The Californian 2019 Recap
We are excited to get the OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE from the Californian Moto Show that hit SoCal on a very beautiful opening weekend of May. If you scroll to the bottom you’ll see the Creative Riding derby cars that were very…. well, slow.
-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-
The 3rd annual Californian classic motorcycle show took place on May 4th. Coinciding with the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, it was a horsepower themed afternoon from animal to machine. Adding to the theme this year was a display of vintage Porsches curated by The Professor Run. The weather couldn’t have been better, with sunny skies & a cool breeze that kept the temperature on the infield lawn around 75 degrees all day. As vendors set up in the morning, a stream of old bikes paraded into the infield via the Gate 6 tunnel. Thankfully we had a team of LA Cretins MC on hand assisting participants with a push up the tunnel hill and unloading bikes from their vehicles. Once the show opened a steady stream of folks passed through the event all day long.
One could speak with experts and check out displays from SoCal vintage clubs, including the BSA Club of SoCal, The SoCal Norton Owners Club, The Velocette Club of North America, The Ariel Owners Club & The Vincent Owners Club. If one was looking to restore a bike, they could speak with Buchanan’s Spoke & Rim about their wheel options, Classic British Spares about parts for their old Triumph, or tooling options with JRC Engineering. If modern Triumphs are your thing, Moto Chop Shop was on hand to discuss performance & customization options. Our friends at Hagerty Vintage Motorcycle Insurance spoke with many people about the best way to protect their two-wheeled investment and Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys reps signed up folks for their BAM roadside assistance program. Alpinestars had a display of their new gear and set up some great shade for the pine wood derby arena. Although not on hand day of, we appreciate the support from our friends at Biltwell and Deus Ex Machina, sponsors of The Californian since day one.
Judges determined the best in show for the 10 show categories and winners were announced on stage. Congratulations to this year’s winners of the Californian motorcycle show:
BEST IN SHOW: Dave Destler / 1950 Sunbeam S7 Deluxe
RESTO PRE-1969: Michael Harper-Smith / 1957 Aeromacchi Chimera
RESTO POST-1969: Bruce Fickling / 1972 Norton Commando Fastback
SURVIVOR PRE-1969: Todd Cameron / 1916 Harley Davidson JD
SURVIVOR POST-1969: Mitsuhiro Kiyonaga / 1969 Harley Davidson FLH
CUSTOM PRE-1980: Bruce Fickling / 1974 Rickman Metisse 750 Triump
CUSTOM POST-1980: Ralph Nevarez / 19xx Ariel 2×4
RACE INSPIRED: Ryan Talbot / 1957 Norton Manx
DAILY DRIVER: Nima Karamati / 1965 BMW R69S
Ben Eisenbise, founder of the Professor Run, organized a people’s choice award for the vintage Porsche feature. Over 200 spectator votes were cast to give us this year’s people’s choice winner, Jung Akkhrawat Aphiwattechin with his 1969 Porsche 911T Coupe.
Following the awards ceremony was the “Derby at the Derby” Pinewood Derby. Fifteen cars entered the contest with builders’ ages ranging from four to forty. Bracket racing took place on the 32-foot long gravity fed track and the racing was so furious that I didn’t write down the name of the winner! My notes just say car#4…so congrats buddy! I know it was a child, and not a grownup…and that’s good enough for me. On hand to judge the design portion of the derby was our friends Miguel Galuzzi, Shinya Kimura & Mitsuhisho Kiyonaga. The trio of design legends determined that the snazziest car was built by Parker Floyd, age 7. What we determined is that we need more creativity and mechanical genius coming from the grown ups if they ever wanna compete with the younger crowd. We have a year, so get on it folks!
The afternoon ended with a few cold ones being consumed while we cleaned up and helped some of the old timers load up their bikes.
Early signs point to the 4th annual Californian happening May 2nd, 2020, largely because of the support of Santa Anita Park. And I must take a minute to express my appreciation for Andrew Arthur & the entire SAP team. Although the track had been under scrutiny for months, the team always took the time to take care of me, whether it was questions on the phone or bending over backwards to help with logistics. The Californian hopes that the historical park continues to operate for years to come now that Santa Anita has adopted safety reforms that has been applauded by animal rights group, PETA.
Thank you all for the support of The Californian…we look forward to more fun in 2020!
Brady Walker
Founder / Producer
The Californian
310 980 7129