyone in camp getting up and doing some final adjustments to their trikes. After some coffee or an energy drink, they got a feel for the track and were ready for a day of 70cc action. There were several events planned for the day.

  • race track event, group races

  • timed lap competition to see who was the "track dominator"

  • wheelie contest

  • lunch by Smokin Al's BBQ: pulled pork & tri-tip sandwiches

  • 70cc group run to vendors row for a photo op

  • ATC drag races

  • contest for most unique, cleanest, and ugliest 70

  • winner announcements & trophy awards

 

track races

Saturday morning everyone gathered at the start line for the first group-70 race. There's just something about racing a handful of other competitors in a race that is adrenaline pumping, even when it only comes to a 70cc machine. They aren't that fast, but you still get the thrill of racing.

The race was was simple.  It was 10 laps where the fastest guy wins. There was lots of tire rubbing and bumping going on especially in turn one when everyone funneled down to make the turn. It was just like watching a motocross race. Throughout the race everyone became more spread out and you could notice the different techniques the riders were using to try and gain a faster lap time to catch the next guy. A couple contenders blew out in some corners and overshot the berms. Some guys would get passed because they were laughing so hard. 702LTR450 got passed by me (dunefreak) as I stuck my leg out on a straight-away to try and slow him down. I missed his bike, but again, he was laughing so hard he got passed up. Good times! It was hilarious.

 


Paul (White Rhino), took a hilarious spill after the last turn during one of the races. Luckily he had his chrome dome on and wasn't injured in the "horrific" accident. 

Cole (NACHOOO MOG), was our official 70cc Regatta event announcer on the PA system. He did an awesome job of keeping the crowd informed and laughing with his clever announcer skills and style of humor. Spectators from other camps even gathered at the top of the finger dune throughout the day to watch the antics of these little machines.

The SANDBONI

Between races, we used our "SANDBONI" to smooth the track out. That's right...I said sandboni. It worked like a charm to lay down a fresh smooth surface for these no-suspension-having machines.

 

 

timed lap competition

After the track races were over and everyone had enough time to take a break and fix their stuff, it was time to see who could lay down the fastest lap time. Each rider got 3 laps to prove what he could do. It was a "best out of the three lap times" style race. They had 3 laps to prove what they could do. Brian, 702LTR450, held the record on his crazy-fast 125 cubic centimeter 70! Great job Brian. Tyler took 2nd, Randog took 3rd, I (dunefreak) took 4th, Alex took 5th and crusty pulled up the rear with 6th. Good job guys! That was a blast.

place lap time rider cc's
1 34:09 702LTR450 125cc
2 35:20 Tyler 125cc
3 38:36 Randog 88cc
4 39:06 dunefreak 70cc stock
5 39:12 Alex 70cc stock
6 41:32 crusty 70cc stock

wheelie competition

  It was then time to see who could lay down the longest wheelie on a 70. Not too many people competed in this event due to it's difficulty factor, however Alex made it look extremely easy. He actually ran out of track before he was even ready to set the front tire down. Sanddunesaddict joined in on the fun even though he was on a trx90. He did damn good though by also running out of room to wheelie. He was disqualified for having 4 tires though.  

lunchtime

Immediately following the wheelie competition, lunch was ready to be served. The whole crew from Smokin Al's BBQ served up some very tasty smoked pulled pork and tri-tip sandwiches. Everyone gathered and had a sit-down lunch together around his rig. Much thanks to Smoking Al and his whole crew for doing this for us. Not only was the food great, they were very professional and organized in getting everyone quickly through the line and a full plate of grub.

Smokin Al's BBQ can be found at vendor row on the busy holiday weekends. Next time you are out there, try some of their food. You will forget about what food you brought out and more than likely be back for your next meal.

 

 

group ride to vendor row

Once everyone got some food in their bellies and relaxed for a bit, it was time to head over to vendor row for a photo op. Every single (running) ATC plus a handful of other types of machines in camp caravanned over across the flats. Words cannot describe what it looked like from vendor row. Everyone at vendor row sort of just stopped what they were doing and almost had a look on their face like they were being invaded. It was great. Then we all lined up in front of Sandcrazd Clothing on our trikes for a handful of group photos. What a memorable picture it turned out to be!

 

ATC drag races

After the photo shoot, we all headed back to camp for the drag race event. This was the test to see who was the fastest in a straight line. For the first handful of races, I (dunefreak) was dominating the drags. To my surprise, my little stock atc even beat some 88cc bikes. I knew that wouldn't last long though once 700LTR450 and his buddy stepped up. They had 125cc motors in theirs which just ripped and blew mine out of the water.

In the first 2 pictures, you can see how Randog "red-lighted" and jumped the gun on me. He did this because he was scared of being beat a 3rd time of course. There were some good laughs for sure.  

 

 

winner announcements & trophy awards

After all the events were over, it was time to line all the atc's up, have a cold one, and vote on the most unique, cleanest, and ugliest 70. The way we voted was by setting our empty cans in front of each bike. The bike with the most cans won each competition. ATC Trophies were awarded to each winner. When it came to the ugliest 70, Dune Rat had the very clever idea to put all the empty cans on top of the winner's 70.

 

"most unique 70"

"cleanest 70"

"ugliest 70"

 

"longest wheelie"

"track dominator" AND "fastest drag racer"

 

Once all the winners were announced, it was time to "do whatever ya feel like". Some went on some dune runs, some drank beer, some just relaxed. It was definitely an exhausting day in the sun. Everyone had so much fun they were spent. Camp was pretty mellow and quiet that night as everyone just chilled. Al smoked some ribs and passed them out around camp while everyone enjoyed one of the multiple fires we had going in the camp circle.

 

We'd like to thank everyone who came out and helped and participated with the 1st annual 70cc regatta at Dumont Dunes. You guys all made it a huge success and tons of fun. We are really looking forward to making a 2nd annual one happen next year!

 

 


 

 Special Thanks to...

 

 



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