The Flat Track thread

[Orson]

It's not about the ponies, it's about the nature of the power delivery and the ability to put it to the ground.  

Even King Kenny couldn't win on a heavily-breathed on XS-650 but, that wuz 25 years ago so, maybe the Versys is breathed on even heavier  

it is interesting about different power deliveries and twingles and whut not

way over my head but still fascinates  

I'd reckon the Versys would have its work cut out for it on the mile tracks  

As bomber sez, it's great to see other brands take on the evil empire.

[bomber]

Even King Kenny couldn't win on a heavily-breathed on XS-650 but, that wuz 25 years ago so, maybe the Versys is breathed on even heavier  

it is interesting about different power deliveries and twingles and whut not

way over my head but still fascinates  

I'd reckon the Versys would have its work cut out for it on the mile tracks  

As bomber sez, it's great to see other brands take on the evil empire.

the 650 WAS a framer (in today's parlance, we didn't know from that term then), but it had about 25 minutes of development, and not a great deal of filthy lucre from the factory -- Yamaha's heart was never into Flattracking to the degree that , say, Honda's was when Bubba was racing for em . . . . . (and XR 750s weren't make 90 horse back then, either -- it's easy to forget that the XR struggled for a couple of years, with many hotshoes clinging the iron heads that proceeded them) . ..  .

Best way to wrap yer head around power delivery and track surfaces is imagine riding on slick as cat shit pavement, then not quite that slick, ice, grease ball bearings, and so on til to get to damn near pavement (the blue groove you see on miles sometimes) . . . . anything that even appraches being abrupt can hand you your lunch.

Roberts on teh 750 two-stroke at Indy -- my my my -- THERE was a rider that was in over his head, and it was Kenny Roberts, for goodness sakes . . . .

[stk0308]

It's not about the ponies, it's about the nature of the power delivery and the ability to put it to the ground.  

That and tires specifically tuned to work with the XR750(1978-ish) power delivery.  Which is pretty much a control tire now, as I understand.

[Orson]

the 650 WAS a framer (in today's parlance, we didn't know from that term then), but it had about 25 minutes of development, and not a great deal of filthy lucre from the factory -- Yamaha's heart was never into Flattracking to the degree that , say, Honda's was when Bubba was racing for em . . . . .

I see Kenny's XS-650 tuner Shell Thuet has passed away  

I imagine Thuet had that XS-650 engine modded to within an inch of its life  

[bomber]

I see Kenny's XS-650 tuner Shell Thuet has passed away  

I imagine Thuet had that XS-650 engine modded to within an inch of its life  

Very sad.

I had an opportunity to ride one of his motors . . . . I believe it was just an RCH beyond the edge of it's life . . . . . Santa Fe Speedway was never the same ;-}

[stromgal]

Just a few points separating the top three heading into Sacramento~!  Wish I could see the return of The Mile... counting on you locals to tell the tale.

[DogBoy]

Sacramento Mile tickets are still available (and expensive).  

Anyone else going?

[Playinthestreet]

I'm goin.  What about Heinee?

[stromgal]

I 'watched' the race via flat track live updates on facebook. Sounds like there was a nice battle up front, too bad CC couldn't pull off the win.

Shayna gets on the box!

I heard 12k attendance... hopefully that means a repeat.

[mugwump58]

Wow!

Better get my Springfield tickects tomorrow. I confess I'm passing on the Indy.

[Playinthestreet]

The race was a sell-out in advance.  Standing room only on the day of the race.  The singles race was every bit as good as any GN has ever been.

[Orson]

 

[DogBoy]

Return of the Sacramento Mile.

Dirt track racing in Sacramento has a long history. USAC and AMA had raced here for decades and every big name in flat track motorcycling and many USAC stars (think Mario Andretti) have raced at the old or "new" fairgrounds. The Sacramento Mile AMA Flat Track race used to run twice a year (April and October) before the state approved dramatic expansion of the horse racing schedule and some weirdness with the previous promoter put the brakes on. Last race was in 1999 and then a hole in the heart of fans of the Mile ever since. Daniel Kalal probably can fill in some of the gaps in the history of the Sacramento Mile.

After a very successful Calistoga Half Mile last summer, promoter Bob Bellino set his sites on bringing the Sacramento Mile back to life. Me and somewhere around ten thousand others (including a few ST.Ners) are very glad he did.

I received an email a few days before the event from my friend who promotes some local flat track racing (and runs my Supermoto series) that volunteers were needed to help pack the track. I signed on not knowing what to expect but glad to help. I arrived at 10:00am at one of the back gates as instructed. There was a mild level of confusion for the volunteers. I took time to say hi to Chris Carr as he walked his dogs.



