To be fair, fire is a little strong. It was more of a smouldering ember, but none the less, it came to pass, my first foray into off road
racing. For the past 18 months I have been thoroughly enjoying riding enduro bikes with like minded dirtbike fiends with only a hint of friendly rivalry sprinkled in the mix. However, due to a previous life of intermittent UK supersport club racing (600cc road bikes) and a general affinity for competition, it was always in the back of my mind that at some point I would take dirt bike play and turn it into a slightly more serious affair.This was kicked into action at the slightly unexpected venue of an Enduroland event nestled above the M25 at Northaw, near Potters Bar. A significant number of Enduroista were in attendance so I imagine some of you reading this would have been as intrigued as I, when you saw the words 'Holeshot Hot Lap Race' in amongst the events regulation info.
The concept was simple. As many riders as possible were gathered for a sighting lap of, what is normally, a point to point horse racing course to 'cut in' the course.The venue provided a super fast circuit with a mix of flowing corners and some stop and go hair pins, plus a grip laden semi-wooded section and some ditch jumps thrown in for good measure. Lap times were around the 8min region. Following the sighting lap was the opportunity to race a one lap sprint for £50. Everyone could check out the course at the same time, then race it out next lap round..
A cavalcade of riders set off to scope out the course and it reminded me somewhat of a road bike track day. There were some nerves, even at this stage, but you could see who ranked themselves as contenders for the hot lap crown as riders jostled to get near the front, check out some lines and understand the various obstacles.
I can admit to getting a little swept up in this and was soon nudging my way through the pack to get a look at the fast(er) boys and mark my intent to get in the mix. As we rode the course though, it was apparent that the ground was frozen solid. As each corner rolled by and acceleration was replaced by frantic wheelspin and tyres scrabbling for grip,I started to think that the going wasn't in great condition to race on. I plugged on, taking in the obstacles, with the words of the clerk of the course in the front of my mind, 'No easy routes are open, make sure you know where the obstacles are'.
A couple of guys got stuck in a ditch on the way round, the marshalls were helping them out, so I took the slightly more scenic easy route and tagged on the back of about 5 riders behind the quad mounted path finder.
Cruising up the final hill on the back of the group, I'm not sure about this at all. The course looks fun but is hyper-slippery in a jellied eel sort of fashion and I'm not sure I can remember the course, plus I don...then a chequered flag wielding guy shouts 'are you racing!!!?' Damn straight I'm racing, let's have it.
Staying calm on the start line is difficult when you have a hyperactive, CRF250R mounted, 14 year old loonbag revving his bike until it boils over. I tell him it's a dead engine start and he makes a face like someone jumped on his Wii-Box. Apparently they don't start so well when they're boiling hot...
So, I'm in amongst it. Lined up with a full on tape start with approx 30 riders, I have a glance around a see a range of machines. The start straight is pretty long, so I'm not hopeful about getting the little KTM 150XC I'm sporting into the first corner near the front. With this on my mind the start sequence begins. Fortunately this just involves not staring at a rotating duo of pit girls holding boards in hot pants and waiting for the flag to drop. I muster up my best race face (a bit like a mad face but faster) and wait for the flag....
Flag drops, KTM fires on it's first kick, whack it into first, fistful of throttle and a binary clutch
dump sees me away in to the first corner in sixth. I'm enjoying this already. Everyone is battling for traction, the 150 hooks up out of the second corner and I pip another rider into a tricky off camber left. Unfortunately a few of the guys put some extra effort into their race faces so a little gap opened between me in 5th and the leading four. Until the frozen ground bit back. Their enthusiasm earns two of them an epic double pirouette at a 90 degree right and I'm up to 3rd. They'd score high at dancing on ice though..I cook up all the race beans I can muster to hang on to my position through some fast sweeping bends. The chase is on so I pin the 150 and try to keep some semblance of tidy technique. The gap to the leading pair stretched out at about halfway into the lap, then the frozen sighting ride comes back to bite me.
