Editing Loudon Classic (section)

===Belknap circuit===
In 1937 the race moved to [[Old Orchard Beach, Maine]] where it was held as a {{convert|100|mi|km|adj=on}} event for only one year then, in 1938 it was moved to a 1.0-mile track in the Belknap Recreational Area, now known as the [[Gunstock Mountain Resort]] near [[Laconia, New Hampshire]].<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/> The Belknap circuit featured crudely paved roads as well as improved gravel roads.<ref name="Laconia: Throttle twisters jamboree">{{citation |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KPgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17 |pages= 17&ndash;19 |last= Gorham |first= Roger |title=Laconia: Throttle twisters jamboree |magazine=[[American Motorcyclist]] |publisher=[[American Motorcyclist Association]] |location=[[Westerville, Ohio]] | date= June 1979 |volume= 33 |issue= 5 |issn=0277-9358 |accessdate= 2022-03-11 }}</ref> Although the event became known as the Laconia Classic, the Belknap Recreational Area was located in nearby [[Gilford, New Hampshire]].<ref name="Archives: The Loudon Classic"/> An integral promoter responsible for bringing the race to Belknap was Fritzie Baer, an [[Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company|Indian]] motorcycle dealer from Springfield, Massachusetts who would promote the race until 1963.<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/> 

Along with the move to Belknap, the event was accredited national championship status by the AMA in 1938.<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/> Indian rider [[Ed Kretz]], who had won the inaugural Daytona 200 in 1937, won the first {{convert|200|mi|km|adj=on}} national championship race held at Belknap in 1938.<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/> His victory marked the only 200 mile Laconia Classic as, the race distance was reduced to 100 miles in 1939.<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/> In 1940, the circuit was converted from dirt and gravel to a fully paved course and, the AMA changed the race classification from a TT national to a road race national.<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/> 

Dick Klamfoth's 1951 Laconia Classic victory on a [[Norton Motorcycle Company|Norton]] marked the first win by a foreign manufacturer.<ref name="Past Laconia National Winners">{{cite web |url=http://75.103.79.23/docs/letters/PAST_LACONIA_NATIONAL_WINNERS.pdf |title=Past Laconia National Winners |publisher=United States Classic Racing Association Inc. |access-date=12 March 2022 }}</ref> [[Harley-Davidson]] rider Brad Andres was the most successful competitor during the Belknap era with four victories in five years between 1955 and 1959.<ref name="Laconia 1971"/><ref name="Past Laconia National Winners"/> Three-time Grand National Champion [[Joe Leonard]] won the event three times before going on to a successful [[auto racing]] career.<ref name="Past Laconia National Winners"/> Harley-Davidson would win 13 of the 20 races held at Belknap, despite the track being near the Springfield, Massachusetts factory of their largest competitor, Indian motorcycles.<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/><ref name="Laconia 1971"/><ref name="Past Laconia National Winners"/> 

The event surged in popularity after the Second World War drawing increasingly larger crowds of spectators.<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/> The race grew to become a weeklong event known as [[Laconia Motorcycle Week]] that was the largest annual gathering of North American motorcyclists, until it was overtaken by the [[Sturgis Motorcycle Rally]] during the 1970s.<ref name="Archives: The Origins of the Laconia Classic"/><ref name=StClair2008/> When the overwhelming number of spectators created a rash of minor incidents in 1963, local residents protested the event.<ref name="Laconia: Throttle twisters jamboree"/> Unwilling to risk the increasing costs of property damage, and unable to reach an agreement with local officials, race promoters closed the Belknap track in 1964.<ref name="Laconia: Throttle twisters jamboree"/> The final race at the Belknap circuit held in 1963 was won by Jody Nicholas riding a [[BSA motorcycles|BSA]] motorcycle.<ref name="Laconia 1971"/>