A friend of mine took a 1st in a supermoto amature
race in Cleveland aboard his clapped out 1992 xr600.
Here is his story for your reading enjoyment...
--------------------------
Trophy girls, interviewed by the track announcer on
the podium, again by the Cycle News guy, signed
autographs for some little kids. Am I dreaming?
This past weekend was the NASMOTO Grand Prix of
Cleveland. Bozo, Will, and I got our street bike
tires out and put them on our respective dual sport
bikes. Mine is the Mighty XR600.
You have to understand that the mighty XR600 was
my present to myself for getting my ACL repaired
in 1992. It has been trail riding in Utah,
California, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming,
Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan,
Ontario, and of course my home state of Ohio. It's
been a motocrosser, a hare scrambler, a desert racer,
a roadracer, a trials bike, and an enduro bike.
It's been beat on and put away wet.
Supermoto seemed like the logical next step.
Griffin called me Thursday and asked if I could
pick up a couple minibikes at the Honda/KTM dealer
in Bedford. They were going to be used by the track
workers. I was at a customer near there the next day
and picked them up. They turned out to be scooters
which couldn't be tied down easily but with a few
4x4's we figured out a way to get them safely downtown.
Friday night Bozo called and warned me that there would
be a lot of people there so get there early. I got up
Saturday at 6:00, picked up my old friend Don as pit
help and went to the west end of the Muni parking lot
in downtown Cleveland, right across from the airport and
catycorner to the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame.
The track was mostly layed out in the lot with haybales.
The dirt section was a dirt berm, a short whoop, a big
tabletop, and a little kicker off onto the pavement again.
If you wanted, you could have gone at a slight angle off
the face of the table top and landed riding down the
Shoreway.
I signed up for Sportmoto (stock suspension, wheels,
and brakes) and, at the urging of Bozo and Will, Beginner.
The track was still being changed and swept and the PA
system gotten up for the first two hours or so of the
morning. Everything was then about that much late.
Practice one (for me) was the Beginner practice. This
was anything goes on equipment, no more than 2 supermoto
races under your belt (I think). I was out cruising
and figuring out how far you can push the tires on
the pavement when I realized, as we were coming in from
our 10 minute practice session, that I had lapped
everybody. Oops. I went over to where they were
getting scoring ready, signup was closed, and
asked to be put in Amateur (no pro experience).
Sure, says they, done deal.
By the end of my second practice, Sportmoto, I was
easily clearing the tabletop and had figured out that
the front would stick most anywhere except the dirt.
The rear I could easily slide into most corners and I
was almost able to slide it out of them, I was still
a little timid.
Bozo and Will's Beginner race went well, I think they
were 4th and 5th. No trophies past 3rd though.
My Amateur race went awesome. All of the bikes on the
start grid were real supermoto bikes but mine. Big
brakes, wide 17" wheels, slicks. I got a decent holeshot
from the third row and ended up in 7th I think. Ran down
one guy in front of me in the dirt section then got
entangled in a three (four now that I was there) man
fight over 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. One guy was on
a really fast bike but kept overshooting the corners.
I managed to get both him and the guy in front of him
then he stuffed me, took us both wide, and we both
got passed again. Coming to the finish, the 5th place
guy got slightly sideways in the final corner and was
late onto the gas, I passed him with 12" to the line but
the scorers missed it. He knew it, I knew it, the fast
out of control guy came over to me and said something about
it to me "I saw that, you should go tell them". The
class was big and they gave trophies to 5th, I figured I
didn't need another bowling troply anyway and declined to
make a fuss.
The Sportmoto class only had 7 guys. A guy on a CR450F
got the holeshot and then did a very effective job of blocking
the way. I never found a place where I could pass without
stuffing him and finished second.
Sunday, they changed the asphalt part of the track
pretty significantly. Longer with more offset in the
chicanes. Even harder to pass.
In Amateur, I didn't get as good a jump and was 8th or
9th. Got a couple guys on successive laps in the dirt section
and then came around right after the half way flag to find
waving yellows, then red at the tabletop. Two of the leaders
had tangled in the air and one got an ambulance ride. He
walked to the ambulance at least. They called it a race
and I was credited with 7th.
