Grass track racing is another variant of Track Racing. The tracks they race on are similar to speedway in layout. Grass track circuits are constructed in a field, at least in the UK where it is the most famous, hence the name Grass track. In Australia and America, they are called as Oval Track or Dirt Track races. Grass track has three solo classes and three sidecar classes.Let’s see how Grass track is different from Speedway. Sometimes, the tracks are circular or even three or four sided. They measure longer than the speedway tracks between 400 and 800 metres. The Rhodes Minnis circuit is one of the most famous tracks. The Grass track terrain is a lot rougher, there’s also grass on it, sometimes accompanied by mud and stones. Usually, the start line in Grass track is off track unlike in speedway where the start finish line is located on the track.
The number of riders racing in both races is vastly different, in contrast to speedways 4 riders, the Grass track’s solo categories have 12-16 riders while the sidecar has 6 riders per race. The laps per race are similar at 4 or sometimes 6. Coming to the machines used, both run on methanol, do not have brakes but these bikes have a 2 speed gearbox unlike the speedway bikes which have only one gear.These bikes also have a rear suspension and are around 10-12 inches longer than the speedway bikes. The sidecar bikes are an altogether different story. Grass track racing is regulated by the governing body of British motorcycle sport, the Auto Cycle Union (ACU) who organise an annual British Grass track Championship and British Masters Championship.
Solo RaceSolo racing is done with only one rider astride the bike. Once the race starts, the riders try to get a good start going into the first corner. From the start, they put as much weight on the back wheel as possible, so that they can gain as much grip and try and be the first one into the corner. They also try and avoid making contact with another bike. They specially avoid touching the front wheel of their own bike and the real wheel of an opponents bike, unless they want to get airborne. The rider having better broadsiding skills will carry more speed into the corners and will eventually win the race.
The 3 classes in the solo series are –
1. The 250cc Solo: Mostly 2-stroke bikes are used. The current British Grass track Champion is Zach Wajtknecht.
2. The 350cc Solo: 4-stroke bikes are used. The current British Grass track Champion is Tom Perry
3. The 500cc Solo: 4-stroke bikes are used. The current British Grass track Champion is James Shanes.
2. The 350cc Solo: 4-stroke bikes are used. The current British Grass track Champion is Tom Perry
3. The 500cc Solo: 4-stroke bikes are used. The current British Grass track Champion is James Shanes.
Sidecar The Sidecar racing is one of the most spectacular racing sports. It consists of a team of two, the driver and the passenger. These two have to work closely together and anticipate each others moves. They become more instinctive after riding together for a long time. They have to have complete trust and confidence in each other to be successful.
The driver is the one who controls the speed, the direction of travel and other mechanical things. The passenger controls the grip of all three wheels during the entire race and maintains balance along with steering. They have to make sure to make the sidecar is as light as possible. The more skilled the passenger, the more lightweight is the sidecar which results in the bike performing like a solo bike.
Dependent on the class, the sidecar can be on the right or left side of the bike. The techniques used are different across the 3 classes, 500cc Sidecar, 1000cc Left Hand Sidecar and a 1000cc Right Hand Sidecar.
1. The 500cc Sidecar
The 500 cc sidecars use a 4-stroke engine and race in the familiar anti-clockwise direction. The passengers have to keep their feet on the sidecar platform at all times during the race, thus they have to balance weight by leaning round the back of the driver to distribute their weight and counter balance the sidecar. This gives the driver more grip in the corners and on the straights. The balancing done in the 500cc class is different than the other two 1000 cc categories because, in 500cc the driver hangs off more than the passenger who can lean only a little far or else they lose balance. The current reigning British Grass Track Champions are Josh Goodwin & Liam Brown.
2. 1000cc Left Hand Sidecar
This is the highest displacement category in the entire Grass track racing, done on powerful 1000cc four stroke bikes with sidecars. They too, are raced in an anti-clockwise direction. The difference in technique to the 500cc sidecar is that while entering corners, the passenger sits on the front of the sidecar wheel arch to transfer as much weight to the sidecar wheel and front wheel while the driver puts more weight onto the front wheel.
Half way into the corner and then the passenger moves back to the sidecar wheel arch to transfer his weight back on the rear wheel and the sidecar while the driver accelerates and sits back against the wheel arch which results in the bike exiting the corner while counter steering. On the straights, the passenger puts more weight on the back wheel. The current British Grass Track Champions are Will Penfold and Ricky Pay.
