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22 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Florence Grand Prix Florence Grand Prix Florence, Kansas Florence, Kansas By Jeff DeBell By Jeff DeBell Photos By Amelia Shroeder Photos By Amelia Shroeder Memorial Day weekend marked the fourth run- ning of the reborn Florence Grand Prix in Flor- ence, KS. A huge race in the 70s which a racted na onal and interna onal pro teams and nearly 1,000 riders, the Florence GP was resurrected in 2021 a er a 25-year hiatus. I missed the first year, but have ridden sweep the past two years and had an absolute ball. When the call came out for sweepers this year, I immediately said yes. It was a no-brainer for more fun, or so I thought! The GP is a true 100-miler for the modern bikes, but also includes a one-hour vintage/post-vin- tage morning race on a shortened course as tribute to the event's origins. A surprising num- ber of "veteran" riders who rode the original GP in the 70s turned out with their old Yamaha DTs and MXs, Honda XRs, Bultaco's, 4-speed Huskies, Pentons, and other marques us old guys re- member. A change this year would be a Vintage/ Post-vintage cut-off, which gave the PV riders an addi onal mile of more technical riding to the fairly easy 6-mile vintage course. The 10-mile modern course included the en re "old bike" course, both vintage and PV, plus an added 3 miles of high-speed open terrain. ISDT/E fast guy Fred Hoess has overalled the morn- ing race the last two years and was back to defend his tle. In past years, Fred and Suzy Moody have been represen ng our Six Days crowd. However, this year, they brought along ISDE vet Chilly White, Seat Concepts owner Lendon Smith, and George Pennington to use the GP as a tune-up/training ride for their upcoming trip to Poland for the FIM World Vintage Trophy. Kansas City speedster Nick Brawner has overalled the modern race the past three years and was back to stay ahead of the pack again. With around 100 vintage/PV entries and 400 modern entries, this race gets a larger following every year and it is a huge economic kick to the small town of Florence and the surrounding area. The past two years have been dry and dusty, but Mother Nature had other plans for 2025. The area has go en some much-needed rain this spring, and a storm front moved in as the weekend approached. Heavy rains moved through on Friday night and more rain was forecasted for Saturday night and Sunday morning. The club runs guided sigh ng laps on Saturday a ernoon with two opportuni es for vintage/PV and two for the modern bikes. Around 11 am I decided to gear up and take a spin on the course to note any changes, trouble spots, etc.