Riding the Indy Mile on a Factory Kawasaki

Head down, flat out in top, the engine is just bouncing off the rev limiter and they are doing around 125mph as they pitch it quickly into turn one. As they flick it hard and aggressively the back-end immediately breaks away and steps out a good foot and a half, the throttle is still wide open, there is no front brake, they don’t even seem to slow, this is total commitment at it’s very best and of course it’s totally insane.

I am so stunned, I can’t believe my eyes as they flash past in a mille second and as my jaw drops it is instantly filled tiny bits of hard flying dirt that are travelling at warp speed and sting like hell as they hit you in the face. They blast past so fast you struggle to take it all in as they slide off into the distance and just as you are getting over the shock, around 37 seconds or so later they are back around again, inches apart, fighting tooth and nail, all 18 of them.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I am stood next the guard rail on the inside of turn one at the famous Indy mile Dirt Track race meeting and what I have just seen is like nothing else I’ve witnessed before, this is madness on Red Bull and for some reason I’ve blagged a go later on that evening.

Ever since watching ‘On any Sunday’ I’ve wanted to find out what Flat Track is like and now I’m in the US, I thought ‘what the hell’  let’s find out, so I made some calls. Now that I was stood here up close and watching them slide past well over 100mph, I started to have second thoughts. Maybe the ½ mile track would be better for my first go, maybe a 400cc machine, not a 650cc on the Indy mile riding a works Kawasaki built by the most successful Dirt Track tuner and mechanic in history, Mr Bill Werner.

Getting a go happened so fast that I didn’t even have my gear with me, just my helmet, so with borrowed sweaty gear and a bit of riding advice from a few pro’s, it was time to hit the Indy mile. After a few laps of tip-toeing around, I decided it was time to get stuck in, I had no choice, Mr Bill Werner and his team were watching and I only had a few laps.

With the guard rail so close everything seemed to be happening so fast, it was almost too much to take in. At least I didn’t have to worry about the front brake as Dirt Track bikes don’t have one of those…

As I approached turn 1, this time a lot faster than I had done on any of my previous laps, I kinda started to panic, at the same time my eye balls started to grow a lot larger and my butt hole clenched tighter than ever before. My fingers had a mind of their own and went in search of the front brake lever….there wasn’t one….Oh F*ck!!!

Right at that moment I wanted to be anywhere else on the planet, not facing a dirty left hander surrounded by a steal guard rail while travelling at over 100mph… apart from jump off I could do little else than pitch it in to the corner and hope for the best, it was sink or swim time and I’d just jumped in the shark infested deep end with not much more than a steel shoe as protection.

My heart was in my mouth, but thankfully the bike steered, gripped and made the turn. My horrified frozen and ridged facial expression started to relax about half way around the corner and it felt much more like luck than skill that got me around the corner I can tell ya. Not crashing when you think you’re going to crash can be quite a relief.

The Indy mile is hard packed and fairly bumpy, this is no smooth ride and it feels mega fast, mainly because it is. However, your speed sensor is given an extra boast as the guard rail is close both on the inside and out of the turns. It’s kind of like you’re in a Highway tunnel and you definitely know its gunna hurt if you mess up. That being part of the appeal I guess.

With more and more laps I found the front wheel is just there to keep the forks off the ground, the whole steering, entry and exit is controlled by the throttle and the rear-end, the front tire is almost a rim protector at best.

The next several laps were much more of the same and I tried my best to get the back-end out mid-corner and do a bit of this so called rear wheel steering. Yes I did a bit, a very little bit, OK it was more like an accident and I instantly bricked my pants when it came around but I can say it happened, even if it was only for a split second.

This is a great motorcycle sport and one hell of a spectacle to watch. No wonder America’s best racers came from Dirt Track racing; this sport takes skill, bravery and big, big balls. My experience was a mixture of worry, nerves, concentration, panic, delight and then one hell of a big smile. Thumbs up to Flat Track and if you get chance, go and watch them fly, the pros at the Indy Mile will astonish you.

Photos: Andrew Northcott