Get your motor running!

The Yellow Bird was flying at the Runway Romp held this weekend at North Bay Jack Garland Airport. Photo by Bill Walton.
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Saturday was perfect weather for vintage motorcycles and their drivers at North Bay airport. Mayor Vic Fedeli opened the weekend of racing by welcoming the drivers, their support crews and families as well as spectators.

Jim Lecappelin, one of the organizers, said the number of racers was up again for the final VRRA race of the year. Other VRRA races were held at Shannonville in June, St. Eustache in July and Mosport in August. Vintage bikes are classified by age and displacement (there were a number of vintage drivers as well, some classified in the higher displacement ranks).

Click here to see BayToday.ca photographer Marc Archambault's photo gallery.

The sidecar races are a favourite as the sidecar rider shifts positions on the corners, often hanging out of their fibreglass shells as they look for the extra split seconds so important in racing.

Vintage bikes require considerable maintenance and racers bring portable shops with them to these races. The mechanics in pit row are always busy tuning engines or simply trying to start some of those old recalcitrant engines.

The public address system was much improved this year and one could hear the race being called anywhere on the grounds. Volunteers had good communications and were careful to shepherd spectators across the track between races.

Midday on Saturday was the Rumble and Roar ride through downtown North Bay where local riders could join the track bikes in a police-escorted trip to show off their wheels. Saturday evening is the dinner cruise on the Chief Command II, always an attraction for the riders and crews from out of town.

The Runway Romp is good entertainment for young and old, especially if you like the sight and sound of bikes going all out to win a race.