Why vintage motocross is so popular
As a motocross enthusiast you cannot ignore it: those men with their vintage motocross riders are doing great and not only in our country. Vintage motocross has become so popular that you can now compete every weekend somewhere in Europe. It is there where you can admire old machines from brands such as Maico, CZ, BSA, Montesa and Triumph during hard-fought competitions.
Here in our country, this type of motocross originated from an annual event in Bolderberg in the late 90s. This grew into a Belgian championship that has been organized by the BOTC working group for several decades now. This niche of the sport is also very popular abroad, with every country having a national championship and international events are also being organized.
Why the popularity?
The sport is accessible. In certain categories there may be a level where amateur motocross riders are attracted by the moderate speed. This has increased considerably over the years due to the presence of many ex-cross riders with a good basic speed. Especially in the EVO categories (the motorcycles with disc brakes, water cooling and mono suspension and their evolutions) the throttle is turned a lot.
The fact that purchasing a motorcycle would be cheap to participate in these competitions is relative. It depends on what level you are aiming for, but generally speaking, there is a lot more money to be had at the starting gate of a classic car race than at an amateur race with modern motorcycles.
Keeping these engines “talking” costs a lot of money, but it depends on the type and age. It goes without saying that a 50 BSA B1965 costs more in parts than a 250 Honda CR1991. The rule is: the older and rarer the engine, the more expensive it becomes to maintain it. It is also a challenge to obtain “fresh” parts for the most popular engines.
The popular competitions
In addition to Belgium, the United Kingdom is also a cradle for this sport. They organize the second largest events worldwide. That's the Vets MXDN in Farleigh Castle and the VMXdN in Foxhill. In Foxhill, the organization is in the hands of some acquaintances such as Dave King and Rob “Doc Wob” Walters. They expect as many as 30.000 spectators this year and these are numbers that are common at an MXGP race. A number of European championships are also organized, which are usually held over three races.
Another classic is certainly the famous “Flutlicht Motocross” in Kleinhau, Germany. The competition was held a few weeks ago for the 32th ridden once and is widely known for its competitions for old dirt bikes that ride their second series under artificial light.
In our country, AMC Orp revived the well-known Trophee 875 from the 70s last year and transformed it into a competition exclusively for vintage motorcycles. The first organization last year was a great success at the traditional circuit “La Petite Gette” in Orp-Le-Grand.
The Belgians
Belgium is a motocross country through and through. This becomes very clear in the Belgian classic car cross championship, which is organized by a working group of nine members. The official name of this championship is Belgium Old Timer Championship or BOTC. The working group works together with the motor sports associations VLM and VMCF to set up this championship. They recently had a BK trial in Moresnet with no fewer than 160 pilots registering.
Every now and then a real winner appears in the BK oldtimercross. Harry Everts, Graham Noyce, Stefan Everts, Sven Breugelmans, Joël Smets, Herbert Schmitz and many other acquaintances from the world championship have already participated in the Belgian races one or more times. Werner Dewit and Ivan Van Den Broeck, among others, were a fixture in this BK for years. The latter is currently even a member of the BOTC working group.
The international calendar
Due to the enormous increase in popularity, major international events have sprung up like mushrooms. In addition to Farleigh Castle and Foxhill, other circuits with a legendary touch are visited. For several years now, a “classic nations” has been held on the beautiful Arco di Trento circuit in Pietramurata. The MXGP track “Talkessel” in Teutschenthal has also been the setting for an international vintage motocross event for a number of years.
A competition to look forward to is certainly the BK trial of the BK oldtimercross in Nismes. The great circuit of Nismes is certainly a challenge and the race is even open to international participants. For many years now, the Vintage Motocross season has been opened in Le Touquet during the toughest beach race in the world: the Enduropale du Touquet. For several years now, vintage crossers have been invited to ride old machines on the beach of the French seaside resort for an hour on Friday afternoon.
All information about international races and those in our country can be found on our sister site MXVintage.be. There you can read everything about the competitions, the technology and the history of the sport.
International events
- 03-02 Le Touquet (F) Enduropale Vintage
- 06-04 Genk (B) Oldtimer training
- 01-05 Mons (B) Endurance Vintage & EVO du Doudou
- 19-05 Kleinhau (D) floodlight motocross
- 10-06 Lochem (NL) International Classic MX
- 24-06 Den Dungen Maico Meeting
- 15-07 Nismes (B) International Vintage Motocross
- 18-08 Ahun (F) Motocross Nations Classic
- 19-08 Ahun (F) Motocross Nations Classic
- 19-08 Farleigh Castle (UK) World Vets Motocross
- 20-08 Ahun (F) Motocross Nations Classic
- 20-08 Farleigh Castle (UK) World Vets Motocross
- 26-08 Foxhill (UK) VMXdN
- 27-08 Foxhill (UK) VMXdN
- 27-08 Orp-Le-Grand (B) Trophy 875
- 09-09 Farleigh Castle (UK) Vets MXdN
- 09-09 Maggiora (I) Vintage Motocross World Cup
- 10-09 Farleigh Castle (UK) Vets MXdN
- 10-09 Maggiora (I) Vintage Motocross World Cup
- 07-10 Arco di Trento (I) VMXIT RSP Classic
- 08-10 Arco di Trento (I) VMXIT RSP Classic
Calendar BK oldtimercross
- 08-04 Lummen
- 22-04 Wambeek
- 29-04 Gierle
- 06-05 Lummen
- 13-05 Genk
- 28-05 Moresnet
- 17-06 Genk
- 01-07 Genk
- 08-07 Retie
- 15-07 Nismes
- 29-07 Warsaw
- 05-08 Vechmaal
- 12-08 Koningshooikt
- 19-08 Kampenhout
- 26-08 Huldenberg
- 02-09 Kersbeek
- 16-09 Broechem
- 30-09 Betrayal
Photos: MXVintage, Tim Van Echelpoel, Adam Duckworth, Manu Jacques
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