Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

FEATURE· Continued from page 28 Ienatsch did--an excellent job of instructing. His enthusiasm was infectious and made the learning experience a pleasant one. Ienatsch shared wfth us his views on the more racing-oriented fundamentals of visualization and simplification. "A lot of times I've ridden laps on my TZ250 while it was on the stand in the pits, mentally going through laps in my head," Ienatsch said. "When I've done that, I've often done my best in the ra e." Ienatsch then went on to di~ss the drills we would go through during the day, including learning to "open up the radius" of each turn and thus get back onto the throttle sooner than we'd thought possible. We suited up and climbed back on the bikes, Ienatsch taking us through a visu;l1ization drill by having us close our eyes with the bikes on the stand so that we could mentally "ride" the course. It was an interesting techniq'ue, except I ran off the track five times in my head. Hey, I never said it didn't need work. After a few warmup laps we were back to turn one, where lenatsch set up on the right-hand edge of the track and challenged us not to turn in until we passed the cone. It made a huge difference for me as I was able to open up the corner - just like he said we could - and thus no longer be afraid of it. We continued running drills until lunch time, again making' full circuits of the track. Things were starting to make sense, and 1 was picking up speed consistently, until it happened. As J was running out of the ultrafast turn three and headed toward four, my concentration lapsed and I ran straight off the track into the grass. It wasn't a big deal as 1 got the bike slowed before hitting the crash wall, but it was just enough to mess me up for the rest of the day. Spencer rejoined us late in the day to take us through body-position drills in the esses, and it was here that my day took a turn for the worse. I never could get a smooth flow going through the section, and after much discussion with both Spencer and Ienatsch as to how to get it right, I chickened out and went into survival mode. It was disappointing. By day's end, J was happy when the final IS-minute practice session came and went. I just wanted off. But don't get me wrong. I was pleased with the school, and I learned a lot of new things, among them that I need a lot more work if J want to try to race. Overall, it was great experience, and again I'd recommend it to anyone. At $1150 for the SR course and $1750 for the SR Pro course, it's not cheap, but it is worth it. SUPER CRAMPS: DANNY WALKER'S AMERICAN SUPERCAMPS, MARCH 29-30 Of all the places to have a dirt track school, Greeley, Colorado, is probably the last place that you might think a good one would be hiding. Yet there I was, standing in the middle of a cattle barn at Greeley's Islapd Grove Arena surveying a sharp-looking little short track and IT track prepared by former AMA National road racer Danny Walker, who runs American Supercamps, a dirt track school that is designed primarily to teach road racers dirt track techniques in ord er enhance their skills. Walker's two- and four-day camps run $400 and $800, respectively. Walker often tra vels to several regions of the (Right) Carr cuts a perfect right-hand comer on his hot-rodded XR100 trainer. Before the school was over, all of the students ran countless laps In both directions on the IT and short track courses. (Below) Rain man: AMA road racer Brett Metzger (3) attended the camp for all four days, hoping to gain more experience to help him visit a National podium again soon. country, with various superstar road racers and dirt trackers brought in as guest instructors. But Greeley is home base, and for this particular camp we were fortunate to have none other than former AMA Grand National Champion and current Team Harley-Davidson road racer Chris Carr on hand lo supply knowledge. Walker provides a fleet of Honda XRI00s, machines that many consider to be the ultimate dirt track trainers, as part of the package. Breakfast and lunch are provided, thanks to the tireless effort of Joanne Walker, Danny's wife. The first day's ~ession started with Carr explaining what the students could expect to learn from the school. The lesson plan was very focused. "In a traditional road racing line, a rider attempts to open up the apex as much as possible and carry his speed through the turn," Carr said. "That line has a high danger point, because the motorcycle is leaned over for so long. Using dirt track techniques, we're going to teach you an alternate line where you come in, square up the turn straighten it up and make your exit to the inside of the traditional line." Walker went on to discuss the influences in perfecting such a technique on the XR. They included entrance speed, lean angle, throttle position to lean angle, bike position, corner commitment and body position. Of these inputs, Walker said that body position and lean angle were the two most important in the early going. "You've got to stay se'ated in the middle of the bike," Walker said. "And keep your knees tight. We cannot overemphasize that point." Walker also went on to give an excel- lent visual with regard to lean angle, as he demonstrated the turning radius of an XR when it was upright and in fulllock. Then he returned the machine to its starting position, leaned it over and. repeated the exercise. The turning radius of the bike was dramatically tighter. After a bit more pep talk,. from Carr, including a "there are no demerits for crashing, so crash your brains out if you want to," spiel, we suited up, started riding and stayed riding for two days. Carr's wisdom was much appreciated, and his extensive dirt track experience made him more than capable of analyzing each student and offering helpful suggestions for improvement. Both Walker and Carr also climbed aboard ·bikes and did several demonstrations and lead/follow sessions with students during the two days.· The indoor race track was an advantage in that Walker and Carr could vary conditions with very little downtime. We learned to make fast right- and lefthand turns in both directions on the short track and IT course in slimy-wet, tacky-fast and dry-slick conditions. The diverse surfaces only served to help each student as he or she developed entrance speed, lean angle, and brake a nd throttle control. It was very effective. While definitely educational, Walker's school is actually more of a controlled riot than a "formal" educational process. Students and instructors hoot and holler as they ride the course, and wheel-to-wheel racing is not discouraged so long as students maintain their concentration on the alternate line and proper riding technique. I found this out two ways: 1) After Carr pulled me and teaching assistant Jim McChesney off the track and chastised us for racing and not practicing the prescribed line; and 2) when Carr climbed on his own bike, . banged into me and went down a couple of laps later. That's right, I put the great Chris Carr on his ass. Heh, heh, oh what fun it is... But I was not immune either. Over the course of two days I high-sided, low-sided, spun out to the inside of the track, to the outside, ran over someone and fell down, fell down and got run over by someone, slid out in a watery turn one and then bitched at Carr for placing the cone in the "wrong place" on day two. Then I heard about how much of a whiner I was for the rest of the day. When all was said and done, all of the students were whipped but satisfied. I would estimate that we spun somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 laps over the two·days. Heck, I even got the flu after the first day but came back tQ ride the next day because I didn't want to miss out. Walker and Carr provided a valuable learning process, yes, but they made the learning environment about as enjoyable as one could expect. Of the three schools, this was my personal favorite. That being said, the following reflection is in order: The American Supercamps program is an excellent primary dirt track school and/or a great way for road racers to improve their game by learning basic technique - which is exactly what the school is designed for. But advanced dirt trackers may.consider looking elsewhere for improving their own skills - unless of course Carr is the guest speaker for your particular school. But either way anyone will have fun, and if nothing else, will have come away having ridden more laps than you would at any other riding school in the world. And feeling it. ••••••• Wow, I really made some time on the way home. This could be a personal best. Got those apexes figured out, I'm running smooth and consistent, and she's squealin' as I bum the comas like never before. Those schools were worth it. As I pull to the curb near my house, I'm thinking "Man, I'm good." Just how good? I'm about to find out as the local constabulary taps on the window of my pickup to offer me a safe driving award. Ahh well... {iV

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