Scott Rounds





Hey guys,
I had a rad opportunity last weekend to ride a Montesa 250 in the vintage class at the first annual Pete Giammalvo Memorial Race in Massachusetts. Pete was a racer in the 70s until an accident put him in a wheelchair, which didn't keep him out of flattrack, he just started promoting the racing in New England. I started racing in '98 in his series, so he was always a big part of the experience for me and for a lot of other people. He passed away in 2011, so a couple guys have revived the hometown track and hopefully we'll have a full season there next summer. 

Anyway, my friend Tony ended up with Pete's old Montesa, and he went through it and got it running, and asked me if I'd ride it. Hell yes was my answer, if I remember correctly. So I got to get about 6 practice laps in on my first time on the bike. Mind you, this thing has 30 year old tires on it, I haven't raced on a two-stroke in about 8 years, and the brake is on the left. I can deal with the shifter on the right, but once my foot was down all I had for brakes was the compression release. It was fuckin' AWESOME. 

The races went well, I was plagued with lousy starts since I didn't have much seat time on the bike. After a bad start in the heat, I got up to third place. Then after a bad start in the feature, I was able to fight my way up to second. Had a great time. Also borrowed one of Tony's XR100s and raced in the mini TT. I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as some of the guys out there, so I hung back and rode the cushion, wound up somewhere mid-pack. 

As for the rest of the season, I'm sorry I haven't been keeping you up to date. I've been waiting to get photos that never ended up coming to me, so I don't have much to show. I had one feature win, which I believe coincided with our Wonderboy Nick Weimer's bike breaking down. While you guys were drinking beers and staring at choppers in Brooklyn (wish I coulda been there), we had an AMA Vintage Nationals doubleheader race at our local track. I got a 3rd and 4th on Saturday and a 3rd and 2nd on Sunday. Actually, it turns out that one of those thirds is actually a second, because Nick got disqualified for some reason. 

And that's about it. I crashed at some point in one of the last races, not bad, but my bike is gonna need some love this winter. I'll be skipping the last event of the year. I rode out to the MotoGP in Indy back in August, so there are some FTW stickers on some stuff in Indianapolis now. 

Hope you & your loved ones are well. Take it easy and keep up the good work, I'll send some more photos from the season your way if I get em.