Hanging It Out In Hangtown
Hanging it out in Hangtown
RACE WATCH
Team CW Makes the Show
JIMMY LEWIS
I WAS FLAT ON MY BACK, LIMP AND RELAXED as my neck was tugged to one side. Cllaaaack! It sounded as if someone had just stepped on a roll of bubble packing material. A voice said to me, "If I was in your shape and could ride that fast, I'd do it. Now relax and I'll get the other side." Cllaaaack!
It was my chiropractor, Dr. Tom Duddy.
“I’m in nowhere near the shape I’d need to be in to do a national,” I responded.
“I’ve got a program I can put you on and you’ll be ready for Hangtown. You've got six weeks. Plenty of time,” Dr. Duddy proclaimed. “Just think, you could line up on the starting gate with McGrath, Kiedrowski, AJbertyn and Emig.”
The thought initially scared me silly, but it spiraled into a wonderful day dream. I could see it now: I line up next to McGrath as the 30-second board goes up. Slowly 1 look over at the King ot Supercross, flash him the hand gesture'for “Hang Loose,” and say, “Hey bud, lets moto!”
Doc Duddy outlined a program that would entail 40 minutes of stretching morning and evening, 30 minutes of strength-building, and a 50-minute bike ride or run just to get the blood flowing. No problem. Right. I start tomorrow.
Which 1 did, and to my surprise I enjoyed training enough that it gave me the drive to push on with the plan for Hangtown.
Selecting the right bike was the
next step. Being a magazine editor offers many plush opportunities. So the thought of some high-zoot works bike bounced around in my head until reality slammed me like coming up short on a double-jump. Our stock Honda CR250 testbike was already more machine than I could handle. If I could ride the CR to anywhere near its potential, I’d be ready.
With the help of Eric Crippa, American Honda’s product technical liaison, I spent a few days testing different suspension setups. Stiffer springs were installed front and rear. The only other substantive change to the bike involved the addition of Pro-Taper bars to lessen the jolts to my wimpy editor arms—anything to fight dreaded arm-pump. We
played around with different bends and positions for the bar clamps. The difference such small changes could make in my riding was amazing. Now it was up to me to ride, ride, ride and get faster. Three weeks remaining.
My adjustments from Dr. Duddy also were progress reports. “So, did you hang with Jeff Emig out at Perris yesterday?” Or, “I heard you were on Ryan Hughes’ tail at Starwest.” They were hopeful questions at best. Luckily, Southern California affords the luxury of catching some of motocross’ superstars out practicing at Starwest, Perris or Glen Helen Raceways. 1 got lucky enough to tuck in behind Emig and Hughes at times. But it would be for only one lap and then I was spent. Now I was worried that even extra training wasn’t going to get me ready in time. Diet modifications were in order: Say goodbye to Little Debbies and Cheap Mex lunches.
Race day was rapidly approaching. I had to get my AMA Pro-Am license. The paperwork was book-size but the licensing people made it all work out. I was issued national number 371well, at least it had a 1 in it, so the decals fit the numberplate. Then came the final details, including making arrangements for hotels, packing gear, etc. It was all building to a crescendo. Then I learned it was raining at the track. It might be muddy. Did we have the mud tires?
The Hangtown track is an interesting one. Rolling up and down through a valley in California’s Gold Country, the layout is truly outdoor motocross. The Dirt Diggers North had brought in a bunch of sand to break up the usual dry-baked hardpack, and, yes, it had rained for the week preceding the event. A small lake had formed in the center of the track.
The course was wet for the Friday’s practice, and rutted much more comprehensively than anything I was used to. I usually see deep ruts only in the woods at enduros. You take your time with them. Not here. This was more like slot-car racing-just pin it and hold your line. If you want to switch lines, hit a jump and land in a different rut. Crippa worked with me throughout practice to dial-in suspension settings. Such is the luxury of having a top-flight mechanic. Eric has tuned for Kent Howerton, Gary Semics and Chuck Sun. He's very familiar with Hangtown, and he definitely knows setup.
