It’s not every day I can awaken, load up my aging trailer with a couple late-model sport bikes, and head off to my favorite venue–el Circuito de Velocidad de Jerez. I’ve had the pleasure of living in sunny southern Spain for five years and, in doing so, have been able to accumulate 300-plus hours negotiating my second love. Don’t worry–my wife knows I’m talking about the grand-prix motorcycle track in Jerez, Spain.
I often hear comments from people about how dangerous my sport is and how they wish I wouldn’t do it. I explain the inherent benefit I gain: Learning how to improve my skill as a rider on the track will keep me safer in a much more dangerous environment–the streets.
Grand prix racing rules are my friend. The Federation Internationale de Motorcyclisme (FIM) racing body requires all their tracks to adhere to certain safety rules in order to obtain a world-class motorcycle event at its circuit. Some tracks endanger riders because retaining walls are placed so spectators can get closer. I understand that people want to be close to the action, but what’s wrong with 50-foot TV screens placed around the track? That way, spectators can watch all the action and feel the excitement when the riders pass in front of their seats.
If you decide you want to ride your bike at a closed-course circuit to improve your skills, pick one that keeps your safety in mind. The tracks I ride on have gravel traps, air fences where needed, and visually enhanced corner markings. They also have corner marshals with a number of flags for various signals to the riders (e.g., oil on the track, rider down, stop and return to pit lane, faster rider behind). It amazes me to think I can rail around corners that Mick Doohan, Kenny Roberts, and Valentino Rossi ride for a price that saves me money by improving my skill and keeping my bike on its rubber.
When I went to the track for the first time, I was new to Spain but had 15 years of street-riding experience. Within days of arriving, I met a couple of fire-breathing daredevils, or so I thought at the time. They convinced me to give the track a go–for the sake of improving my already “expert” riding skills but not actually to race.
I purchased a full set of riding leathers and high-quality leather gloves, but I had to cut corners on the boots because my budget at the time wouldn’t support them. I opted to wear my naval aircrewman boots, which were full leather, as required by track authorities. Since then, I’ve gone through several leathers, gloves and boots and currently am shopping for a new set all together.
The first time I ventured out to the track, brave souls on Enduro bikes bearing half the horsepower of my brand new 1994 ZX-9R passed me on the outside and inside of multiple corners with varying speeds. Nevertheless, I had found a piece of heaven. One 30-minute session had taught me to lean my bike over farther than I ever, in my wildest dreams, had thought possible. Until that day, I never had come close to approaching the full capability of my motorcycle.
Today, I own the very best riding gear money can buy. I purchase all the latest products, which improve the safety and performance of my motorcycle. I read every article available to me from a multitude of sources and surf the “net” to get the best and latest information. I also talk frequently with other riders of all experience levels. All of this preparation, though, does not satisfy my need to lap the track one-half second faster the next time I go.
If you’re wondering what it feels like to take a lap around a closed-course circuit, I can sum it up in a few short words: safe, unrestricted, free, challenging, exciting, tense, and, most of all, rewarding. The reward is delivered in two phases. The first comes as you brake at just the right nanosecond when approaching a corner, turn the bike in off the throttle for the apex entry, then get on the gas right before exact apex and early enough to push the bike out to the edge of the turn’s exit. That thrill doesn’t happen in every corner for a chap of my skill, and even the professional racers make mistakes while trying the technique, but, when you get it all right, it’s rewarding.
The second phase of the reward is received off the track, from the knowledge and experience gained on the track. For example, it happens when you are faced with an unexpected corner that suddenly appears from beneath your headlight. You select bright and quickly realize the road, which you had thought would continue in a forward direction, does not. You get about a half-second to pick where you and the bike are going, and it seems like an hour of mental dialog occurs during that instant.
You usually are faced with two distinct choices: the dirt or the road. It may seem like an easy choice, but, from my experience, the straighter line of the two often will be the dirty one. There is a thing called “target fixation,” and that, my friends, kicks in at the same moment you face trouble. My time at the track has taught me to look through the turn, to focus on where I want to be, and to use the right technique to pull it off.
During one dark night, as I made a nearly ill-fated decision to pass a car after observing a “merge lanes” sign, I was faced with such a decision. I had loaded up my 1994 Kawasaki ZX-9R with a girlfriend, tent, two backpacks, two sleeping bags, tank bag, and some beverages. Needless to say, when you weight down a bike that much, the headlight changes focal paths. What you end up with is a beam of light pointing into the dark night sky. If you hit the bright switch, the darkness is sucked into the beam, and, voila, the road appears before your eyes. It was such a moment when all my riding experience from the track paid off. My pegs, side fairing, and almost my girlfriend’s foot were touching down on the newly paved road. In reality, I got away with a huge mistake that could have hurt both of us very badly.
In hindsight, it would have been smarter to slow down, wait for an appropriate time to pass, and arrive at our destination with smiles from the ride. By the time my girlfriend–now my wife–made it to our camping spot in one solid piece, my heartbeat almost had returned to its normal rhythm. Why I didn’t end up with rub marks in my Fruit of the Looms is beyond me.
If I tried the same move today, I might not make it. Although my training is more well-rounded, the pavement at that time was only two or three weeks old, and it was track sticky. The drops of oil from the thousands of cars passing by surely would drop most riders in the same situation today. On that particular day, all my training, the road conditions, and my wife’s stable, two-up riding skill paid off–and we also were lucky.
I encourage every motorcyclist to join us at the track. The experience is so beneficial that only a fool will turn me down. It’s only a matter of time until a dog shoots out in front of your bike, a car runs a red light, a road mysteriously disappears, an oil slick “jumps” in your bike’s path, or a pedestrian wanders aimlessly into a street where there are no crosswalks. For these reasons and many more, I take my time at the track seriously.
I choose what I want to accomplish before arriving at the track and have a plan on how to do it. If the day’s objective is to have fun, I just tool around and work on being smooth in corners, working my eyes to find the entrance-apex-exit points and concentrating on body position, throttle control, and relaxing my breathing. If I choose to work on my lap times, I pick three corners per session. I begin with going deeper on the brakes by just a few feet until I have it right, and the entry speed allows my tires–front and rear–to slide just a little. For the next session, I pick three more corners and continue to evaluate my braking points. At the end of the day, I try to put all those points together and see what I come out with.
People who think riding a bike close to its limits can be dangerous are right. On the other hand, those who think riding within their means on the street is safe are only buying time. Each person has to go out there–on the street or on the track–and decide what type of rider he or she is going to be. Only then can it be determined the level of safety a particular rider is displaying. I assure you I can ride more quickly, smoothly and aggressively on the track, inside a larger safety margin, than anyone can on any street.
If you’ve never given the track a second thought, I hope you change your mind. I’m currently working on a proposal to teach Sailors track-riding skills for practical street application. I hope the proposal is accepted, and we can save some lives. If you’re ever in southern Spain, look me up. I’ll be more than happy to help you get out on our most prestigious Circuito de Jerez. I’ll also treat you to some tapas and tinto afterward.