Roberts Beats an International Variety of Bikes in AHRMA 2023 Vintage Cup Formula 750 Rounds 3 and 4
(March 22, Knoxville, TN) – The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) delivered on its promise to put a mile-wide variety of bikes on the track as part of the 2023 Vintage Cup.
Motorcycles from three different manufacturers and three different countries topped the podium during the third and fourth rounds of the AHRMA Vintage Cup held March 18 and 19 at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC as part of the 2023 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series.
Sponsored by Hagerty Insurance, RoadracingWorld.com, and NYC Norton (nycnorton.com), AHRMA’s 2023 Vintage Cup features the Formula 750 (F750) class which includes 750cc two and four-stroke powered machines built up to 1972.
“While I had some suspicions, and even hopes, about the bikes that would be campaigned in the F750 class this year, I’m very pleasantly surprised and decidedly psyched at the variety of machines and riders who are showing up,” said Kenny Cummings from NYC Norton.
At the start of Saturday’s race, Rob Hall on a 1975 Triumph 750 jumped into an early lead, with Colton Roberts, campaigning a 1976 Yamaha RD400, and Jeff Hargis, on his 1972 Yamaha XS 650, battling for second.
With just one lap left, a piston failure sent Hall backwards through the field, allowing Roberts to take the lead and the victory with Hargis second.
The final podium spot was contested by Tony Read, on his 1973 Triumph Bonneville, and Brian Larrabure, riding a 1972 Ducati Imola 750SS. Read ultimately held off Larrabure to take third.
The balance of the grid was a dizzying array of early to late 1970s machines with an equally dizzying array of engine displacements. Jim Hinshaw was on a 1970 Kawasaki H1 500; Michael Wilson raced a 1977 Yamaha RD400; Daniel May, Stan Miller, and Justin Hebbel all raced BMW R75/5s; Greyson Rogers raced a 1976 Yamaha RD400, Vincent Borbone was on a 1972 Kawasaki H2; and Mark Williams raced a 1974 Kawasaki H1.
Sunday’s race saw Roberts take an early lead, which he held through the checkered flag. Hall had changed machines and on Sunday rode the Hall’s Custom Vintage 1967 Triumph 650 to second place. In a repeat of Sunday’s action, Larrabure and Read battled to round out the podium, with Larrabure finishing third.
With four rounds completed, Roberts is the current points leader.
“AHRMA is all about celebrating different eras in motorcycle racing, putting different kinds of bikes on the track and really seeing what they can do,” said Carl Anderson, AHRMA’s 2023 Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “The latest rounds of our F750 Vintage Cup take this to another level with two-strokes, parallel twins, ‘L-twins,’ horizontally-opposed twins all going at it at the same time. Great stuff!”
The annual Vintage Cup spotlights one of AHRMA’s road racing classes with extra attention on competitors in the selected class during each race event. Enhanced awards for the Vintage Cup competitors are presented separately from other class trophies during the Saturday awards ceremony at select AHRMA road racing events.
Highlights from each Formula 750 race will be reported in RoadracingWorld.com’s online edition. At the conclusion of each season, the perpetual Vintage Cup trophy will be engraved with the national champion winner’s name and presented to the winner at the National Awards Banquet to keep for one year.
2023 Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series, Formula 750 – Vintage Cup Results
Saturday, March 18, 2023
1 – Colton Roberts, 1976 Yamaha RD400, Pawnee, IL
2 – Jeff Hargis, 1972 Yamaha XS 650, Battle Creek, MI
3 – Tony Read, 1973 Triumph Bonneville, Charlotte, TN
4 – Brian Larrabure, 1972 Ducati Imola 750SS, Calabasas, CA
5 – Jim Hinshaw, 1970 Kawasaki H1 500, Gainesville, GA
6 – Michael Wilson, 1977 Yamaha RD400, Maylene, AL
7 – Daniel May, 1972 BMW R75/5, Wilmette, IL
8 – Greyson Rogers, 1976 Yamaha RD400, Denver, NC
9 – Vincent Borbone, 1972 Kawasaki H2, Hampstead, NY
10 – Stan Miller, 1973 BMW R75/5, St. Petersburg, FL
11 – Justin Hebbel, 1972 BMW R75/5, Baltimore, MD
12 – Rob Hall, 1975 Triumph 750, Charlotte, NC
13 – Mark Williams, 1974 Kawasaki H1 500, Gainesville, GA
Sunday, March 19, 2023
1 – Colton Roberts, 1976 Yamaha RD400, Pawnee, IL
2 – Rob Hall, 1967 Triumph 650, Charlotte, NC
3 – Brian Larrabure, 1972 Ducati Imola 750SS, Calabasas, CA
4 – Tony Read, 1973 Triumph Bonneville, Charlotte, TN
5 – Jim Hinshaw, 1970 Kawasaki H1 500, Gainesville, GA
6 – Michael Wilson, 1977 Yamaha RD400, Maylene, AL
7 – Justin Hebbel, 1972 BMW R75/5, Baltimore, MD
8 – Greyson Rogers, 1976 Yamaha RD400, Denver, NC
9 – Stan Miller, 1973 BMW R75/5, St. Petersburg, FL
10 – Daniel May, 1972 BMW R75/5, Wilmette, IL
11 – Mark Williams, 1974 Kawasaki H-1 500, Gainesville, GA
About AHRMA:
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to competing on fantastic classic and true vintage machines along with a wide range of modern motorcycles. With over 3,000 members, AHRMA is the largest vintage racing group in North America and one of the biggest in the world. The association has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the increasing interest in classic bikes.
