Hot Laps on a Hot Bike at VIR

By Bruce Wilkins

John Ulrich talks to rider Steve Rapp as a reporter waits his turn.

ALTON, Va. - There are three things that a layman who suits up and rides with a motorcycle road racer quickly understands: First, athleticism is not just crucial, but absolutely mandatory. Secondly, you have to somehow get beyond the horrifying feeling of, "There is no way this bike is going to be able to make this upcoming turn at this speed." Thirdly, the tradition of using beautiful girls to hold umbrellas over riders on starting grids is not just because they are caring wives or girlfriends, or corporate spokesmodels. It's because sitting inside a one-piece leather suit is stifling hot!

Once again, on the set-up day before the annual AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Suzuki Lightning Nationals presented by Parts Unlimited at VIRginia International Raceway, journalists were invited to take hot laps aboard a racing bike. Each one who took advantage of the opportunity walked (well, some may have wobbled a bit) away with a entirely new outlook on one of the world's most extreme sports.

"We don't mind doing this at all, because I think it is important for members of the general press to understand what this sport is really about," commented John Ulrich of Lake Elsinore, California, a veteran racer himself who owns Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki. "Riding on the back of a bike like this under these circumstances will show anybody how strenuous, draining, and delicate the sport happens to be." Ulrich also owns Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology, one of the most popular magazines in the sport.

With a special tail section that supports a tiny rear seat pad, the 1000cc Suzuki sits with a potent idle, as veteran racer Steve Rapp of Corona, California, calmly waits to take me out for two laps around VIR's 2.25-mile North Course. Having taking hot laps with Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki two years ago and knowing what to expect, this time I wasn't quite as nervous. Well, not quite as nervous.

Three strong concepts, however, allowed me to fully enjoy this session of speed. Knowing the professionalism of the overall race team, the skill of Steve Rapp, and the solidness of the smooth GSX-R1000 bike. All Rapp requested of his riders was to lean with him, to push back when going into turns, and to "relax" and enjoy the ride. That last part was the most difficult, as it certainly takes more than a couple of laps for a "newbie" to get over the fear of an upcoming turn that seems to be moving itself swiftly towards you, instead of you moving towards it.

Work of Art

Rapp pulled away from the pit lane, but as soon as he entered the "pit-out" section of pit road, the roar and power of the 180-horsepower bike suddenly came to vibrant life. He gently rocked the bike from side to side, warming the sides of the tires a bit for a better - and safer - bite, then went through the gears, effortlessly hitting a hundred miles an hour before he started to brake.

Actually, motorcycle road racers make it appear effortless, but in reality, this is a sport that demands not just a high-level of skill at controlling and balancing a high-powered machine on only two wheels, but also the stamina and strength required in virtually any other sport.

"You have to be in excellent physical shape to do this and when you add the fact that many of our races are in intense heat like this and they're always wearing a full set of leathers, then you can see why they have to work out so much," Ulrich explained. "One misconception that many people have about this sport is that it isn't an athletic event. Well, that's just plain wrong."

That pre-ride comment came quickly to mind as Rapp expertly maneuvered the bike through the NASCAR bend and set himself up for the tricky Turns Four and Five which are bunched up in an almost 90-degree angle. You find yourself moving on the bike, shifting your weight from side to side depending on the angle of the all-important lean. Veterans like Rapp are certainly not as tense as journalist passengers, but the physical intensity of the situation still remains draining for road racers.

The force of entering a turn at high speed or tucking tightly behind the windscreen in a 170 plus mile per hour rush down the frontstretch is also both physically and mentally draining. Even at speeds of 20-30 miles per hour slower, a passenger on Rapp's Suzuki can inherently sense the strain on the body. Imagining doing this for 28 laps (Superbike race length of 100 kilometers) at VIR and under race conditions, one can only marvel at the stamina involved.

