Going Fast At Club Races
GOING FAST AT CLUB RACES
Team Honda’s Mike Spencer started out as an AFM club racer and landed a lucrative factory ride. How did he get good enough to go from racing a KZ550 in Box Stock to getting in the Superbike and Formula One winners’ circle at AMA Nationals?
“You have to be out there doing it and going as fast as you can,” Spencer recently offered as advice to club racers with their eyes on professional racing. “That’s the only way you’re gonna get any better or any faster.
“I used to think at the club races that I was going close to as fast as anyone could go on a motorcycle. Now, it’s like I was parked. Between club races and nationals there’s a tremendous difference. Now, I could go out and ride around at a club race at the speed I ride in the first practice at a national and disappear from everybody.
“The equipment on the national level is better, especially the suspension, and that makes it easier. But the biggest thing is seeing other people doing it. It’s got to be possible. When I started racing nationals and saw Freddie (Spencer) and Eddie (Lawson) and Wes (Cooley) going faster it was obvious that it was possible to go faster, so I just went faster.
“I think more laps on any racetrack is going to be an advantage, and will help club racers get better. I think most people are going too slow in fast corners. It goes back to Kenny Roberts’ saying—‘Go slow in slow corners and go fast in fast corners.’ ”
Although he didn’t finish either event, (he retired with a broken plug wire in the Superbike race while third, and crashed while third after losing his bike’s brakes in the Formula race), Pocono was a turning point for Spencer.
“Things finally started clicking at Pocono,” said Spencer. I finally started feeling comfortable on the bike. My lap times were identical to Freddie’s, within 0.1 sec. I finally started getting it together.”
Mike Spencer qualified fastest at Pocono for the Formula One race, beating Wes Cooley, and turning lap times several seconds a lap faster than Dale Singleton, winner of the other heat race.
