Gary Jeffries wheelie his Yamaha FZ750 in a WERA Sprint race at Grattan Raceway. (Larry Lawrence photo)

Gary Jeffries executes a picture-perfect power wheelie over the Jump at Grattan Raceway Park. Based on the paint scheme on Jeffries’ Yamaha FZ750 I would guess this photo to be from 1986 (maybe ’87).

For years I only saw races at Grattan run clockwise. The first time I got to see a race run there counter-clockwise it was a photographer’s delight. I parked myself at the jump and caught rider after rider down wheelies over the jump. I would guess the bikes are going about 80 miles per hour over the jump and with the dark green of the trees in the background it was a perfect setting to get this type of photo.

I love this shot because Jeffries is not trying to wheelie. Check out how far forward he is on the saddle and the fact that he’s still partially in a tuck, yet the bike’s front wheel is still coming up.