RACE
June 18th
My glimpse of paradise must be put on hold. This morning, I hopped a flight back to Osaka and prepped for what will be my final challenge to complete on this journey. The day was a strenuous one, as the team had a litany of tasks for me to complete.
Upon arriving at team HQ, I was greeted by the team manager and my mechanic. Jinshu had informed me that he would be at the track early, so he was not at the facility when I arrived. My mechanic’s name is Haruto and he’s been with the company for a few years. He was the wrench for the rider that I replaced, ensuring that I’ll have a steady hand working on my bike. We spent a few hours going over some paperwork, ensuring that my contract and rider license was set.
As a rule with any motorsport series, the rider must have a professional license from the governing organization hosting the series to compete. The team was aware of this and we squared away the details last week. After completing the paperwork, we headed over to track to meet up with Jinshu and the rest of the team.
Upon arriving at the track, I noticed dozens of eyes lingering in my direction. Despite several foreign riders competing, it was clear that I was the “fresh meat” in the pits. I can’t say that I blame them, as familiarity with your competitors this late in the series is a luxury that they’re used to.
When you race with the same competitors several times, you begin to learn their tendencies and riding styles. Having that knowledge accumulate throughout the season is invaluable for a championship chase. Adding a spoiler like me to the mix is frustrating, and quite frankly, annoying to deal with. I can’t say I blame them, as late lappers like me only cloud the contending field.
While Haruto preps my bike, I am asked to do a few different interviews with local publications. Sensu had notified them of my plight and they were anxious to get my feedback on the experience. If you hadn’t known any better, you would have assumed that I was a title contender by their enthusiasm.
I suppose the thought of taking a bike like the one I’ll race today around the country is a bit of a folk tale, to them.
The track times began with two “free practice” sessions. Each was 20 minutes long and give the riders a hint of how the track will be set up tomorrow. Since I don’t have any points in the standings, my practice session came towards the end. That was fine by me, as I want the space to figure out every line choice on the track.
The track layout had a nice section of clay and hard-packed dirt, which is a nice change from the track in Fukuoka. The tires were able to grip a bit better on that surface, as I felt comfortable powering around those corners. I’d say that this section was probably a ⅓ of the track, with the remaining sections on the road. You can tell that this is a professional course, as the number of turns and trick sections have multiplied.
My practice sessions felt good, but unfortunately, didn’t show well on the timesheet. Of the 32 riders in my class, I finished with the 26th best time. Not surprising, but disappointing, nonetheless.
We finished the day with a team dinner nearby, exchanging last-minute notes before tomorrow’s race. Sensu’s other factory rider, Hayai, was gracious with his knowledge of the track. He’s currently 5th in the series, with 10 points separating him and a podium finish. While everyone wants to win, there’s serious money to be made by placing top 10 in professional races. A guy like Hayai could have his season made by a top 3 performance tomorrow.
We finished the day with a team meeting at the hotel and a long night of sleep. At the peak of dawn, an opportunity I’ve longed for will finally be presented to me. This time, I don’t have to slap myself and wish it wasn’t a dream.
June 19th
Have I ever said how much I love the smell of race gas in the morning? I know, it’s weird. It’s a primal reaction to what this day means. It means that at long last, race day has come. From the minute I arrived at the track, I knew that today was going to be the explanation mark on this journey of a lifetime. The opportunity that I’ve been yearning for years now has suddenly arrived.
Hayai and I made it to the track around mid-morning, hoping to get one last glance at our favorite race lines. Supermoto races are formatted differently than other motorsports.
In this format, riders are allotted two free practices, a timed practice (to decide starting position), a “Super Pole” race, followed by three differnt races. Each race is 15-20 minutes long, all with different purposes.
The biggest difference with Supermoto is the Super Pole race. Essentially, it’s a timed group race consisting of two laps. The winner of each Super Pole is awarded one point in the standings. The other races have various points awarded, from 1 to 30 (the latter going to the winner). I was in fast group during free practice, as two of Hayai’s biggest competitors are battling me for the supreme line.
Lap by lap, I’m exchanging corners with these guys. I can tell by these initial laps that they don’t appreciate my presence on the track, as they take every opportunity to close the line in front of me. When free practices concluded, we moved onto the timed portion of the qualifying session.
