Bird Dog
The assignment: tell some nostalgic stories about World Mini and why it means something to me to resurrect it from the grave. I won’t bore you with ALL the stories. If you abide by international law of “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” I can’t legally tell you all the stories anyways. So, we’ll keep it to dirt biking.
Why World Mini? To be completely honest, because we had the opportunity. I’m sure if we had the chance to bring back Lake Whitney or Mosier Valley, we’d jump at that as well. But we don’t.
World Mini is, however, what I always considered one of the coolest races of the year. Outside of Loretta’s, the JS7 Freestone Spring Championship and maybe Mini O’s, I think “national” level amateur events are dying off. Inflation is making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches expensive and as a result most events, even Major Events, are becoming more regionalized. World Mini always had that international vibe where some random kids would show up from Australia and you had no idea who they were (pre social media, of course). Plus, it was always the biggest event on the West Coast, and as an East Coast kid growing up, there was always a bit of fantasy that went along with the California race scene. I would read Racer X at night and dream about riding out west as a kid.
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Stories of Steve McQueen dropping the gate at Indian Dunes in the early days plaster my mind to this day. And I’d be lying if I didn’t think we could bring it back to that level of event. One thing is for sure, we’re going to send it for the rescheduling of the 44th Annual World Mini Grand Prix.
I’d also like to give a huge thank you to Ron Henrickson for trusting in our vision to do so, along with Gary and Courtney Brough of Mesquite MX, who have proven to be invaluable partners in this journey.
P.S. Blake Wharton was the fastest kid to ever race World Mini. Prove me wrong.
