Practice session
Have you ever seen high-speed motorcycle racing, the kind where it looks like the riders seem to be touching their knee or elbow to the ground as they rocket around corners? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see that kind of racing up close, like 35 feet away?
I got that chance last weekend, and took it. It won’t be the last time! I was astounded and awed by the courage and control displayed by the riders. With a dry track, they rocketed around the circuit. When the track became slick with rain, these warriors kept charging forward.
If you’re a visual person, my album of snapshots is posted here. For absolutely incredible high-quality action shots, please visit the Studio819 WMRRA galleries by Brandon Bones Photography.
Some weeks ago, I read a notice on the PNWriders forum that corner workers were needed for an upcoming Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) race weekend at nearby Pacific Raceways. After corresponding with Corner Captain Liz, I became convinced I could do this.
Although some interest was shown by a few PNWriders members in doing this as a group, the reality was this meant getting out of bed at 5:00 am on a Saturday morning to make it to the track by 7:30 am, just in time to sign in as a corner worker. By late Friday night, I had no takers, so I went to the track alone on Saturday and Sunday.
Those two days were simply amazing.
Speed Limit 350
Most of Saturday was practice sessions, but there were several races at the end of the day. My job as “Radio” was to tell “Control” when a rider crashed in my corner, when a bike had a mechanical problem and was off the track or going slowly, and to display the proper warning flags so other riders could react appropriately to the situation. With me was an “Active” person who helped keep the track clean and assisted down riders.
Both days I was Radio, and both days my Actives were WMRRA racers. Chris and Monica provided running commentary and insight, adding another dimension to my understanding of what was really going on around the track. (Congratulations to Monica Wallace, who graduated from Novice Class this weekend! Way to go!)
Listening to the radio the entire time, I was able to hear the rapid but effective orchestration of a variety of tasks as the steady stream of practice sessions and race events seemed to flow effortlessly. Behind the scenes, the event did not go quite as smoothly as it outwardly appeared. Many unique situations occurred. Yet the event continued without visible hiccups due to a strong team of people able to respond dynamically and appropriately to rapidly changing situations. They solved problems quickly and effectively, benefiting racers, teams, and attendees.
Perhaps you have a mental picture of these racers as being strapping young men in their late teens or twenties. Wrong. One racer isn’t yet into his teens, and he was scorchingly fast. One racer is well into his sixties, and he placed well. Several racers are women, and they tore around the track at incredible speed.
Vintage bike
Motorcycles ranged from powerful superbikes to small vintage bikes. Some purred like smoothly running turbines. Some roared. The Ducati bikes had a distinctive low, loud, rumbling growl you could feel in your gut from quite a distance. This event had open pits, meaning I was able to wander around and see what was happening. Many teams were staffed by family members of all ages. Vendors and sponsors were situated in distinctively colored tents.
I don’t think I can describe what’s like to have a dozen or more powerful motorcycles roaring by just feet away. I watched them come through turn 7, accelerate hard up the hill to my station at turn 8, sweep through a high-speed corner, then brake hard and downshift as they entered turns 9 and 10.
Over the two days I worked turn 8, several bikes went down. It’s pretty frightening to see a bike suddenly sliding across the track in a shower of sparks. One rider got flipped off the bike just past turn 7. Several riders lost control for a moment coming out of turn 7 but regained control and kept racing hard. One crash I didn’t see: I heard it happening behind me as I was turning to watch bikes come out of turn 7. WMRRA regulations are strongly focused on safety. The radio traffic made it evident that we were all working hard to provide the safest environment possible for this kind of high-speed road racing.
My thanks to Liz for encouraging me to try this, to a couple of the PNWrider forum members who also provided encouragement, and to Chris and Monica for being great partners. I had a great time, and will do this again!
Discussion
No comments yet.