3. 1000cc Right Hand Sidecar
This class stands out amongst the track racing crowd. The right in the name denotes the clockwise direction of the race. Why is it raced in a clockwise direction? The reason lies in the origin of this class of race. The 500cc sidecar race has been developed in Europe, where they drive on the right side of the road while the 1000cc sidecar has been developed in the UK, where they drive on the left side of the road.
Interestingly, the sidecar is located on the left hand side of the bike. This results in the passenger hardly being in the sidecar. While approaching the corner, both the driver and passenger move forward to put more weight on the front wheel and the passenger slides down the right hand side of the bike, almost only 10 cms away from the ground. All this happening while the bike will be sliding sideways with the driver counter steering.
When the apex of the corner is reached, to counter the slide, the passenger while still being down, slides back towards the back of the bike and the driver opens the throttle to line up the bike for the straight. The passenger keeps juggling his weight back and forth to give the right amount of drive and steering at the same time. On smaller tracks, the passenger stays down the side of the bike for the whole duration of the race after the first corner. This class is the fastest amongst the Grass track races. The reigning British Grass track Champions are Colin Blackbourn and Carl Pugh.
The 500 cc sidecars use a 4-stroke engine and race in the familiar anti-clockwise direction. The passengers have to keep their feet on the sidecar platform at all times during the race, thus they have to balance weight by leaning round the back of the driver to distribute their weight and counter balance the sidecar. This gives the driver more grip in the corners and on the straights. The balancing done in the 500cc class is different than the other two 1000 cc categories because, in 500cc the driver hangs off more than the passenger who can lean only a little far or else they lose balance. The current reigning British Grass Track Champions are Josh Goodwin & Liam Brown.
2. 1000cc Left Hand Sidecar
This is the highest displacement category in the entire Grass track racing, done on powerful 1000cc four stroke bikes with sidecars. They too, are raced in an anti-clockwise direction. The difference in technique to the 500cc sidecar is that while entering corners, the passenger sits on the front of the sidecar wheel arch to transfer as much weight to the sidecar wheel and front wheel while the driver puts more weight onto the front wheel.
Half way into the corner and then the passenger moves back to the sidecar wheel arch to transfer his weight back on the rear wheel and the sidecar while the driver accelerates and sits back against the wheel arch which results in the bike exiting the corner while counter steering. On the straights, the passenger puts more weight on the back wheel. The current British Grass Track Champions are Will Penfold and Ricky Pay.
3. 1000cc Right Hand Sidecar
This class stands out amongst the track racing crowd. The right in the name denotes the clockwise direction of the race. Why is it raced in a clockwise direction? The reason lies in the origin of this class of race. The 500cc sidecar race has been developed in Europe, where they drive on the right side of the road while the 1000cc sidecar has been developed in the UK, where they drive on the left side of the road.
Interestingly, the sidecar is located on the left hand side of the bike. This results in the passenger hardly being in the sidecar. While approaching the corner, both the driver and passenger move forward to put more weight on the front wheel and the passenger slides down the right hand side of the bike, almost only 10 cms away from the ground. All this happening while the bike will be sliding sideways with the driver counter steering.
When the apex of the corner is reached, to counter the slide, the passenger while still being down, slides back towards the back of the bike and the driver opens the throttle to line up the bike for the straight. The passenger keeps juggling his weight back and forth to give the right amount of drive and steering at the same time. On smaller tracks, the passenger stays down the side of the bike for the whole duration of the race after the first corner. This class is the fastest amongst the Grass track races. The reigning British Grass track Champions are Colin Blackbourn and Carl Pugh.
Long Track Racing:Long Track Racing is similar to Grass track Racing. The only difference is that it is held on longer tracks which are 1000-1200 metres in length. This enables the bikes to reach speeds of nearly 160 km/h. The rules are the same and so are the bikes. Long Track is more popular in Germany.
The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), runs a World Championship as well as a Long track series. The riders are selected by their respective nations motorcycling authority. They then have to compete in the qualifying rounds and then the semi finals before entering the World Long track series. There’s also a Team Long Track Championship which has teams with 3 riders racing each other for points, the top team at the end is the winner. Germany has won the most Championships till date.
By: Akshay Tajbije