EMRA Endurance race 2008

Motorcycle endurance racing is like no other form of motor sports. The combination of skill, athleticism and courage are shared in other motor sports, however the level that each variable demands or requires is distinctive. All three variables are amplified with the removal of two wheels, leaving two wheels. This single variable change increases the demands upon a motorcycle endurance racer, by an undetermined multiplication factor. Add to the equation the variables of fuel consumption, tire wear and engine reliability and you’ve got an exciting and demanding form of motor racing.

It all starts with a casual group of riders who each put together a team of at least two riders. With one bike the team riders (up to a maximum of four), must attempt to complete more laps then all the other teams. This means riding as hard and as fast as you can for your designated ride time. Ride times range from 15 minutes to over 60 minutes depending on team strategy. There’s always a scramble to get a team together even though every year the riders tell everyone what a great time this form of racing can be. Drafting riders is not uncommon and some riders will jump from team to team for a “better opportunity”. Some riders even cancel on their “team” at the last minute, leading to even more poaching and backroom dealing.

We managed to pull a team together at the last minute. Spence King first stepped up to the plate a week before the big event. Trina Hennig then agreed to ride as a relief rider on a full sponsorship from Spence and me. The bike of course was the soon to be retired from racing, mighty RC51, known, loved and feared by all and tamed by a lucky few. Tire choice was of course Michelin Power Race Mediums, designed to last the entire 4 hour race distance. Fuel was carefully selected Premium grade from the Gunn Esso Station. Oil by Amsoil with Lucas oil stabilizer. I had a track breakfast sandwich and two cans of Rockstar for fuel...

After an early morning tire change, we setup our hot pit on...hot pit row. Trina being an organized sort compared to the rest of the team, jumped on getting the premium number one spot on the pit. We milled around while the clock ticked down towards the famed Le Mans style start. Over the drone of generators and such, you couldn’t hear a thing from the PA system. All of a sudden, more or less on time, all hell broke loose as Everett announced we were gridding the bikes. You could see riders furiously donning their riding gear, while others pulled off tire warmers and got bikes off stands.

Two quick hot laps to warm up the tires and we lined the bikes up opposite the pit wall on the front straight. The 17 fans went wild! It was awesome as the riders lined up for the sprint to mount their running bikes. A safe start leading to four hours of some of the best racing and riding anyone will ever see. Others may go faster but few put on a show like a good set of endurance riders and teams. There is more than one way to win an endurance race and it’s fascinating to watch the different strategies unfold.

You must know that people act differently under pressure and the minute a person puts on a helmet to go “racing”, strange things can happen to their “normal” personality. Well the pressure is ON with endurance racing and it doesn’t let up just because you’re standing in the pit waiting your turn. So when you get back out on the track, you’re all fired up and ready to race...you’re just more tired and more likely to make mistakes. Things start to get real interesting when you have to ask yourself if you’re making “too many mistakes”. You can learn a lot about yourself endurance racing a motorcycle. Who you really are comes out under pressure. That’s one reason the Navy Seals try to break down every recruit...to see how they handle the REAL pressure. Well, a Navy Seal could maybe endurance race a motorcycle, and even then they’d learn a thing or two about themselves. Fear management is different when you are very tired balancing on a small patch of road the size of your palm...at a high rate of speed, leaned over with elbows grazing the pavement. For me the fear, or rather the false anticipation of disaster quickly subsides when I get underway and I really started to feel the rhythm of the track and the bike at the 30-40 minute level. When my team waved me in the second time at 51 minutes, I did not want to stop. Maybe next year with a single other rider...maybe a rule change to allow a single rider...now that would separate the boys who train to stay in shape from the weekend warriors!

Some motorcycles can’t maintain the pace and we saw attrition through expiration of motors. Tough luck to come all that way and go through all the preparation required only to have your equipment let you down...Suzuki. I don’t think a Honda does that... Some riders slow down dramatically when they get tired, while others seem to get faster. Tires last longer than anyone could imagine with winners ripping 216 laps, flat out on a single set, start to finish. Amazing in anyone’s books...tire books of facts and stuff.

In the end only a few laps separated the winners and the also rans. There are no losers in endurance racing; there are just guys who pay more to do it than the first three finishers...the REAL heroes of endurance racing...the suckers who fund the winners... From fifth place to first there was a difference of only 19 laps...and the amazing thing...all the times were exactly four hours!!! I can hardly wait ‘till next year and the introduction of a new secret weapon for 51racing!