In a football game you can catch your breath in the huddle or even just before the ball is snapped. Out on a track where it is not at all uncommon to be racing side-by-side at 170 miles per hour, every split second must be handled with absolute and total focus with virtually no room at all for error. After all, blinking or dropping one's focus for a split second involves far more than just a wide receiver getting by or a penalty flag thrown. It can result in an end-over-end bout of somersaults that often ends with serious injury.

Which is not to say that safety is not taken seriously in the sport of motorcycle road racing. Those extremely hot leather suits may be uncomfortable while waiting in the paddock, but heading through the uphill esses nicknamed the "Snake" and watching the pavement and concrete strips as they seem to jump up at you, the heavy material suddenly seems impressively comforting. The custom leathers, which often cost well over a $1,500, will prevent superficial injuries to the skin during any "get-off" or fall from the bike. Riders also wear a "back protector" inside the leathers, which is a sturdy pad that is tied around the back, stretching towards the lower neck region.

Elaborate and expensive riding boots help prevent broken ankles, while gloves that seem as if they came from the set of Star Wars, and can cost nearly two hundred dollars, lower the risk of finger and wrist damage, not to mention "skin rash." Helmets are understandably another very expensive item and fans should look beyond the always-colorful styles and paint jobs that catch the viewer's eye. These helments generally cost up to $600 each and more and are state-of-the-art designed and constructed in terms of durability, weight, and comfort. But costly or not, the helmets are discarded after any hard crash, so stringent are the safety rules in motorcycle road racing.

All of these safety features, along with Rapp's well-earned skill, allowed even me to loosen up a bit by the time we reached the famed downhill "Roller Coaster." In fact, so intense was the ride through the back side of the South Course that before I even knew it we were already in the middle of the sudden drop and its treacherous turns, each requiring a different lean.

As if that wasn't enough to take any "newbie's" breath away, the end of the downhill section was the clue for Rapp to power into the frontstretch and with a smooth gliding play of the throttle we were soon in the 130 plus mile per hour ranger. The transition from holding yourself back from being a physical burden to Rapp suddenly was reversed in that you are now literally holding on for dear life.

Bruce Wilkins and John Ulrich

Rapp's movements are so fluid and so fast that a passenger can barely notice that you are in a high-speed lean to the right as you rush pass the kink of VIR's frontstretch. Perhaps this is as God intended, to keep any "passenger" from suddenly freaking out and endangering both the rider's and the passenger's limbs at such high speeds. For the journalists who took the ride, this cannot help but increase the respect they have for road racers, knowing that powering into a frontstretch under race-conditions is a sudden bite of often side-by-side competition, instead of the smooth and steady movement that we experienced while entering into this high-speed zone so comfortably inhabited by road racers.

Going into our second lap and entering Turn One after a complete trip down the frontstretch brought for me an eerie feeling of entering a dimension that is exempt from all laws of physics. Having spent a lot of time at VIR, I knew exactly how far we were away from the hairpin turn, yet at such speeds, I just knew the bike could not physically make the turn. A degree of centrifugal force seemed present, enough so that I could easily see the bike, Rapp and, of course, me, all ending up in the tops of the tall pines trees about a hundred yards away.

But as I used both hands to steady myself against the fuel tank to keep from pushing Rapp to the front of the bike, the Californian merely got into his lean, as did I, and we rounded that turn like the old cliche goes: "Cornering like it's on rails!"

For the rest of the ride, I marveled at both the high-technology of the ultra-fast bike, and even more so, Rapp's professionalism and expertise under unusual circumstances. I also marveled at the elegant beauty of the VIRginia International Raceway in a manner I hadn't really sensed before: from the eyes of a racer. Hidden deep in the southwest corner of rural Halifax County, just nipping the North Carolina line is this oasis that attracts some of the most talented and experienced professionals in one of the world's most intense of adventurous sports.

See for yourself this weekend. Few places on earth can wed together the ultimate of tranquil, beautiful countryside with all the elements of breath-taking extreme sports. It's the third annual AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Suzuki Lightning Nationals presented by Parts Unlimited and it will be an event that you will never forget!