Two days of sunshine and perfect New Hampshire summer temperatures were a welcome
sight for riders in Round 4 of the 2023 NEMRR series, who were coming off a long six-week break following the 100th Loudon Classic.
The exceptional forecast led to full grids all weekend long across all classes August 5-6 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A bright spot before the event was the overwhelming support of the NEMRR riders for the series as a whole. The 100th Loudon Classic was a landmark event with a record-breaking purse, top level talent from MotoAmerica and a fantastic turnout from New England racing enthusiasts who have been part of the regional racing scene dating all the way back to the 1960s.
There were hundreds of faces who had not visited NHMS in years and helped to make the 100th Classic the special gathering it was designed to be. The motorcycle community as a whole has rallied behind the organization, as an unfortunate stroke of luck as a terrible weather forecast kept many would-be spectators (and their accompanying revenue) home on the day of the Classic. If there was any message that was to be taken from the event it was that NEMRR is alive and well.
Not only will the series be racing in 2024 and beyond, but the 101st Loudon Classic
may be an even bigger event next season. Fans and riders can expect an announcement in the coming months.
The top performer for the weekend was veteran Brett Guyer, who rode his Seacoast Sport Cycles Aprilia RS 660 to victory in all seven of his Expert races. While Guyer won the majority of his races handily, the closest contest was the Lightweight Superbike by Freedom Cycle race on Saturday afternoon. Guyer slotted in behind his son Adam Guyer on lap one, with the pair followed by and coming MotoAmerica Rider Jacob
Crossman in third. Guyer used his strength on the brakes to close pass Adam on lap two and put his head down to run the fastest lap of the race on lap three. As the elder Guyer pulled away, Crossman was anxiously probing for a way by the Ducati of Adam Guyer, finally pushing his way past by lap four. Crossman made inroads into the lead as the pair sliced through traffic, but got balked by a group of riders on the last lap and came up a couple seconds shy as the checkered flag flew.
The fastest times of the weekend were set by Penguin Racing/Woodcraft’s Eric Wood on his Kawasaki ZX-10R. Wood went four-for-four in the Unlimited classes, setting the fast time of the weekend in the Unlimited Supersport by Orient Express race on Sunday morning. The big Kawasaki flexed its muscles down the straights of New Hampshire Motor Speedway as Wood clocked in a 1:11.4 on his route to victory.
The feature Michelin/MotoRace Dash for Cash was missing two key players this weekend. Tyler Sweeney missed the event as he was recovering from a recent broken collarbone, and 2022 Champion Scott Greenwood is still recovering from a shoulder injury sustained while playing hockey this past winter. The favorite coming into the event was Eli Block, who has
showed impressive speed during his first full season on his Yamaha R6.
Block came out swinging with the holeshot, follow by Triumph pilot Ian Beam and the Yamaha R6 of Micheal Lee. As Block began to pull away, Lee’s race ended on lap three and Harlan Hlidebrand moved into the third spot. As Block continued his charge, veteran Rick Doucette was moving forward fast after a terrible start that left him in sixth spot on the
opening lap.
In an unexpected turn, Block crashed on the final lap in the Turn Six “Bowl.” This allowed Beam to collect his maiden Dash for Cash victory as he was joined on the podium by Hidebrand and Doucette. Block got up, uninjured, and finished the race in eighth place.
The weekend was marred by a concerning event and NEMRR president John Grush was rushed to the hospital after a non-racing related medical emergency on Saturday afternoon. At the time of writing John is still in the hospital, and the family is deeply appreciative of the support of the racing community and respectfully asks for some privacy at this time. We can report that John is now awake and able to communicate and
we all share our heartfelt wishes for a full and speedy recovery.
Round Five of the NEMRR series resumes on August 19-20 at New Hampshire
Motor Speedway.