Ultimately, though, it would be up to me. To make the 40-rider field, I would have to get good starts in my qualifying race. 1 practiced starts alongside two-time 125cc National Champion Doug Henry on his works CR250. We launched off at the same time and I was able to hold my own against the factory pilot to the first turn. I was never more than a bikelength behind and 1 even beat him once-not bad for a magazine editor aboard a used testbike, eh?
Saturday was sign-up, tech inspection and final prep for the bike. New tires, clean filter, new oil-the bike was perfect. Was I? Tomorrow would tell.
On Sunday morning I had one last practice to get a feel for the track. I hooked up behind some of the fast guys for a few turns at a time to check their lines. The ruts were ever-changing and it would be important to stay upright. Passing would be difficult.
Fourteen riders would transfer out of my qualifier to the national; 1 needed to be one of those guys. Duddy-program notwithstanding, I didn’t want to ride the consolation race; that would only tire me out. Through luck of the draw, 1 got a poor gate position, and had to start in a muddy slot. Crippa worked to put some dry dirt on the line to provide a better grip, but when the gate fell my moto was basically over. 1 got outgunned right off the line, and pinched off going into the first turn. I wasn’t even 20th. 1 made a little progress banging bars through the first 10 turns, but on one of the rutted-out back straights a miscalculation in wheel placement had my bike crossrutted and instantly cartwheeling into the hay bales. Qualifier over. I rode around and checked lines so that I would be ready for the consolation.
My start position was better this time, but when the gate dropped it didn’t matter. My hair-trigger reflexes were on delay, I spun the wheel off the line and was in the process of getting pinched off again. Instead, I pinned it. This was no place for pansies, and when everyone else jumped on their brakes, I held it on a bit longer. I was about 12th going in to the turn, and ninth coming out. For Turn 2, I charged to the inside again and ended up in third. Four riders were going to the national, and I was going to be one of them. I held my spot for three of the four laps until another rider slipped by me and the second-place rider in one swoop. Now, I was in the last transfer spot with one lap left. Anxiety nearly took me out, but somehow I completed the last lap upright. I did what I had set out to do. I made The Show.
Now, the challenge was to find the strength for the two main motos, each of them 30 minutes plus two laps, in length. Qualifying order decreed that the last spot on the line was mine. Never mind, ! was lining up for the Hangtown National with McGrath, Kiedrowski, et al, the best in American MX.
The 30-second board was up and my nerves were guitar-string tight. I knew a good start was a longshot due to my end-of-the-line slot, and sure enough when the gate dropped, I got squeezed off on the inside, pelted by brick-hard chunks of roost. After three laps things settled down, and I > fell into a group of riders going about the same speed I was-which means there was a national going on and we weren't part of it. It took the leaders 15 minutes to lap me. Yes, and they did it again before the end of the moto. These guys are from another planet. I got a pretty good view of Emig winning the moto and had close scrubs with Albertyn, Henry, Dowd, Keidrowski and McGrath as they lapped me. Hey, it was better than being in the stands. Twenty-fifth was my finishing position, pretty good from 40th qualifying spot. And I didn’t fall, either.
Between motos, I was flat on my back again trying to save any and all possible energy. But before I knew it, it was time to line up again.
Second moto, same story. I saw the blue flag with the yellow stripe on it more than I would have liked, but I did get a good battle going near the back of the pack while Kiedrowski was running away with the race. And there was one hell of a race for second place with Albertyn, McGrath, Emig, Dowd and Henry swapping places. In fact, when I was getting lapped it took the five of them one turn and all of two seconds to get by me. You couldn’t have bought a better seat for that show, though fear of being run over or getting in the way had me hugging the edge of the track.
Keidrowski won, I got 30th in moto two, 27th overall.
Was a national outdoor motocross all it was cracked up to be? For me, yes. It was an adventure I will always remember. Rubbing elbows with McGrath and Keidrowski (even if it was while being lapped) was a priceless experience. I learned lots about training and the stamina that it takes to be a top-flight motocrosser, and I saw, first-hand, the meticulous preparation required to turn a stock motocross bike into a full-race machine.
Two things came to mind during my hour of fame at Hangtown. The top riders surely earn their six-figure salaries; and it is going to be one hell of a good season to watch the outdoor motocross series from the sidelineswhich is where I’ll be from now on.