On full gas autopilot, I overshoot one of the hard route ditch jumps and have to take a meandering easy route to rejoin the track. This costs me about 5 places. I take some positions back with a couple of cheeky moves but come unstuck through a tight wood section, lacking the cojones to be super aggressive and force my way past a slower rider (it was only supposed to be for fun after all). I finally sneak past on the brakes into a tight hairpin and run full bore into the section of course comprised of ditch jumps in about 8th.
Cracking open my novice racers book of excuses (racer in the making edition) I found a page that reads 'the bulk of my riding has been in the Catalunyan Mountains surrounding Barcelona, this prepared me for rocky climbs and techy descents well, but slippery, sharp faced UK ditches were conspicuous by their absence' I'll use that.
I saw a guy jump the ditch on the sighting lap, so I unload full gas on the 150 with a sniff of clutch and pop over the ditch. All is good until I land, see how close I am to the approaching
hairpin, grab a monster paw of brake, tuck the front on the frozen floor and washout into the course tape. With race adrenaline engaged the bike is upright in a couple of nanoseconds, left hand guard and clutch lever take a bit longer to whack into position, then we're off again. I guess everyone else had been practicing ditch hopping as this little escapade pushed me back to 13th. I take another couple of places on the fast corners approaching the end of the lap and finish off 11th. Elated to have 'raced' and survived, annoyed about my mistakes, and shocked that I had so much fun in a one lap blast round a horse racing track.The general consensus for the day was that the Enduroland 'Holeshot Hot Lap Race' is a cool concept, well delivered. It was a success so I imagine it will be coming to an Enduroland event near you. Give it a shot if you want a little feel of what it's like to race, but without the pressure of big events.
The experience answered a few questions for me:
Do I want to compete in some more serious events? Yes, for sure.
Is offroad racing going to provide as much fun as circuit racing? From this snippet, I think so, but I kind of expected that. All the adrenaline with a fraction of the cost.
Can I expect to do OK? The level of competition wasn't as high as what I'd imagine you'd find at a Fast Eddy or WOR event, but I found some race attitude (need some more) and kept pushing after my mistakes. I can only improve from here. Results will tell the rest.
Is a mass start like being in a mechanical beehive? Yes...in a washing machine of adrenaline.
Do people get a bit loose in 'race' conditions and think they have never ending grip despite riding on ice? Yes, this is a scientific phenomenon known to racers as 'redus mistius', I have met this character before, no doubt he will show up again.
Am I going to be the next David Knight/Taddy Blazusiak? Signs point directly to 'no', but that doesn't stop it being great fun and allowing me to learn and improve as a rider.
Some others have arisen following the acceptance of the racing challenge:
What's the best club to race with?
What class do I enter?
Which events are the most fun?
Am I fit enough?
How much does this all cost?
Exactly how good are the other riders?
Exactly how good am I?
Is my kit good enough?
Well, I'm going to find out one way or another this season. I'll put my money where my mouth is and find out the answers.
So now the decision is made, what will I do?
At the moment there's a such a wide range of easily accessible events going on you could be out each weekend if you wanted to. This is fortunate as I need as much practice as I can get, but also makes for varied experiences. In the spirit of this I will be trying my hand at Enduro-X with Fast Eddy at Wildmoor Quarry, Junction 4 of the M5 motorway near Bromsgrove. I have applied for my ACU license online, I need a day licence for Fast Eddys and then I'm good to go.
As part of the blog I will be detailing my training and practice sessions, hopefully I'll be able to track improvements and make some progress. I'll need it as the, not significantly less short term goal, is to compete in the British Sprint Enduro Championship this years (from great pressure diamonds are made, or something like that...) So if anyone knows where I can buy some luck, let me know. I'll be in the garage, I need to get the bike ready...
Thanks to Dave Burton photography for standing in the cold all day taking pictures of the riders!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveburtonphotography/
www.enduroland.co.uk
