Jason Ditto

NHDRO Motorcycle Madness at Hebron, Ohio

Ditto Doubles as NHDRO Tears Up the Trail

Words and photos by Tim Hailey

Jason Ditto stood on the verge of a sportswriter’s dream as the Hoosier staged his Suzuki Hayabusa for Sunday’s Dennis Insurance Street ET final against second-generation Ohio racer Ryan Robaugh. You see, Ditto won Street ET Saturday night (June 8) at NHDRO’s Motorcycle Madness at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio, and if he won again on Sunday, well, Ditto would repeat. Thus it was tense in the media suite as scribes wondered if this opportunity would ever present itself in their careers again, no matter how long they delayed retirement. When Ditto nailed a 0.020 light (vs. Robaugh’s 0.063), all held their breath for the next nine and a half seconds — “Don’t screw this up!” everyone thought, some muttering under their breath. And there it was, the win light they all dreamed of! Ditto did it again.

Bruce Sauer

Joining Ditto as a Saturday winner was all-time veteran champion of the world Bruce Sauer. Back in the AMA/Prostar days, doubling at events and collecting obelisks at the end of the year was commonplace for Kawasaki campaigner Sauer. But a serious Super Comp car crash years ago set him way back, requiring lengthy physical therapy and many wondered if they’d ever see the National Trail native in the winner’s circle -- or even racing -- again. But with the pain of recovery far behind him now, Sauer took Saturday’s G&G Metal Spinners Pro ET win on the same old-school, Power-By-Sauer KZ1 he’s been racing and collecting money with for decades.