- #1
bdub_24
- 10
- 1
At least in the US, it's rare to find anyone that is familiar with speedway racing, so here is a very basic description of the sport:
Four riders race around a dirt oval track on single-speed motorcycles with no brakes. They slide sideways around the corners.
Here is a sample video:
I used to race in the US, and one of the techniques you learn to gain drive is: at the apex of the corner, tuck your body down to the left side of the bike, push the bike into an upright position (while still leaned left), and drag your left foot back toward the rear wheel (they don't do much of this in the video above as the track wasn't demanding). The attached a photo demonstrates what I'm talking about.
I understand that dragging your foot back will shift some weight toward the rear wheel to increase friction, but I've never understood why standing the bike upright is supposed to help considering you're still tucked to the left, thus your center of gravity is shifted left. They say it gives you a bigger "footprint" on the ground, but I know from physics that shouldn't be the case. I don't feel like this situation can be explained with managing tire temperature as one would explain the size of drag racing tires.
Any ideas?
Four riders race around a dirt oval track on single-speed motorcycles with no brakes. They slide sideways around the corners.
Here is a sample video:
I used to race in the US, and one of the techniques you learn to gain drive is: at the apex of the corner, tuck your body down to the left side of the bike, push the bike into an upright position (while still leaned left), and drag your left foot back toward the rear wheel (they don't do much of this in the video above as the track wasn't demanding). The attached a photo demonstrates what I'm talking about.
I understand that dragging your foot back will shift some weight toward the rear wheel to increase friction, but I've never understood why standing the bike upright is supposed to help considering you're still tucked to the left, thus your center of gravity is shifted left. They say it gives you a bigger "footprint" on the ground, but I know from physics that shouldn't be the case. I don't feel like this situation can be explained with managing tire temperature as one would explain the size of drag racing tires.
Any ideas?
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