Shan Moore | March 14, 2023
The glory days of old made its annual comeback for the fourth year in a row at Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona Vintage Supercross (DVSX), March 7, featuring classes from Vintage (up to 1974) to Revolution (up to 2008).
The Daytona Vintage Supercross is as popular as ever, with 40 classes and 300-plus entries.
Photos by Rob Koy
Vintage bikes, as well as several vintage riders took to a tamed-down version of the course that the pros raced on Saturday night. The event is unique in that there’s as much interest in the pits for the fans as there is on the track, as a wide variety of vintage and antique motocross bikes adorn the paddocks, not to mention a cool display of vintage riding gear. Remember the Jofa?
New for 2023 was the addition of a new class called the King of Daytona XR200, which was for any year XR200/R with front and rear drum brakes. According to former supercross racer Blake Wharton, who helped introduce the class, “The motor must be a XR200, but all other modifications are open, so therefore you can have the ‘run what you brung’ approach,” said Wharton.
Robbie Horton dusted off his 1980s Kawasaki KX125 and won the Evolution 3 class. The Georgian also won the Evo 3 Senior (40+) class.
Rob Roberts rode his pristine KTM to a fourth-place finish in the Vintage-Masters (50+) C class.
Counting the King of Daytona XR200 class and the Open Mini class (another new class for 2023), this year’s event offered 40 classes for more than 300 entries of vintage bikes, as well as senior riders on modern bikes, including a Warrior class for military veterans and first responders.
Riley Ripper grabbed the holeshot and checked out in the King of Daytona XR200 class, with Justin Thompson in second and Kody Smith in third. Ripper, Thompson and Smith maintained their original positions throughout the event, with Ripper taking the overall with a 1-1 score, while Thompson went 2-2 for second and Smith went 3-3.
Riley Ripper was indeed rippin’ on his Honda en route to victory in the new King of Daytona XR200 class.
In the Warrior division, Shane Waite swept both motos on a KTM, with James Gaines (Husqvarna) going 2-2 for second overall and Travis King (Honda) taking a 3-3 for third.
James B Nagy Jr. won three divisions on Tuesday, taking the title in the Silver Masters 55+; Revolution 1 Masters 50 +; and the Revolution 1 Masters 40 + classes.
Joseph Gretchen competed in multiple classes on his beautiful Maico. He took the top prize in the Evo 1-Golden Masters class.
