Racing Car!

Not only did I get to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity to ride with the legend himself, but the night before, I took delivery of a 2012 Husqvarna TC250 primed and ready to ride the event on, courtesy of Gavin Hasslet at South Lakes Off-road.

 

So at around 10.30 on Sunday evening we were loaded and ready for an early start... 4.30am to be exact! At this point the nerves began to kick in. I was going to meet the G.O.A.T himself. 

 

What if I was the worst rider there! I mean, this was the first time on the Husqvarna, and I hadn't ridden since April!

 

Anyway, after signing on, and a brief introduction from RC, Jeff Emig, Jeff Stanton, Jamie Dobb and Tommy Searle, the time had come to fire up and head out onto the track for a warm up.

 

Straight away I felt at home on the Husky, its smooth power delivery in the soft FatCat sand gave me instant confidence. 

 

Once warmed up we were put into our different groups for the sessions.

 

Dobbie had put me in with the Youths, so I thought... ‘'Great, I may have a chance of keeping up with them!'' How wrong could I be! With the likes of Ben and Nathan Watson in the mix, along with other National Youth runners, I was way out of my depth, these guys were mega fast!

 

Our first session was with Tommy Searle for jumps. For me it was a lesson in making sure I had the bike straight when I was hitting the face of the jump, and keeping a smooth power delivery. For the other guys in the group they were able to hit the jump hard and by the end of the 45 minute block were easily clearing it.

 

Next up was Jeff Emig for starts. He was great at breaking down his own technique. I think the lads really took on board what he was saying; that being consistent, and having a pattern to how you prepare for the drop of the gate was key. 

 

Before lunch it was our turn to learn from the man himself, Ricky Carmichael. Ricky's teaching methods were tough. Based around sand technique, he was working on maintaining speed in the corner and not blowing the berm out, and then keeping the speed down the straight. I think everybody enjoyed seeing his demos too!

 

Ricky was a great teacher, during the session he was able to pull me to one side and give me some tips that were relevant to my skill level. He helped me with my positioning on the bike when down the straight, and also with my confidence to apply more power to make it easer through a section where the ruts were all crossed. 

 

Lunch time arrived and I was glad of a chance to chill out and grab some food. The atmosphere during the break was great, everybody was relaxed, with some of the riders tracking the coaches down for an autograph or a sneaky photo.

 

Once fed and watered it was grilling time for the stars, with everybody getting the chance to fire a question or two at the coaches...I never knew there was such rivalry between RC and Emig!

 

Break over and it was back out onto the bikes for the final two sessions of the day. Rutted Corners with Jeff Stanton was geat. He's such an old school teacher and gave clear demonstration of what we were trying to achieve. Then it was onto Jamie Dobb for wide cornering and using the outside berm to keep the power on. Whilst i struggled with both techniques it was awsome to watch some of the youths in the group who made it all look easy!

 

Teaching all done and it was open practice time. With the crowds swelling at the side of the track, each rider was eager to try out what they learnt from the day but also have their chance at riding alongside the coaches.

 

Seeing Matt Moffat giving his two smoker some stick and mixing it up with RC was just awesome! 

 

In all a fantastic day. A Massive thankyou to Jamie Dobb for letting me come and see what all the excitement was, and also to Gavin for the sweet Husqvarna to ride.. It's definitely got my thumbs up!

 

I may have learnt more than I am able to process for the moment, but my experience of the day has to be the highligh of motocrossing so far.