D23 ARMCA Member of the Week (April 5th)
Member of the Week: Logan Cipala
Written by: Jackie Riess
With his parents having met at a hillclimb race, Logan Cipala was destined to become a hillclimb racer. He received his first dirt bike when he was three years old, and began racing in District 23 the following year. Hillclimb became a natural fit for him, but he did dabble in motocross when he was on 50’s. He admits he wasn’t very good on 50’s and 65’s, but as he progressed through his amateur career he found his stride and 11 Amateur National Hillclimb Championships along the way. These championships helped him to earn three Amateur Hill Climber of the Year awards consecutively, and was his sign that he was ready to compete in the professional ranks.
Logan’s first professional championship was earned in 2017, after an intense, series-long points battle. At the time, this was his biggest goal in racing, and this accomplishment was a huge relief. However, the story behind his 6th, and most recent, professional championship is the story of a true champion.
While cross training at Cedar Lake Arena last spring, Logan had a seemingly menial fall coming into a corner. But as he got up, he noticed a lump under his jersey. Lifting his jersey, he realized that lump was his intestines, as the foot peg had ripped open his abdomen. With help from friends, he was able to load up and get to the hospital. Later, doctors performed an exploratory surgery where they cut Logan’s abdominal muscles down the center of his body. He recounts this as the most painful experience of his life. He then spent the spring and summer recovering from this injury, with hopes of being able to compete in the AMA National Hillclimb series. The delays and cancellations of events because of the COVID-19 pandemic worked in his favor, and he was able to return to racing at the first round of the series in September 2020. With just two weekends of racing consisting of 6 rounds, Logan was able to secure the 450 and Premier class championships.
Though hillclimb was his focus through his mid-teens, Logan competes in many disciplines of dirt bike racing. From off-road to motocross to snow biking and even snow hill climb, he is a well versed rider and believes this only makes him a better overall motorcyclist. In 2018 he was invited to compete in snow hill climb at Winter X Games. Racing on a bike familiar to him, he felt this was an advantage and helped him race to his silver medal finish.
In 2021, Logan again plans to compete in the AMA Pro Hill Climb series, as well as compete in District 23 hare scramble and hillclimb races to support our local clubs. He will be working with Valley Springs Motorcycle Club for the AMA professional and amateur nationals, and encourages people to spectate the events. The tight knit community and wide array of bikes provide exciting racing to any motorcycle fan. Logan encourages young racers to focus on their passion for racing and the fun that comes with it, rather than results. “If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing!”
Visit armca.org/schedule to find a race near you.
The Roots Podcast Episode 2 from MN District 23 ARMCA
The Roots Podcast Episode 1 from MN District 23 ARMCA
D23 ARMCA Member of the Week
Member of the Week: Miranda Tweeton
Written by: Jackie Riess
Growing up in a family of motocross racers, Miranda took to the track in 2006. Soon after, her brother began taking an interest in hare scramble racing, and she began racing at her local race in Monticello, MN. She admits she wasn’t having great success on minis in either discipline, but once she moved to the supermini, she began finding success. Miranda moved up from the Girl’s class into the Women’s class of District 23 ARMCA hare scramble racing, where she finally won her first championship. After this championship, she moved up to 200 C and quickly moved to 200 B where she continues to race in District 23 ARMCA.
In 2020, a new job allowed Miranda to begin racing the national GNCC Series in the Women’s class. The more intense races have proved challenging for her, but in 2020 she finished in the top 5 of every race she competed in (with one mechanical exception) and 4th overall in the series. She sees this as her greatest racing accomplishment of her career and strives to continue this success in 2021.
In 2021, she continues to dedicate herself to the GNCC Series. With 9-7 finishes in her first two races, she is quickly progressing each time she’s on the track, after a long winter halted her on-the-bike progress. Long days and nights of driving to get to the races and back before work on Monday show how truly dedicated she is to her goals. She is often accompanied by her mom on these trips, and explained how this can be a shocking scene for people. Two women stopping for gas with a dirt bike in the back of a truck is surprising for people, but Miranda admittedly enjoys getting these looks and challenging people’s expectations.
Miranda attributes her progression to her background in both motocross and hare scramble racing. Her corner speed and aggression learned in motocross, as well as her proper form and technique in hare scrambles have helped her become a better racer. Though the GNCC races are generally more open and fast paced like motocross, she feels the tight technical hare scrambles in District 23 ARMCA have given her an advantage in these rare sections of GNCC racing. As she continues learning how to tackle the national tracks, she claims the people are what keep her coming back. The camaraderie among the women is refreshing, and keeps the social environment laid back when the racing gains intensity. When asked what advice she has for new riders, Miranda responded, “just give it a try!’ She encourages people to tackle their fears in the supportive environment we have in District 23 ARMCA.
