Redbull Day In The Dirt Grand Prix
Eating Californian sand all day and racing against friends and legends. My last race at Hell On Wheels Glen Helen was in January 2020, and I've wanted to go back ever since. This time, I managed to carve out just enough time for a crazy five-day trip.
There's something special about racing far away from home. It takes you out of your comfort zone, away from your garage, race van, toolbox, and the set up you usually have on race day. Yet, it gives you a very special feeling. You meet a bunch of new friends, some of whom become friends for life, all sharing that vintage racing passion!
Securing the Bike
A couple of months earlier, I found a great deal on a 1968 Triumph TR6R with a 1971 twin carb motor. It was a Les Edwards Cycle Imports desert racer, said to be one of his personal race bikes back in the day, with a bunch of cool parts and tricks done to it. Les Edwards was a prominent builder and tuner in the racing scene during the 60s and 70s. He built bikes that Mark Brelsford, Dave Hansen, and Jimmy Odom raced. After his passing, all his bikes were sold to Big D Cycles in Dallas, Texas, known for their Triumph race bikes. When I read all this info, I knew this bike was for me. My Champion-framed Triumph 750 flat track race bike used to be raced by Dave Hansen as well, so maybe even built by Les? Maybe one day I'll find out!
My friend meatball had to pass through Texas for the Bornfree show and was kind enough to pick up my bike. He dropped it off at Le Hangar 23, where Elliott and the guys from NYC 6th Racing looked over the bike and got it running nicely, ready for me to arrive.
DAY 1: ARRIVAL AND PREPARATION
Arriving at LAX at 1 pm, I quickly picked up our truck and drove back to LAX to pick up Shane, who was joining me on this adventure. We headed off to see my race bike. We arrived and met Elliott and his friends from NYC 6th Street Racing. We all wrenched together to finish my bike, changing the mudguard, handlebars, grips, and test running the bike in front of the shop. If it wheelies in the car park, it's race-ready, and yes, sir, it does.
We had tacos together, a quick beer, and chatted about vintage Triumphs and life in general. During wrenching, I mentioned how I once saw a video on Instagram of a guy running his motocross Rickman Triumph in the centre of NYC without lights or a number plate. Rapha, one of the guys from NYC 6th Street Racing, said, "Hey, that's me, man." We watched the video together and were both stunned by how small the world of vintage motorcycles is.
We loaded the bike into the pickup and headed to Calabasas, where we stayed with other motorcycle friends, Julian and Geoff.
DAY 2: prepping and thanksgiving
We woke up, had a breakfast burger with our friends, and enjoyed coffee while they prepped their bikes for the Barstow to Vegas race. There's no better place to have coffee than a workshop full of vintage and modern off-road bikes. Julian even has a Meyer Manx buggy, so I decided to have my coffee from the driver's seat, dreaming about riding the Mexican 1000 in this awesome four-legged bug. Looking through the rear window of the buggy, I saw my friends laughing while wrenching together. Goosebumps thinking about it again!
Shane and I drove off for a short pre-run of the bike. We quickly learnt that the bike was well put together and expected to be a good racer. After our pre-run, we were invited to a real American Thanksgiving dinner. How cool is this?
Later that day, we drove to San Clemente to stay at our friend Monti Smith's (Mounce) place. We arrived at a garage full of bikes and adventure gear. Monti showed us around and showed us his alligator leather desert seat for his Triumph 500, matching his cowboy boots. We learnt straight away that he is one awesome dude who can tell us a million stories. It seems Monti's fiancée Nicky used to live in Antwerp for a while, where I used to live before moving to Spain. Monti told stories about travelling to Italy for work, and we soon realised we had many friends around the globe in common.
DAY 3: beach breakfast and sunset ride
We had breakfast at the beach with Monti and Nicky, playing Kings Cross while enjoying a croissant, fresh orange juice, and coffee with an ocean view. Today was going to be another good day!
After breakfast, we headed towards Paul Hartman's (Paul Craig) home and garage. I've known Paul for some years now and bought many bikes off him, but we never actually met in person. We arrived and had a good look around the workshop and bikes. What an amazing place this is, with lots of hard-to-find parts and bikes. We did some final finishing touches on the bikes and went for an afternoon/sunset ride. Paul, Monti, Shane, and I explored the back mountains of Temecula, which have a really cool desert vibe with sandy whoops and nice up- and downhills. We did some ripping around, doughnuts, and finished with a beer and a big smile on our faces.
We loaded the bikes and headed to Glen Helen Raceway to see Meatball and drop off the bike for the race tomorrow. Arriving at the track, I decided I wanted to race The Redbull Day In The Dirt in the morning, the big track with all the pro and semi-pro vintage riders. My friend Gtee got an injury, so I could take his spot in the Expert class. I was stressing because I wasn't sure about the level, and there's only one class faster, the pros.
Race subscription was at 6 am, so we had a quick chat and hugs with Meatball and headed to a motel close to the track to hopefully get as much sleep as possible. There's something about the night before the race; you don't really sleep, you're just resting with your eyes closed.
DAY 4: race day
RACE DAY - two races today. In the morning, Redbull Day In The Dirt (DITD) Grand Prix on the big motocross track, and in the afternoon, Hell On Wheels on the smaller TT track.
Arriving at the track at 6 am, I went straight to race registration to try and get confirmation from the race officials that I could take my friend's spot in the DITD morning race. After a 10-minute wait for an answer, we got the good news that I was accepted and could race the big and famous Redbull Grand Prix. Let the games begin! Woohoo.
The race started at 8 am, so no time to lose. I got dressed, fuelled, and checked some final things on the bike. Before we knew it, everyone was lining up at the start. One pre-run lap and then straight into the race. Classes were rider level with a mix of types of bikes within the period correct pre-1975. Our expert class had two Triumphs, and all others ran light 4 strokes or super light 2 strokers. So we had two real riders.
Quickly, I realised my suspension was set up quite hard for my weight, so that was going to be a challenge on the long and bumpy track. From the starting line, we went up towards turn one, which is a long 180 wall ride with the Glen Helen sign, a bit like running up Hollywood Hill and blasting the sign. Very impressive. Further along the track, we had long down- and uphills, and at the far end, a long paved straight. This was a lifesaver for my arm. I could run the bike with one hand to rest my arms and shoulders for a bit. At a downhill turn, I got overtaken by Riley Harper, blasting through the turn on his super light 2 stroker. Riley is a Hollywood stunt rider, so I didn't feel bad that he was faster than me and simply enjoyed how stylish and fast he was surfing through the turn. What an amazing experience to be doing this, awesome awesome awesome!
Race finish, trying to catch my breath and explaining how I suffered and enjoyed.
