Vintage racers escape in New Hampshire

[Dodsfall]

The United States Classic Racing Association (USCRA) held their Grand Prix in Loudon, New Hampshire this week. A few miles away from Laconia, where Motorcycle Week is taking place, vintage racers pushed themselves and their machines to see who came out on top.

The USCRA is the oldest vintage racing organization in the US. The members are primarily in the Northeast and race motorcycles dating from the 1940s through the 1980s.

Scott Vile, a 52-year-old book designer and printer by trade, raced around the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on his 175cc Honda. Ten years ago, he decided to get into vintage racing as a hobby. “I do it because I need to defeat certain fears,” he said at the close of the racing day. “This is an escape from real life.”



The speedway's track is a fairly short 1.6-mile road racing course. There are 12 turns, and the speeds of the vintage machines reached an easy 90 miles an hour.

Vintage racer Kerry Smith rode a custom-built Giannini racing bike, which carries the number 75. The 31-year-old from Portland had a father who raced when she was a kid. She said, “When I was a kid, I thought everyone went to the race track, they just didn't go to the race track I went to. I just couldn't think of a cooler place to grow up.”



[Bangor Daily News]