The last race was Sportmoto and I knew I needed to be first
out of the dirt the first lap or Bill (the guy on the CR450F who
was now a friend) would beat me again. There was a new
guy on a brand new KTM street supermoto bike that I guess
fit the rules. He got the holeshot, pushed Bill wide
in the first turn, then got wide himself onto the dirt.
I cut inside Bill in turn one then went WAY inside, against
the inside haybale, into the dirt section. I managed to
get on the gas before the KTM could and got over the
tabletop in 1st. Then I just pushed as hard as I could.
By now I could light up the rear coming out of most corners
and slide the front a little even in the one big sweeper
left.
Just before start finish there was a left/right chicane,
about 70 yard straight, then right/left chicane onto the
Urban Jump in the front straight. I was making this into a
big sweeper right and barely nicking both sides of the chicane
onto the front straight.
At one point I got on the gas too hard in this "sweeper" and
the rear flicked out 12 inches or so, enough that I had to
shift weight and back off to avoid low siding.
Other than that, I just pushed as hard as I dared
until just past halfway, then looked back to see that
the KTM and Bill were arguing over 2nd with Bill finally
taking second. I came across 1st, did the obligatory
fist pump, slowed to pull off, then got pulled over to
the podium.
Three skin tight jumpsuit clad 19 year old sweeties
held trophies and RedBull (title sponsor) for the top
three. The track announcer talked to each of us, let
me plug my sponsor (him!), then backed off so all of
the photographers could get their shots. I counted
three professional photogs. One of them, after I
climbed down, asked if I'd pose with the mighty XR
which I did.
Later, the Cycle News guy tracked me down for an interview
and told me the guy that asked me to get a shot with the
XR was the NASMOTO promoter and told him (the CN guy)
that I was the type of guy that they want to see out there.
Having fun for the cost of a pair of tires.
Damn. I never got that kind of exposure when I was racing
for Yamabucks back in the 80's. Where was supermoto then?
----------------------------
See ya,
Mike S.
race in Cleveland aboard his clapped out 1992 xr600.
Here is his story for your reading enjoyment...
--------------------------
Trophy girls, interviewed by the track announcer on
the podium, again by the Cycle News guy, signed
autographs for some little kids. Am I dreaming?
This past weekend was the NASMOTO Grand Prix of
Cleveland. Bozo, Will, and I got our street bike
tires out and put them on our respective dual sport
bikes. Mine is the Mighty XR600.
You have to understand that the mighty XR600 was
my present to myself for getting my ACL repaired
in 1992. It has been trail riding in Utah,
California, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming,
Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan,
Ontario, and of course my home state of Ohio. It's
been a motocrosser, a hare scrambler, a desert racer,
a roadracer, a trials bike, and an enduro bike.
It's been beat on and put away wet.
Supermoto seemed like the logical next step.
Griffin called me Thursday and asked if I could
pick up a couple minibikes at the Honda/KTM dealer
in Bedford. They were going to be used by the track
workers. I was at a customer near there the next day
and picked them up. They turned out to be scooters
which couldn't be tied down easily but with a few
4x4's we figured out a way to get them safely downtown.
Friday night Bozo called and warned me that there would
be a lot of people there so get there early. I got up
Saturday at 6:00, picked up my old friend Don as pit
help and went to the west end of the Muni parking lot
in downtown Cleveland, right across from the airport and
catycorner to the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame.
The track was mostly layed out in the lot with haybales.
The dirt section was a dirt berm, a short whoop, a big
tabletop, and a little kicker off onto the pavement again.
If you wanted, you could have gone at a slight angle off
the face of the table top and landed riding down the
Shoreway.
I signed up for Sportmoto (stock suspension, wheels,
and brakes) and, at the urging of Bozo and Will, Beginner.
The track was still being changed and swept and the PA
system gotten up for the first two hours or so of the
morning. Everything was then about that much late.