Overall, my lap timed improved, but it won’t be enough to fight for the holeshot. My time put me in 20th place, which is ok. Usually, this placing would put me in crowded gate, but I was unsure of how advantageous this spot would be in Supermoto. The real question mark of the day was going to be the Super Pole race.
In what could best be described as a sprint lap on steroids, the Super Pole race was two minutes of sending the bike to the rev limiter. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that this race was worth a 100 points. The cutthroat pace takes everyone into a different gear as the final points push for the series has to be done today.
I finished 5th in my race. It’s safe to say that I didn’t get my “race pace” on this one lol. Fortunately, my gate position didn’t change for the main races. After a few hour break, we took our positions for Race One. The main events all had 32 riders, many of which hungry for every possible point. In the moments leading up to the flag, what feels like a lifetime of memories flash throughout my mind. Every lap on the dirt, every spill on a bad turn. It all prepared me for this moment.
For the first time in my entire life, I’m a professional racer. Nothing can replicate the tingle of ecstasy that I’m feeling in this moment. Regardless of what lap time I laid down today, I’m never going to forget this moment of realization on the pavement in Osaka. Between these racing thoughts were the minute markers, counting down to the start of the race.
With each passing second, the insistant revs of our bikes grow louder. The clutch plates are begging to be relieved. With the final seconds before the marker drops, I stare towards my first race line. My starting position is in the middle of the pack, specifically, middle left. If I can get to my line around the first turn, I should be able to start in the top half of the group. With seconds left, I quickly glance over to my team and with the loudest non-verbal cue, I thanked them for this moment.
By the time I look back over, I had just enough time to get the jump. The race starts with a furious rush to the first corner. As the 20th slot, I had to do my best to avoid a first turn pile up. I found my first line around the corner, skidding my way towards the dirt section. The guys up front look like they were shot out of a cannon, as they were already past the dirt section. A good number of us were just fighting to stay upright, as the group in the middle squeezed into the section.
A few riders ran into each other at the first tabletop, causing some of us to change our lines. It was immediately apparent that these pros are throwing caution to the wind. Every point (and therefore, bonus money) is at stake today. After a few laps into the first race, I’m finding my footing in the pack. Around the 3rd lap, Haruto gives me my first message on the marker board. The message read “cut your corners sooner”. I knew immediately what he wanted me to do.
In the first few laps, had taken wide turns and allowed a few people to pass me on the inside. After all of that work throughout the track, I let up my position to a few riders because of bad technique around the corner. That was quickly rectified after the following lap. With each passing round, Haruto is giving me my lap time and position. I started the race in 24th, slowly working my way up to 19th.
The battles between my peers intensify with each lap. One rider had a knack for getting a fender’s length from my rear tire, which really made me want to power brake. Mental games are a huge part of racing and let me tell you, ANY trick you can play on your competition is worth its weight in gold. Unfortunately for that guy, I’m used to these tricks in dirtier settings (no pun intended).
I managed to keep him a bike’s length away for the rest of the race and spin my way into a 17th place finish. I can’t take complete credit for this moto, as two guys ahead of me DNF’ed (did not finish) on the last lap, ensuring my increased point tally.
With only an hour between races, I hauled back to the team pit and absorbed whatever fluids and nutrients that I could find. I don’t think people realize how physically taxing a race can be. Controlling a race tuned, sleekly designed motorcycle around a terrain altering track is demanding on all of the muscles.
The second race of the day was called the “Fast Race”. As the name implies, this moto is five minutes shorter than the other two and encourages a break neck speed from its competitors. That beared fruit around the first turn, as several bikes ahead of me piled up onto the pavement. With milliseconds to react, I took a different line to cut inside. That may have been a poor choice, as I suddenly find myself skidding into the abyss. To make things even worse, I see Hayai amongst the riders in the pile up.
With one bad turn, I could have ruined not only my own day, but hurt the teams chase in the point standings. It’s in this moment that I had to act on race instinct and hope to careen around the chaos. Unfortunately, my skill was not up to par to navigate this kind of situation..
To be continued…
