Cuki cooks competition in Veterans Class

The Experts Class’ loss is actually not the Veterans Class’ gain. In fact, it’s the exact opposite as Justis “Cuki” Alvarez retired from the ultra-competitive division to rule the latter in last weekend’s 2023 Turkey Cross at the Cowtown Race Park.

Aboard his Kawasaki KX250F from Cycles Plus Guam, Alvarez celebrated his 53rd birthday by sweeping all heats of the Veteran Class for 75 points. A pair of Guamanian riders followed in his wake—Gregorio Perez and Franklin Rios with a pair of 62 points.

“It was a great race. I decided not to do the extra division this year. Kind of want to leave that to the young guys. I’m way past my prime and these young guys are getting a lot faster and it’s getting harder to keep up with them. As for the Veterans Class, it’s always a pleasure. It’s a great honor and privilege riding with a bunch of the older guys who have been around the sport for 30, 40, 45 years or more. It was great to continue racing with them and although we’re not at the speed that we used to be, we’re still freaking very competitive and we still want to win,” he said

The longtime boat captain and owner of Trench Tech Racing and Trench Tech Gym said he’s just amazed how older riders like him continue to love the sport of motocross.

“We just want to do it at a slower and safer pace. We got to think longevity now. One of my competitors was Frank Rios and he’s 65 years old. He was on my butt for a little bit, but it was a good race all around. I’m just happy to continue to do what I love, and enjoy. Hopefully this is an inspiration for the younger generation coming up to show them that they can do this for a long time. They just have to ride smart and safe.”

In the ATV Veterans Class, Greg Clark was tops with 70 points, followed by Bob Bucek and Henry Camacho Sr. with 69 points and 62 points, respectively.

Franklin Rios was perfect in the Legends Class with 72 points with Jeffrey Rios coming in second with 64 points, barely beating the 62 points of Marianas Racing Association president Charles Cepeda.

In the Big Boy ATV Class, Christian “Hollywood” Camacho stamped his class with a perfect run enroute to 75 points. Picking up the crumbs were Greg Clark (62 points) and Bob Bucek (60 points).

Kanen Arceo topped the Novice Class with his 75 points that beat out Vicente Palacios’ 64 points and Matthew Guerrero’s 58 points.

In the Intermediate Class, Aric Cruz rallied from a slow start in Heat 1 to win with 68 points. Kanen Arceo and Vicente Palacios came in second and third with 64 points and 56 points, respectively.