Practice one (for me) was the Beginner practice. This
was anything goes on equipment, no more than 2 supermoto
races under your belt (I think). I was out cruising
and figuring out how far you can push the tires on
the pavement when I realized, as we were coming in from
our 10 minute practice session, that I had lapped
everybody. Oops. I went over to where they were
getting scoring ready, signup was closed, and
asked to be put in Amateur (no pro experience).
Sure, says they, done deal.
By the end of my second practice, Sportmoto, I was
easily clearing the tabletop and had figured out that
the front would stick most anywhere except the dirt.
The rear I could easily slide into most corners and I
was almost able to slide it out of them, I was still
a little timid.
Bozo and Will's Beginner race went well, I think they
were 4th and 5th. No trophies past 3rd though.
My Amateur race went awesome. All of the bikes on the
start grid were real supermoto bikes but mine. Big
brakes, wide 17" wheels, slicks. I got a decent holeshot
from the third row and ended up in 7th I think. Ran down
one guy in front of me in the dirt section then got
entangled in a three (four now that I was there) man
fight over 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. One guy was on
a really fast bike but kept overshooting the corners.
I managed to get both him and the guy in front of him
then he stuffed me, took us both wide, and we both
got passed again. Coming to the finish, the 5th place
guy got slightly sideways in the final corner and was
late onto the gas, I passed him with 12" to the line but
the scorers missed it. He knew it, I knew it, the fast
out of control guy came over to me and said something about
it to me "I saw that, you should go tell them". The
class was big and they gave trophies to 5th, I figured I
didn't need another bowling troply anyway and declined to
make a fuss.
The Sportmoto class only had 7 guys. A guy on a CR450F
got the holeshot and then did a very effective job of blocking
the way. I never found a place where I could pass without
stuffing him and finished second.
Sunday, they changed the asphalt part of the track
pretty significantly. Longer with more offset in the
chicanes. Even harder to pass.
In Amateur, I didn't get as good a jump and was 8th or
9th. Got a couple guys on successive laps in the dirt section
and then came around right after the half way flag to find
waving yellows, then red at the tabletop. Two of the leaders
had tangled in the air and one got an ambulance ride. He
walked to the ambulance at least. They called it a race
and I was credited with 7th.
The last race was Sportmoto and I knew I needed to be first
out of the dirt the first lap or Bill (the guy on the CR450F who
was now a friend) would beat me again. There was a new
guy on a brand new KTM street supermoto bike that I guess
fit the rules. He got the holeshot, pushed Bill wide
in the first turn, then got wide himself onto the dirt.
I cut inside Bill in turn one then went WAY inside, against
the inside haybale, into the dirt section. I managed to
get on the gas before the KTM could and got over the
tabletop in 1st. Then I just pushed as hard as I could.
By now I could light up the rear coming out of most corners
and slide the front a little even in the one big sweeper
left.
Just before start finish there was a left/right chicane,
about 70 yard straight, then right/left chicane onto the
Urban Jump in the front straight. I was making this into a
big sweeper right and barely nicking both sides of the chicane
onto the front straight.
At one point I got on the gas too hard in this "sweeper" and
the rear flicked out 12 inches or so, enough that I had to
shift weight and back off to avoid low siding.
Other than that, I just pushed as hard as I dared
until just past halfway, then looked back to see that
the KTM and Bill were arguing over 2nd with Bill finally
taking second. I came across 1st, did the obligatory
fist pump, slowed to pull off, then got pulled over to
the podium.
Three skin tight jumpsuit clad 19 year old sweeties
held trophies and RedBull (title sponsor) for the top
three. The track announcer talked to each of us, let
me plug my sponsor (him!), then backed off so all of
the photographers could get their shots. I counted
three professional photogs. One of them, after I
climbed down, asked if I'd pose with the mighty XR
which I did.
Later, the Cycle News guy tracked me down for an interview
and told me the guy that asked me to get a shot with the
XR was the NASMOTO promoter and told him (the CN guy)
that I was the type of guy that they want to see out there.
Having fun for the cost of a pair of tires.
Damn. I never got that kind of exposure when I was racing
for Yamabucks back in the 80's. Where was supermoto then?
----------------------------
See ya,
Mike S.
