*NSFW* Loudon Pics from the '80s

[brewmaster]

Great thread! Keep it going. I only made it to a few of the later AMA events but they were crazy.

I would love to see them build the "new" track to WSB - MotoGP specs and see the crowds enjoy Loudon again.

[Karaya One]

Why is the Ducati (I assume a F1 750) running with all the CBR600's? Track day?

#59 should be the late Donald Jacks on the Suzuki. A few years before his Yosh ride. http://nationalprivateer.com/dj.html

Sadowski's 1990 Daytona winning OW01 is now in the Barber Museum.

[Johnny B]

Why is the Ducati (I assume a F1 750) running with all the CBR600's? Track day?

Middleweight GP class. Best races were three way dices between Gary on the Duc, (Bored out to 816CC's, BTW) Steve Nogueira on his Hurricane 600 and Larry Hanlon riding a Honda 250 GP bike.

[Jaynnus]

Our 1953 Chevy school bus.

Holy nostalgia....I remember that bus!!

[Johnny B]

Holy nostalgia....I remember that bus!!

Why didn't you stop by?

[gsxrjack]

Hey Jack - Great to see some of the old faces in this thread It really brings back memories seeing/hearing the names. Are you still racing or doing track days ? Those Summers at the old track are some of my best memories from my twenties...[/QUOTE]

Ya, i also have great memories of those days at the old loudon and bridgehampton...hanging with TJ and the boys from the revere yamaha shop......definately good times...

I just loved the old track and never really got the hang of the new one, I crashed hard in 3 in the 1st NHIS national race practice , finished up the year and called it a carreer......was hitting 40 at that time. but had a ball..

I still see Tim Oconnor is still racing the 250's there now...dam

No more bikes, though i miss them at the drag strip,,,,running a 2000 vette with juice at the drags and i do a few track days with it up at NHIS and Lime Rock but thats it....

nice talking to you Mr G...we had some good times

jack

[Johnny B]

O.K., I've got my photo scanner up and running! First picture posted, my fleet! All registered and inspected, I had consecutive license plates and inspection stickers. Left to right: 1987 Yamaha YSR50, 1983 Suzuki GS750ES, 1971 BMW R60/5, 1974 Yamaha RD350.

[Tabby]

I was there, up on "Animal Hill" for every year of the 80s. I witnessed Johnny B's annual "Tit Patrol" rides, although I didn't know who he was. I was one of the countless bodies standing around with glazed over eyes, and a beer in hand,,,, sometimes two.
I raced a 83 GS550ES Suzuki there in 83.
As a small side note.
One year in the mid 90s, a friend of mine and myself were standing in line to get our weekend pass at the front gate. Usually we pre-ordered, but goofed up that year. We were doing the usual bench racing just to kill time, when I noticed that Gary Nixon had walked into line behind us. Rugged little shit he is. He noticed that I recognized him, as I was just a little star struck. He then asks me which track I liked better, the old Bryar or this one. I was like, "you are asking me?" Like why in hell would he care what a piss ant like myself thought. I just said "Gary, I still miss the old track". This big, warm grin came across his face. I think I must have said just what he wanted to hear.
I'll route for that tough old bastard where ever he turns a wheel.

[ZX11D]

Thanks for the pics. I looked at every hoping to find for me and maybe some of my friends from those days. No luck though. Great link though thanks.

[ZX11D]

I think this is pretty accurate. I remember when they raced the opposite way the track is set up now . This looks like a drawing with a bike facing that direction too. The cool part about the track then was if I`m not mistaken quite a few times the 250`s were running quicker lap times than everyone else. There was also that cool hairpin at the end of the straight on the left at which many riders were saved by the hay bales grown locally back then.

[Tabby]

Yup, they ran clockwise. On occasion they would run ccw and call it Noduol. I only raced it that way once. I had a hell of a time, and never did get comfortable with it that way.

[Ken C]

I won a race running NODUOL on my RD400 once. Talk about dangerous! The "runoff" at the exit of T10 (to the right of the grandstands) was the pit wall! Not that the haybale-lined grandstand wall was much better when running it the normal way. Although the wall was far enough away from where most crashes occurred that the haybales worked all right. I fell there in the rain once and never made it to the wall. (Of course, I was going fairly slow at the time.)

[ZX11D]

I won a race running NODUOL on my RD400 once. Talk about dangerous! The "runoff" at the exit of T10 (to the right of the grandstands) was the pit wall! Not that the haybale-lined grandstand wall was much better when running it the normal way. Although the wall was far enough away from where most crashes occurred that the haybales worked all right. I fell there in the rain once and never made it to the wall. (Of course, I was going fairly slow at the time.)

At the risk what does NODUOL stand for ?

[CBR929RE]

At the risk what does NODUOL stand for ?

Loudon backwards

[Ken C]

Loudon backwards

[OreoGaborio]

sdrawkcab noduol

dexif

[Johnny B]

The day I became involved at Loudon. This is the day that Tim Barclay showed up at my house with his bike wired up and ready to race. Before this, I hadn't even heard of club racing, only that the Laconia Classic happened every June. Tim had a 1978 Yamaha RD400. It was originally silver, but he decided to have it painted to look like a Daytona Special.
I followed Tim up to the track to see what AAMRR was all about, and I continue to come up to this day.



The RD became a pass me down race bike. As soon as Tim moved up to racing his Suzuki GS1000S, Mark Benassi raced the Yamaha. Mark's number was 440, so we called the two of them "The Magnum Brothers". Mark raced two events, then pussied out. The Yamaha went to somebody else. Eventually we blew it up on Animal Hill and left the remains up there. That's Gary Stas holding the For Sale sign.

[Doc]

I can't believe these are from the 80's... I remember the 80 and this looks like the 70's!!

[Johnny B]

[Doc]

The Budweiser Comic!!

[Johnny B]

The Budweiser Comic!!

But who came first?

[Tabby]

Geez, Johnny, I'd bet we have crossed paths a few times up there. Boy, those were the days. I started going up there in 76, just day tripping. My dad, a couple of friends, and myself would ride up each day. We lived in Dover NH, so it was a nice ride anyway you look at it. I didn't start camping up there until 1980. Wow, that first year camping was ungodly. That was the year of the big fires, as in the T5 tower, the grandstands and tires opposite it. I was double fisting bottles of Labatt's Blue, so I wouldn't have to run back to the cooler as often. Sat down next to a couple of dudes at a van to watch the fires, thay handed me some hash to smoke,,,,,,,,, I woke up Sunday morning against a rock, wondering how in the hell I got there. Man, if I make it through 3 beers now, without needing to take a nap, I'm doing good.

[DStuff101]

found this yesterday. i know i have pictures somewhere, was in 88-90 i think. got arrested and thrown out the last year for doing a burnout in my jeep of all things. think if my parents knew what really went on there they wouldnt have let me go at 19yo in 88

[FirstLightning]

I came across this site with some old photos of of Loudon during the 80's.

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?s=loudon

Interesting stuff... things sure have changed a bunch.

[Ken C]

I came across this site with some old photos of of Loudon during the 80's.

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?s=loudon

Interesting stuff... things sure have changed a bunch.

The corner where Johnny B crashed is T6 (the bowl). The place where McMurter is wheelying is in the vicinity of what is now T9/10.