Name

Number

 Class

200M
Flying
Sprint

Last
Man
Out

 30 min
timed
(MPH)

 ½ mile
TT
(Time)

Points/Place

John Schlitter

499

Stock

13.43

1

22.25

1:10.47

160/1^st

Jay Hoover

306

Stock

13.90

2

21.9375

1:16.71

156/2^nd

Ron Kauffman

304

Stock

14.39

3

20.9375

1:18.34

152/3^rd

Charles Brown

303

Stock

16.13

4

21.9375

1:22.46

146/4^th

Jim Scozzafava

305

Stock

17.09

5

19.9375

DNR

108/5^th

Jose Hernandez

301

Stock

15.75

DNR

DNR

1:29.23

73/6^th

Raymond Brick

344

Stock

17.10

DNR

DNR

1:31.07

69/7^th

Joel Lukachel

442

Stock

22.26

DNR

14.625

DNR

69/7^th

Karsten Fabian

203

Super Stock

12.33

1

25.25

1:04.59

160/1^st

John Tetz

204

Super Stock

14.77

2

21.875

1:14.49

156/2^nd

Ken Evans

202

Super Stock

15.32

3

20.875

1:22.90

152/3^rd

Sergio Agramonte

199

Super Street

16.96

4

17.625

DNR

120/1^st

Richard Myers

22

Streamliner

13.85

1

23.3125

1:18.93

159/1^st

Robert Wood

88

Streamliner

13.97

2

22.875

1:12.39

157/2^nd

Garrie Hill

44

Streamliner

16.95

3

16.5

1:31.15

152/3^rd

Sharie Brick

80

Streamliner

18.28

DNR

DNR

 DNR

37/4^th

Shari Bernhard

648

Women

18.95

1

18.8125

1:30.41

160/1^st

Robin Hayes

601

Women

22.63

3

11.5

2:06.24

153/2^nd

Sharie Brick

611

Women

21.62

2

DNR

1:49.68

117/3rd

Raymond Brick/
Sharie Brick

709

MultiRider

15:03

2

21.3125

1:19.46

159/1^st

Chris Burkhardt/
Bill Cook

737

MultiRider

15:36

1

19.25

1:19.77

157/2^nd

Dennis Sookoos/
Jose Hernandez

748

MultiRider

17.09

3

18.75

DNR

114/3^rd

HPRA Florida Challenge 2003 Race Report
By Shari Bernhard

For this, my 3^rd annual HPRA race, you’d think I’d have developed a system for organizing my materials.  Well, you’d be wrong.  I should have known that something was going to go awry – I was much too relaxed on Race Day.  Relaxation turned quickly to panic when I realized that I had completely forgotten to print up copies of the registration form!  Luckily, my buddies Jose and Dennis, who arrived early to help, sprung into action, as I stood paralyzed with fear and confusion.  A few hand-drawn lines and brief waiver (“I, the undersigned promise not to sue Shari Bernhard or the HPRA if I get hurt.”) on the Technical Inspection form, and we have a combination registration and tech inspection form.  No one who registered noticed enough to mention it.  Day is saved.  Thank you, Jose, for going the extra mile to get those copied. 

Registration commenced on time at 8 am, and by 9:30 am all racers were ready and warming up on the track.  Switching from the Velodrome to the Criterium Track was a big hit.  Racers who like the Velodrome quickly changed their tune.  The crit track is much less boring, much less intimidating, and easy to access.  Definitely the way we will go from now on. 

I was glad to see Garrie Hill arrive with Rob Wood.  I was on my own last year, and was glad for the safety net this year.  If there was something I forgot to do or say, Garrie was there to fill in the blanks.  Thanks, Garrie.  Also to my delight, John Tetz, attended, driving all the way from NJ to support the event.  Come to think of it, only 6 out of the 21 racers were from Broward County, a couple from Palm Beach, a couple more from the west coast, and the rest were from out of state.  To have all these people drive many, many hours to attend my race made me feel proud, and as silly as it might sound, special.

Compared to last year’s weather, no one had ANYTHING to complain about.  If anyone can recall, last year, those harbingers of doom we call meteorologists, wrong though they were, predicted 90% chance of rain 90% of the time.  This year, they were so very right.  We had bright blue sky, big fluffy clouds, higher than preferred wind, and relatively low humidity for Florida.  Near the end of the day of races, a few dark clouds gathered and sprinkled on us for about 5 minutes, but then they were gone, and a fine day prevailed. 

Watching the racers warm up, it became pretty evident that we were going to have a show with Karsten Fabian on the track.  This guy just tore it up!  John Schlitter of Bacchetta is no slouch either, and John Tetz turned in an excellent performance. Check out the 200M Flying Sprint results for some remarkable numbers. 

We had two, count ‘em, TWO, back-to-back tandems.  Bill Cook and Chris Burkhardt of Barcroft Bicycles in Virginia were there with a prototype B2B, and Ray and Sharie Brick had their B2B.  The Last Man Out race pitted the two back-to-backs head-to-head, but Chris and Bill prevailed by a nose. 

After a 30-minute lunch break that stretched into an hour, we ran two heats of the 30 minute timed race, dividing the racers into two near-even-sized groups.  Due to a shortage of spectators, several racers not racing in each heat had to count laps.  Karsten was again the star, finishing nearly two full laps ahead of the highest lappage by Richard Myers in his streamliner. 

Due to time constraints, I cut the 3-lap Time Trial down to 1 lap.  A half-mile isn’t much of a Time Trial, but after 3 other races, it seemed like enough.  I also needed to get home by 4 pm in order to have enough time to tally the results for the awards dinner at 7 pm (and have a beer). 

Nearly all the racers, plus a few family members, and my three first-rate assistants, Conni, Dave, and Neil, attended the awards dinner at Vila’s Mexican/Cuban Restaurant.  Bacchetta Bikes, GeeBee Enterprises, and PowerOn Cycling provided the prizes for the winners, as well as enough for everyone present.  If you showed up, you got a prize. 

It was a wonderful event.  My only disappointment was the scarcity of riders from Broward County and the rest of the state.  They just have no idea what they missed. I fully intend to do this again next year.  I also fully intend to be better organized, but even with a few snafus, the feedback I’ve been getting indicates that a fine time was had by all.  I can’t thank everyone enough for participating, spectating, assisting, sponsoring, and picture-taking. 

Shari Bernhard
Race Director, HPRA FL Challenge 2003