Bob Rutten, best known to 1970’s off-road fans for his desert and Baja racing prowess signed-up for both the Over-70 class and the Over-65 Expert class. He went 3-2 in the Over-70s and 2-2 in the Over-65 Experts.

PHOTOS BY JON ORTNER

Will Harper (7) has be recovering from knee replacement surgery, but finally seems to be on the positive side of the medical condition. He took his Stark Varg electric bike to third place in the Over-70 class behind Tracy Hrach and Bob Rutten.

Choosing between watching a high-profile AMA Pro race or heading out to the local track to race with your friends would seem to be a connundrum for most racers, but with the Pala 250/450 National being held on the same day as a “Saturday at the Glen” race, the hard-core Saturday racers had to choose between the National, which was being held 70-miles South of Glen Helen or their beloved “Saturday at the Glen” races that were being held on a shortened version of Glen Helen’s “MotoFest” race track.

Jon Rice (51) is the grandson of former 1960’s scrambles star John Rice. He went 2-2 in the Over-30 Expert class.

Most of the racers who showed up early at Glen Helen believed that the Pala National would kill the attendance at “Saturday at the Glen.” But, they were wrong. 208 racers chose to race with their friends at Glen Helen.  It is true that most of the Glen Helen racers had been to Pala Nationals in the past and didn’t look forward to waiting on  Highway 76 for several hours to get to the front gate and then fork over Anaheim1 parking lot prices just to  face an even worse traffic jam when the event was over.

 Denver Ethridge (417) won the 450 Novice class and came back to take first in the Open Novice race.

MXA had several Pro racers entered in Pala National and had their fanily, friends and mechanics with them—which caused a schism in the ranks about which race to support—but MXA’s Vet riders, and those who had been stuck in Highway 76 traffic jams in years past easily chose to go to “Saturday at the Glen.”

 Bronx Grundy (205) won the 125 Expert class in the two-stroke race with a 1-1 score.

Jordon Lever (711) chose to take the high take-off ramp up Shoei Mountain. The low take-off ramp is to his right. The high ramp worked best for riders who held the inside line out the tight turn at the bottom of the hill, while the low ramp was used by racers who used the outside berm at the bottom of the hill. Which one worked best? Jordon Lever went 1-1 in the Over-30 Novice class.

Here are the high and low take-off ramps in action with Angel Vargas (77) on the high ramp and John Lauter (9) following Zac Carriere (705) up the hill via the low ramp. Lauter was second in the Over-40 Novice class, with Angel Vargas third.

Pete Vetrano (37) has made a name in the motocross world by importing a wide variety of small brands from Europe and Asia—including VOR/ Vertematti, TM, Scalvini pipes, LEM and Rinaldi tires. On Saturday Pete raced his GasGas to a 1-2 score in the Over-65 Intermediates and 8th in the Over-50 Novices.

Marc Crosby (19) is the “Dentist to the Stars”—including Jett Lawrence, Dean Wilson and many others. Marc won the Over-65 Intermediate class with a  2-1 on a 2026 KTM 350SXF.

Michelle Horton (32) celebrated her 65th birthday by sweeping both motos of the Over-65 Expert class on a Ducati 450 in her first year of eligibility.

Former Pro Circuit Husqvarna rider Mike Monaghan (34) went 3-3 on his Yamaha YZ125 behind Michelle Horton and Bob Rutten in the Over-65 Expert class.

Brent Stevens (131) makes a fly-by past the empty grandstands on his way to sixth in the Over-30 Novice class with an 8-4 score. He also went  8-DNF in the Open Novice class.

Stetson Mathis (56) went 8-4 for sixth in the 85 class and came back later in the day to go 7-4 for fifth in the Supermini class. Either way, Stetson gets extra points for being so well color co-ordinated.

Connor Jaracz (H888) went 2-4 for third in the 250 Intermediate class and 5-2 for second in the Open Intermediate class.

Ricky Richards (39) just turned 50 years old, which makes him eligible to race in the Over-50 Experts and his previous Over-40 Experts on the same day. Ricky was second in the Over-50 Experts with a 3-2 score behind Craig Davis (1-1), but ahead of Arek Kruk (4-3), Jon Ortner (5-4) and Bill Sauro (2-8). In the Over-40 Experts Ricky went 1-2 to be edged out by Brad Millikan’s 2-1. 

John Caper (44) is getting ready for the 2026 Mammoth Mountain Motocross. He has raced Mammoth Mountain over 45 times. John went 7-6 for seventh in the Over-65 Novice class at “Saturday at the Glen.”

RACE SCHEDULE: WHAT’S IN STORE FOR “SATURDAY AT THE GLEN” IN 2026

If you are looking for a racing organization that offers long motos, low cost entry fees and  a very consistent race schedule—this is it. “Saturday at the Glen” motocross will race  again on the National track on June 27.

Pre-entry is only $30 ($25 for minis). Post entry is $40 ($30 for minis) on the day of the race. The Gate fee is $10 (per person). You can sign up for the next “Saturday at the Glen” motocross as late as the Friday before the next race (or just show up in person on race day). For more info go to www.glenhelen.com

2026 “SATURDAY THE GLEN” SCHEDULE
Jan. 17…National track
Jan. 24…National track
Jan. 31….National track
Feb. 7…Arroyo track
Feb. 21….National track
Feb 28…NGPC Prairie Dogs
Mar. 14….National track
Mar. 28…Arroyo track
April 3… World Two-Stroke practice
April 4…. World Two-Stroke Championship
April 18….National track
May 2….National track
May 14-17 Glen Helen MotoFest
May 30…National track
June 27….National track
July 18…National track
Aug. 1….National track
Aug. 15…National track
Aug. 22….National track
Aug. 29…Arroyo track
Sept. 19….National track
Sept. 26…Arroyo track
Oct.10…24 Hours of Glen Helen
Oct. 24….National track
Oct. 30-Nov. 2… World Vet Championship
Nov. 15…National track
Nov. 26…Day in the Dirt
Dec. 5… Arroyo track
Dec. 6… 2026 Kurt Caselli Ride Day