March 3rd D23 Board Meeting Summary
March 3rd ARMCA Board Meeting:
Business conducted:
We know that off road motorcycle sales are up by 50% ending in 2020, it is imperative that we as an organization capture these new riders and buyers. Our class reps are going to be leaned on heavily this season to promote the district, stay up on all district business, and get out and grow relationships with motorcycle related businesses. We are preparing point of sale literature to get to dealers and shops.
We are working to get out member discount program going with select dealers and businesses.
We are working on a means of communication for all of our members, Rex Greenwald is heading up that effort.
Rules enforcement was discussed. Again it is imperative that all the AMA and D 23 rules be adhered to at our events. Failure to do so may result in a liability lawsuit. In the event of lawsuits if the rules are not followed insurance will not pay and protect the club, promoter or the district. This is mainly an issue with helmet mounted accessories. Starting this year no helmet mounted accessories are allowed per AMA rules. Racers will not be allowed to start events or they may be disqualified for not following this new rule.
The event books for promoters were handed out. This book has all the necessary paper work and forms and instructions for promoting events.
We will be ordering more membership cards as we are getting low on them
Off road update by Tom and Karen: Thanks to the many that replied to the state master plan on trails use, almost 300 responses were sent in.
We are following a bill on the mandatory E15 gas law. This would be extremely detrimental to our sport as E 15 ruins smaller or high performance engines. The goal will be to get bill killed in committee.
FLY Racing is back with $10,000 in FLY bucks watch social media and our website to apply for some new FLY gear with your bucks. Huge thanks to FLY for their continued support support them.
Namura and D 23 are working a program for the 2021 season stayed tuned for more on that.
Social Media: Jackie Riess is working to create a network of constant contributors from all of our disciplines and coverage of all of our events. Let us know if you are interested in contributing to this effort. Class reps are being asked to attend several facilities and events submit stories and photos of the action both on and off the track.
Website update: Jessica Noaeill reported on her ideas to update the website and add more content. Contact Jessica with your ideas for this effort.
Membership Report: By budget committee we have a big increase in online memberships this year. Overall we are up approximately 100 members over last year.
Enduro HS business: There will be a Zoom meeting set up by Steven Mehr to bring all promotes and clubs up to speed on the Mototally scoring system.
Hillclimb: We are looking to add another Hillclimb class rep to the board. If you are a hillclimber and can make at least 6 meetings a year we would love to hear from you. Let Mike Quinn if you can fill this position moving forward.
Flat track: The group which is currently represented by Adam Schmidt, Andrew Hood and Trisha Dahl, are working hard and have added a few new promoters this season. They have one more new promoter that should have all the paper work completed and be ready to be voted in at the next meeting.
Submitted by Chairman
2021 FLY Racing Contingency Application is now live!
The title sponsor of District 23 ARMCA, FLY Racing, has again given us the opportunity to award our members with FLY Bucks.
FLY Bucks are certificates that can be used as cash at any FLY stocking dealer or directly with FLY Racing in order to purchase any FLY branded gear! In order to apply for FLY Bucks certificates, riders must be a 2021 District 23 ARMCA member. Please complete the following application thoroughly and completely by April 15th, 2021. We will be awarding 25 applicants with $200 in FLY Bucks! Recipients will be notified by April 30th, 2021 with further instructions. Thank you again to FLY Racing for this opportunity! We look forward to reading your submissions!
Photo Credit: 1Hundred Photo
D23 Award Mailings Completed
The mailing of D23 awards is complete as of today. The remaining awards will be in the possession of the District Office.
If you did not return the card indicating a pick up event or submit payment for your award to be shipped you can still do so by sending an e-mail to info@armca.org
District 23 Awards Update, Newsletter Correction, AMA Online Annual Release Waiver
D23 Awards Update
We are working on getting the awards in the mail starting this week. All of the jackets are scheduled to be ready tomorrow or Wednesday. We plan on shipping the plaques starting this week. They will be shipped in batches. 1st place finishers will receive theirs a little later since the apparel is not quite finished yet. If you did not return the post card with a mailing or pickup location Justin Rumpca will have your award. Only a couple of months left and we will be starting the season!
Spring Newsletter Correction
The 55+ class is now divided into 55+ A and 55+ B/C the 50+ class remains the same with an A, B, C
2021 AMA Online Annual Release Waiver
The 2021 version of the AMA Annual Release waiver is online and ready to go. Current processing times are 2-3 weeks. The beginning of the racing seasons sees an influx of submissions, so a longer turnaround time may occur. These are now done electronically (no need for notarized forms).
**CANCELLED** Flat Track - DS Bike Show St. Paul, MN
The Indoor DS Bike Show Flat track race on 3/21/21 has been cancelled.