We were ushered inside the gate and asked to wait near the stables complex while the teams were directed to the infield. The usual assortment of giant big, brightly painted transporters and hospitality trailers were...not there. One of the great things about flat track, IMO, is the lack of layers of glitzy BS. After being sent to the infield, with each of us getting a warm greeting from Al Luddington, we parked on the back straight and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Try and imagine this at 130mph. Under the lights. In a tight pack of bikes. The racing line is about two feet off that outside rail.  


After about an hour now around 11:15am, we were told to hang around until 1:30 and then we would start circulating the track to help with the final grooming. Some folks I know from SupermotoUSA were among the volunteer group. As usual with this crowd, a tailgate party broke out.


We passed the time and 1:30pm arrived soon enough. We were ordered into our trucks and told to follow the leader circling the track roughly on the racing line. Its was strangely boring and pretty fun at the same time. Per AMA rules, I disabled the front brakes on my truck. And I remembered to tuck down and grab my left front shock on the straights.    I would do it again.

Wheel packing novice at work:


They didn't need to the whole crew for the entire evening so I was released. I had already purchased reserved grandstand tickets for a couple of friends who came up from other parts of California to see the Mile. We watched a bit of practice. Wandered the State Fair trying different beers and people watching before collecting heinee (Mark) and heading back to the grandstand for the heat races. The stands were packed with a very enthusiastic crowd.


What can I say that hasn't already been said about the racing. No one could have come away with anything but jaw-dropping awe after the display of excellent competition to which we were treated all evening. There were battles for every transfer position in each heat. The second Expert Semi was decided by 1/100th of a second. As Playinthesteet (Tom) mentioned, the Pro Singles race was as good as any Grand National ever witnessed. And the Expert Main just absolutely defined everything that is great about Mile flat track. The best in the business (actually, the best in the World!) going at it for 25 laps with the outcome decided by half a bike length after what must have been 40 lead changes. The only downside was not getting a chance to watch with Tom as we missed connections at some point during the evening. I'm still buzzed as I write this five days later.

I didn't take my big camera as I don't have a lens that would do justice to showing how awesome racing is on a Mile. Here are some pics from the AMA Flat Track site.




Full AMA gallery:  http://amaproracing.com/ft/multimedia/gallery.cfm?gid=6639

Another great gallery if you're on the FaceToobs:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1843598810880.2091540.1267893393

[heinee]

   Winner!!

Thanks again Steve, I had a really good time. Last time I was at the Sac Mile, Doug Chandler was on a one off ride that year.
I think we need to start making plans for the Calistoga 1/2 mile later this year.

[bomber]

Thanks for the write up, and good on ya for helping!

Great point on grabbing the left front shock, btw -- I am trying to explain my laughter to some colleagues . . . no luck so far . . . . .

Agreed, one of the joys of flat track racing is the lack of pretension and mega-anything involved with the sport -- with the exception of the skill and, er, backbone of the riders.

I've been watching flattrack since it was banned from Springfield, and it's always been on the "verge of disappearing." The AMA doesn't seem to know what the heck to do with it, but the fans keep packing the joints in spite of the bad economies, single brand racing (no longer the case, yippee), and plain old lackluster promoting.

I'm jazzed that Sacramento has it's Mile back . . . . . .

[motodog650]

Very cool, thanks Dogboy !!

Man, I can't wait till Indy !!

[Orson]

Return of the Sacramento Mile.

 

Thanks for the pics  

I attended the Sacramento mile in the late 1980s and still remember how the sound of 25 Harleys on the starting line being revved in anger made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

No other race start has ever done that to me  

Question: The Mile race I attended was held after dark...which is better for track conditions and traction? Warm sunlight or cool evenings?

[DogBoy]

I've been told that cool evenings mean the track holds moisture longer which is preferred. There are many variables such as the material the track is made from and how restrictive the horse racing agency is about adding other material. High winds can dry the track out faster than even hot, direct sun.

Just before the Salinas short track main, several of the riders marched over to the AMA officials and "requested" more moisture be added to the surface. I'm sure its always a collaborative effort.  

[bomber]

more moisture, up to a point, is desirable --

the light, however, make a pebble look intimidating -- it becomes tough to read the track --

one of the joys, and one of the heartbreaks of flat track racing is that the track is different every lap -- what was the fast line two laps ago can put you on the trailer the next lap . . . . .

good promoters listen to the racers, and try to adjust the track accordingly . . . . they also have goo dpeople taking care of the track -- Springfield is a great example of this, while the Club in Peoria is simply wonderful.

[Playinthestreet]

When wandering around after the show, it seemed to me that the Cal Expo track is quite a bit sandier/softer than Springfield.  It rutted up a little coming off of turn 4 and was the cause, I suspect of the most bizarre get off I've ever seen.  In the singles main rider near the back went down coming off of 4.  There were no hay bales at the beginning of the front straight and his bike bounced of the "horse" rail.  Miraculously he somehow slid between the uprights and ended up outside the track surface, in the grass.  He got up and walked away.  Couldn't believe it!