Part 1 of my introduction to a real dirt tracker ended with my experience while instructing for the Freddie Spencer school and a ride aboard an XR750 at the Del Mar Mile. One experience was helpful; one wasn’t. Part 2 of my great day at Ryan Stewart’s half-mile track continues with my enjoyment of a CRF450 tracker thanks to time spent with Jeff Haney and Spencer aboard XR100s and CRF150s, plus well-timed advice from this Colorado group. Oh, Doug Vickery’s steel shoe was a key ingredient as well. One more thing: In the seven days since we posted Part 1, 13-year-old Coy Weber won his first race at the Ada, Oklahoma, half-mile on his 250. Riding with Ryan’s gang of speed is to blame. At Freddie’s we’d run second and third gear, about 30-mph top speed, but at Ryan’s half-mile the stock gearing on my YZ was significantly too short and Tom Williams told me we were running just over 70 mph on Ryan’s half-mile aboard the 450s. Yes, I’ve already ordered taller gearing for my YZ. In fact, Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza in Pueblo just called to say the sprockets are in. Yay!
No, I couldn’t slide it in and out like Davey “Mr. Pikes Peak” Durelle and gang, but every now and then I got a feel of what dirt track racing was like, a few moments of utter bliss as the bike worked underneath me at the edge of grip. After the first few laps on Ben Cadreact’s CRF, he encouraged me to use the front end more, to trust the grip, and ask it to steer into the corner. That helped. Ryan flagged me down and told me to get my foot up ASAP, run a little more lean angle, get my eyes up earlier.
Davey’s advice was around smoothness with the throttle and how the throttle doesn’t always need to shut 100 percent at corner entry. Durelle Racing is on the forefront of dirt track suspension and all things setup, but the only way to work the setup to your advantage is to be a consistent rider. Davey’s consistency was a joy to watch and like an expert in any sport, this boy makes it look easy. Vickery, whose boot I stole, showed me his focused approach with advice based on the core values of dirt track, revolving around body position, eyes, and brake and throttle control.
Davey wrote a setup guide and told me, “Most professional riders I deal with don’t pay attention to the details of their bike, or to the track and how it’s changing. They don’t know what to do to their bike to be prepared for the race as the track changes. They just ride what is between their legs and go as fast as they can. Chassis setup is so important and most don’t know what to change on their bikes to make improvements. My setup guide is aimed at helping them get it right.”
The verbal lessons helped but it was on track that really swept me along. I would sit at the entry to turn one and watch, then jump in and run some laps. Ryan, Kelly Larkin, Davey, Tom Williams, and quick-kid Coy Weber would magically appear at my elbows storming past at corner exits, sliding around me on the cushion, and diving underneath me at the entry in an apparently effortless ballet that drew me along. They could ride anywhere and had enough mental and physical headroom to avoid my mistakes, like when I ran it into turn three a bit too aggressively taking Ryan and Kelly to the edge of the track before gathering things up and pointing back on track. They laughed and undoubtedly saw it coming. It’s notable and lucky that Ryan built his track with no fences to hit or I might have paint on me.
I mentally thanked Haney and Spencer several times during the day. Riding a minibike around other riders past the edge of grip has risks, but nothing like 70-mph corner entries surrounded by real racers on a real racebike with no front brake. In fact, it’s this “formation flying” that has hooked Ryan on airplane aerobatics and motorcycle dirt track, and he’s quick to point out that the adrenaline fix of formation flying in the dirt is a lot more accessible. There were times when I had Tom inches from my left handlebar and Kelly inches from my right with Ryan’s front tire practically rubbing my rear tire. A big mistake at that moment could be “interesting”… Good thing they were ready for all my little mistakes.
I distinctly remember Freddie grabbing me and having me work on saving big, sudden slides with body position, having me drop my weight down to the inside of the bike; all those years of watching Haney just sunk certain techniques into my DNA. Instructors like Ken Hill, Dale Keiffer, and me, guys not raised in dirt track racing, would be so excited to ride during these dirt track days that we could hardly wait to get the preliminary drills out of the way. The comfort we finally developed on minibikes is the comfort I saw from Ryan and friends, but sideways at 70 mph. As exciting as dirt track racing has been from the grandstands, it was triply better from the seat. Add to that the community of friends Ryan has built and you have a wonderful way to burn a few gallons of gasoline. That reminds me… I owe Ben a few bucks for gas.
I hope to get back to Ryan’s soon. I’d like to try to get my left foot placed better on the ground and I’d like to try running some of the cushion lines I saw from guys like Ryan, Doug, Ben, Tom, and Davey. My rear-brake use was either nonexistent or way too sudden, so I’d like to master that component. I’d like the moments of dirt track magic I felt fleetingly grow into an entire lap!
The motocross gear I wore was entirely wrong as most riders were in leathers, but my motocross helmet with visor was the worst. We had a stiff headwind into turn one and I was strangled by my chinstrap as the entry speed and wind combined in an attempt to lever my helmet off my head backward. The goggles I brought seemed to invite in dirt, rather than shield my eyes. Once I had to go back to my truck to pour drinking water into my eyes to clear them! And I had to hurry because Durelle and gang were headed back out! Street helmet and eye drops next time.
I continued to reach for the nonexistent front brake, I would overbrake with the rear, I would over-slow mid-corner with too-late throttle… Amazing how many mistakes a rider can make in two dirt corners connected by short straights spanning only a half mile. I left Ryan’s with a clear understanding of why dirt track racing continues to be an American motorcycling addiction. I’m hooked.
More next Tuesday!