Monday 6 July 2009

It's a battle of nerves and a battle against the course


Sorry, can't remember who sent this to me, but you've GOT to watch it.
It's the Superbikers race series from Carlsbad, California*. This series was the father of Supermoto, and this race was a later one, from 1986, with Ricky Graham, Bubba Shobert and an 18-year-old Chris Carr absolutely kicking ass on, I'm pretty sure, a Wood Rotax.
It makes us wish all sports TV presenters (sportscasters!) wore matching blue blazers and yellow slacks. And that someone would organise another race like this, on this scale, not some piddly little supermoto track. GI

*Carlsbad's a place that has a special place in my heart because I had some surf shorts with hot rod flames on them, made by Life's a Beach, Carlsbad. It said it on the label. That was back in 1986-87, a time when nothing had hot rod flames on them, except hot rods. I used to wear them to go see Pop Will Eat Itself, Gaye Bykers on Acid and all those grebo bands when I was 15 and 16.

7 comments:

t said...

wicked! never missed it on abc's wide world of sports.. scary fast speeds..tt style jumps .. my favorite was the year Magoo came from behind to win it on the last lap and finished it off with a long one handed wheelie.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUEyWgyQOKg

Paul said...

Lawson, Rainey, Shobert, Carr, Springsteen... Nuts!

Garrett302 said...

I'm with ya, T. Some great races. Magoo was my hero back then.

Garrett in CO
http://rockymtn59s.blogspot.com/

daws said...

I never get tired of watching these races. Amazing

KrookStreetRacing said...

This puts the finger on my problem with Super Moto – and I've been a super moto nut for the last 10 years – the tracks. Why can't we have faster, more open tracks? I get motion sickness (for real) from riding on cart tracks. Not fun. That Carlsbad track is just what I want to see. Awesome. And just look at the talent collected there... Crazy.

/D

Giannis said...

they have early 80s races on youtube too Harley guys running XR750 against CR450...

One of the best Race Concepts ever!!!!

BCM said...

I miss that track, there's one turn and the only man made jump left the rest is mostly unoccupied industrial buildings.
For years they ran that super bike course around Christmas time & called the races grand prix, scrambles or something? Really long moto's and a team relay race, quite a few big name pros would show up. It was a fun but very tiring day but you got to haul ass down the drag strip.