On the first day of 2019 Honda AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days presented by Avon Tyres, Sam Markley was getting ready to compete in a hare scramble on a trials motorcycle, hoping to get a good result. The New Paris, Ind., resident wasn’t expecting that his gamble would put him in position to win him an overall championship.

And just minutes before the announcement of the 2019 AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Champions on July 7, Christopher Spoonogle was ready to skip the announcement and start heading home to Ballston Lake, N.Y.

While he had put in strong performances during the weekend, he didn’t think he’d done enough to win the award.

Minutes later, AMA Director of Racing Kevin Crowther came onto the stage in the Hanger at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and named Spoonogle the 2019 Off-Road Vintage Grand Champion and Markley the Senior Off-Road Vintage Grand Champion. The two surprised racers stepped onto the stage, and the crowd cheered as the two first-time winners held their awards up for all to see.

The AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship and AMA Senior Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship are based on cumulative points from the three vintage off-road events: hare scrambles, trials and motocross.

The championships took place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 5-7.

 

Streak Broken

Spoonogle’s AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship snapped a streak in which either Trevor Kline or Quinn Wentzel had won the title every year since 2013.

With Wentzel absent from the 2019 event, Spoonogle still had to battle a proven, two-time champion in Kline to claim the crown.

It was Spoonogle’s second time competing at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. He did not compete at the 2018 edition of the event due to an injury.

The hare scramble race kicked off the competition for the 2019 honor on July 5. Riders who were competing in the Vintage A 250 and Vintage A Open classes were eligible to earn points toward the AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship.

The muddy, difficult conditions didn’t slow down Spoonogle, who easily took the win in the Vintage A 250 Class aboard a 1974 Can-Am by more than three minutes. Kline finished runner-up in the Vintage A Open Class on a Husqvarna.

Spoonogle said he got a bad start, but found ways to make up time.

“I made up some ground quickly and was fifth heading into the woods,” he said. “On the second lap, there was a big scramble up the hill. There was a new line that I found, and I got by a lot of guys there.”

The next day featured the motocross portion of the grand championship competition, where the title chase tipped back in Kline’s favor.

In the Vintage A 250 Class, Kline beat Spoonogle in both motos to take the class title, while also winning the Vintage A Open Class crown. Spoonogle did not race in Vintage A Open.

The competition for the grand championship closed out July 7 with observed trials.

Rain-saturated soil made course conditions for trials challenging, and the sloppy conditions made maneuvering motorcycles over and around obstacles very difficult.

Spoonogle and Kline competed in the Vintage Old School Expert Class, and Spoonogle finished runner-up in the class and ahead of third-place finisher Kline by 36 points.

The trials result was enough to allow Spoonogle to edge out Kline for the 2019 AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship by just three points.

After the awards announcement, Spoonogle said he had a goal of winning the title, but doubted his results were enough to finish ahead of Kline.

“I thought I hadn’t won, but to hear my name called was pretty amazing,” Spoonogle said.

The event was Spoonogle’s first since suffering a compound fracture of his forearm and a dislocated shoulder. He attended 2018 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days as a mechanic and was happy to be back at the event as a competitor in 2019.

It was a family effort to get Spoonogle and all of the needed motorcycles and equipment to Mid-Ohio. Christopher’s father, Kurt Spoonogle, also competed in hare scrambles, motocross and trials. The two had hoped to claim both AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship titles in the same year.

Kurt got close to making that dream come true, finishing one position behind Markley in all three competition disciplines.

Christopher is hoping his title isn’t a “one and done.” The younger Spoonogle is planning to return in 2020 to try to match Kline’s two career AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Championships.

 

From The Cradle To JR

Christopher started riding motorcycles at age 4. His first bike was a Suzuki JR50, and he rode recreationally until he was about 10, when he competed in a hare scramble. He also did some pit bike racing when he was 16 or 17.

Spoonogle began taking motorcycle competition more seriously when he began riding trials about six years ago.

Although he regularly rides motorcycles in trials competition, Spoonogle said most of his motorcycle riding is recreational. His family owns several motorcycles, including a modern trials bike and a 300cc KTM he uses for recreational trail riding near his home in upstate New York.

Spoonogle doesn’t have to go far to get his observed trials practice in. His family has a trials course set up in their yard.

 

Delighted To Win

For Markley, winning the 2019 AMA Senior Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship was not a goal at the start of the event.

Before the hare scramble, Markley said he noticed the muddy course conditions and decided to make an unorthodox motorcycle change.

He chose to ride his 1974 Yamaha TY250 trials bike instead of his 1974 Husqvarna 400 CR in the hare scramble, hoping that its lighter weight and better handling characteristics would help him navigate through portions of the hare scramble course more easily. He also knew from experience that his Husqvarna motocross bike was difficult to get moving again if it got stuck in the mud.

“The trials bike was very nimble and maneuvered through the woods way easier,” he said.

His gamble paid off, and Markley scored the win in the Vintage Super Senior 50+ A Class.

On July 6, it was time for motocross competition, and Markley again found himself on the top step of the podium. Riding his Husqvarna 400 CR, he won the first moto in the Super Senior 50+ A Class and finished runner-up in the second moto. His 1-2 was enough to edge out the Kurt Spoonogle for the class title.

On July 7, Markley was back on his Yamaha trials bike, finishing fourth in the Vintage Factory Expert Class. It would be enough to secure the Senior Off-Road Vintage Grand Championship by  7 points.

Markley, 51, said he was delighted to win the title and believed his trials background was a big reason he performed so well.

 

An All-Around Champion

While Markley started riding observed trials at the age of 5, he didn’t take up participating in the other grand championship racing disciplines until much later in life.

He grew up in a motorcycling family, and said his brother was once ranked third in the nation as a trials competitor.

Markley competed in a few motocross races in his youth, but chose to take up hare scramble and enduro competition at the age of 40.

He learned about the senior grand championship after attending AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days for the first time in 2014.

His friends took park in the observed trials, and he decided to come to the event as a trials competitor in 2015.

Two of Markley’s favorite competition disciplines are enduro and hard enduro. He has competed in the Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro since 2014.

He began taking part in the AMA National Enduro Series in 2013, and finished sixth overall in the 50+ A Class in 2018, despite suffering a broken leg during the season.

He is the proud owner of 11 motorcycles, and said he’s focused more on buying vintage motorcycles because of the enjoyment he gets from competing at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days.

Markley owns two 1974 Husqvarna 400 CRs, a 1973 and a 1974 Penton Jack Piner 175, five Yamaha trials motorcycles, a Yamaha flat track bike and a Bultaco.

The Husqvarna he raced during 2018 and 2019 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days was one he found at the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days swap meet. He said he bought the bike on the Friday of the 2018 event, raced it during the weekend and brought it back to race again this year.

Markley also said he is grateful to the AMA for putting on the event.

“I just want to thank all of the AMA folks for making this event happen,” he said. “This is such a great venue, and I like the grand championship format with hare scrambles, motocross and trials.”

Markley had additional racing plans for AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days that unfortunately did not come to fruition: He had planned on competing in the AMA Vintage Flat Track National Championship Series event at Ashland County Fairgrounds in Ashland, Ohio, on July 6. That event was rained out and rescheduled for the morning of July 7, when Markely was scheduled to compete in the observed trials competition at Mid-Ohio.

“I was signed up for the Vintage 250 and Vintage Open 50+ classes in flat track,” Markley said. “I rode during practice, but then they postponed the event.”

Like Spoonogle, Markley plans to return to AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days in 2020 to defend his crown.