Masters of Mini History

How We Got Here


The Masters of Mini (MoM) first began in 2003. The Pit Bike movement was strong but still very young and unorganized. Pit Bike races were more back yard gatherings than the full blown events of today. They were simple and FUN - the way it should be. We took note...

2003- 2005

The first Masters of Mini events was held at Connecticut River Motocross in Rocky Hill, CT. (a track that sadly doesnt exist anymore...) The first race in 2003 had 16 entries yet there were only 14 bikes on hand - two guys actually signed up at the last minute and borrowed their buddy's bikes to race. One of the great things about this sport is the willingness to lend a hand, wrench, part or at times even a whole bike so that the guy next to you can still race. Where else do you see that level of compassion and camaraderie?

The first MoM race hosted just two classes - 49cc "stock" and the 88cc "modified" class. Back then there were no 12 inch bikes - just Honda based 50s. Each year, we added a class or two as needed until the decision was made to take this annual event to the next level and make it a full blown series in 2006.

2006

The first year of the "series" offered 8 classes - Grom (14-17), College Boy (18-24), Senior (25+), Fat Boy (over 200lbs), Poor Boy (50cc), Modified (88cc), Limited (110cc) and Unlimited (Open). Masters of Mini attracted 844 entries in our maiden season as a full fledge tour, which was only 4 races that year. Transworld Motocross Magazine became the title sponsor which helped launch the popularity and notoriety of The Masters of Mini Series during this 3 year deal. The New England Based Series traveled to the Marshfield Fair in MA, Rocky Hill in CT, up to Cycles 128 in Beverly, MA and ended at the historic indoor track known as Mototown USA in Windsor, CT for the final round in Dec of '06. It became very apparent, we were on to something...

2007

MoM expanded to 10 classes to accommodate the increasing ridership (adding Middle Age which bumped the Senior class to 30+, We also changed the Groms to Yoots, and now offered the 10" and 12" Rockstar classes) in 2007, MoM attracted 1488 entries over a newly expanded 5 race series. We returned to all of the 2006 tracks but added the very popular Crow Hill MX track in MA.

2008

MoM was on a tear and saw continued growth and expansion. The tour now offered 12 classes (bringing back the College Boy and adding for the first time an official Womens class, also the Senior class was bumped up to 35+ because we seemed to attract a bunch of old farts who thought they could hang...) In 2008, MoM attracted 1133 entries in a limited 4 event schedule. Unfortunately, the Mototown round was canceled which was devasting since it had potential to be the biggest event yet.

Transworld Motocross Magazine backed the series during these three years. TWMX contributed greatly to the series success by bringing much needed attention to the tour and the East Coast Pit Bike Scene, for which we thank them.

2009

MoM saw an unprecedented expansion of the series to 7 events, even doubling up on some tracks, with 14 classes now offered (we dropped the 10" rockstar since everyone ran 12" bikes and changed the wheels, added Superstock (up to 75ccs), Kamikaze (up to 135ccs), and Playbike (up to 16" rear and 150ccs), the series drew 1610 entries, another year of continued growth and fun!

2010

MoM experienced some tremndous challenges in 2010. Besides the economy and the overall MX market being down, Marshfield, the season opener was cancelled due to 3 days of historic rain. The track looked like a lake with the jumps sticking out like islands. And with Mototown not available, the tour was a short 3 races. Yet with only 3 races, MoM still attracted 686 entries.

2011

In 2011, MoM pulled out the stops and looked towards the future of our sport. An aggressive 6 round schedule was put in place and for the first time, we ventured outside of the boarders of New England. Round 2 brought us to Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ to battle against our arch enemies at 2up racing (not really, we drink beer with those guys - they are cool). But the gauntlet was thrown and 2up and others answered the call making it the biggest race on the east coast in 2011.

Good weather blessed the series and all 6 rounds were successful and well attended. The Masters of Mini Series attracted 1260 racers in 2011, a nice way to go into 2012.

2012

Our 10th straight year! We are so honored and humbled to have made it this far. 2012 we began to explore new tracks, formats and ideas that helped our sport and our series continue to be strong. Our 10th Year Celebration was to be 8 events - a 7 race series for the Championships and an 8th stand alone event for the best of the best. An invitational race at GPNY - the indoor Go Kart Track in Mt Kisco, NY.

2012 brough new growth as the series grew to 1445 entries for the season. Pit Bike racing continues to draw new faces because friends share the good word about MoM. 2013 looked promising as we entered our 2nd decade of fun.

2013

2013 continued the successful model of a 6 round championship tour including our favorite tracks throughout New England. In fact, we upped the game with a killer end of year party at the Hartford Windsor Marriott in January to watch A1 LIVE. The season brought even bigger and better prizes and a massive Nationwide raffle at the rider's meeting every event so MoM hooked you up even before you set foot on the track! The series attracted 1239 entries in 2013

2014

12 years and still going strong, MoM added some new twists for 2014. Rocky Hill was back on the schedule for the first time in several years. The 6 championship rounds ran June-November as usual with Dec earmarked for some indoor fun, and of course our famous SX Awards Party Jan 3.

In addition to the very popular 14 classes for pit bikes, demand arose for a mini Quad class - so Class 15 was created for quads 90cc and under - stock. This is for adults - not kids- and just for fun. But we also added 9 kids classes for the Milford, Rocky Hill and Thunderbowl rounds. We added 50cc 4-6, 50cc 7-9, 50cc Open, 65cc 7-9, 65cc 10-11, 65cc Open, 85cc 10-11, 85cc 12-14, 85cc Open. We have had more parents who race with us ask if they can bring their kids, so in 2014 we said why not. It is so cool to see moms and dads race their pit bikes while their kids race their little bikes. Did this change the raw fun of MoM? Nope! Our riders understood it was all for fun! 2014 drew 1179 entries for the season.

2015

Sadly, the original "MoM" and our matriarch Laurie Olcott passed away after a 5 year battle with Breast Cancer. Her family, understandably devastated, took the season off to figure out what direction to go in the future.

2016

The Series returned to honor a strong woman, and now lead by her two young daughters who not only help run the series, but race in it as well. Our great family of racers (who offered a level of support to our family that can not be described in words) came back and brought some new faces as well to help the series start to rebuild. All we can say is a heartfelt THANK YOU for understanding for our year away.

The Series 14th year brought new tracks and new opportunities to the 6 Championship Round Series. Among some of the popular favorites we added the NEW NHMX and a revamped MX338 to the circuit and both were praised for their creative flow. Unfortunately round 4 was dropped due to challenges MX23 had with the town. However, The Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Ride took on a new meaning and honored Laurie Olcott and others who have been affected. The SX Awards Party in January was postponed until March due to a freak blizzard, but didnt scare away the strong so the party went on, just 2 months later. But one of the best raffles in MoM history sent many home with more than just awards... :)

2017

MoM's 15th Season sees the series mature into some finly tuned racing events. Once again, 6 Championship rounds ran from May to October awarding the very best and most dedicated racers in 14 different classes. No one ever imagined we would be where we are 15 years after this all began, but we can tell you one thing - We weren't done yet...

Our 14 classes have proven to offer more diversity than most big bike races, offering at least 2 classes for every rider, however more and more choose 3 and even 4 classes to enjoy and compete in. Our goal has always been to offer some of the fairest and most fun racing around.

MoM returns to Milford, Rocky Hill (for the final time due to its closing in Dec 2017), NHMX and 338 but add a new venue in Amesbury, MA for a new and unique course mid summer.

2018

16 years - can you believe it - we cant!

New riders have discovered the series, Old riders are realizing what they missed, and some kids and parents racing together - its incredible!

New tracks provide for new challenges, and of course the classics are still on the schedule. Along with Milford, and 338 we add Wareham MX in MA but got dumped on with rain. MoM riders are not afraid and braved the slop for one of the most exciting races in years. We also had a special points paying open practice at MX23 - the riders were stoked to get back to this awesome track.

2019

YCF, Piranha, Pitster Pro/GPX, AND SSR Motorsports each offer over $10,000 in contingency for 6 MoM classes! In addition, TCB Bike USA, and Bigminis.com supported the Rockstar class. We have not seen this type of support since the early days of pit bike racing.

In 2019 MoM offered over $47,000 in contingency for the season

We also created the Battle Royale Class allowing those in the Modified and Limited classes to have a second class for those specific bike and we pitted them against one another to answer the question once and for all - which is better a done up 88cc 8 or 10 inch bike or a stock 110 12 inch bike?

2020

New this year - Due to the amazing growth we have expanded our class structure for the first time in 10 years. We will now be offering 16 competitive and fair classes for racers to choose from. We added the Super Senior for riders 50 and over, and the Chunky Monkey class for riders over 220lbs.

2020 contingency was offered by Pitster Pro and SSR Motorsports. They are each committing $13,050 per year for the next 2 years in 8 championship classes per round. Details can be found on the sponsor page: Masters of Mini Sponsors

In 2020 MoM offered over $26,000 in contingency for the season

2021

As we entered our 19th year we added two new tracks over 3 dates. Bro MX in North Adams, MA and Holiday Mt MX in Monticello, NY join the MoM tour! For the first time in several years we will have 6 actual races, or so we thought... The weather in New England can be harsh, brutal and often unpredictable. We have raced in the rain (several times) however with the threat of Thunderstorms and lightening over the better part of the race day, we sadly had to cancel round 3 at Holiday Mt in NY - the 2nd time in our 19 year run. (The otehr time was in 2010 at the Marshfield Fair. And just like that time, there was no other time on the schedule to hold the race. So 2021 was only 5 rounds

2021 contingency was supported by Pitster Pro, SSR Motorsports, YCF and Piranha Pitbikes. They are EACH committed $13,050 in 8 championship classes per round. Details can be found on the sponsor page: Masters of Mini Sponsors

2021 offered over $52,000 in contingency for the season

2021 saw 1598 enteies over just 5 events with round 1 hosting the largest attandance in the 19 year history - 474 entries beating out the previous record holder - Mototown in 2007 at 446. And that was indoors, in December, during the hieght of the pitbike world. Aamazing!

2022

2022... As we approach our 20th year running the Masters of Mini Seies we are truly humbled. What a wild ride it has been, and we are just getting started! We have 6 races on the calendar this seaon with yet another new track - 508 INT'L in MA. We have all the regular sponsor partners back on the program and we are still discussing with new ones. We continue to offer one of the most aggressive contingency packages avaiulable - 4 manufacturers totaling $52,200 in 8 classes throughout the season! We cant wait to see what this year brings as we have the best staff, best people, best facilities and best partners to offer to anyone who wants to have fun. Thank you for your support!

FUTURE...



As with any growth, change is inevitable and MoM is in a constant state of evolution. In order to remain as one of the premier Pit Bike Series in the North America, MoM staff solicits feedback from riders in all classes to address concerns and insure fairness and FUN throughout.

MoM has a simple goal - To provide a fun, professional atmosphere for everyone to come play and enjoy riding/racing Pit Bikes.

We are humbled by your support. Thank you and we look forward to riding and racing with you! Come join the fun and see why Pit Bike Racing is alive and well in the Northeast!

davo


Questions, Feedback, General Insite? Email: davo@stimilon.com