The concept of Red Bull Straight Rhythm is to cram the cool stuff from supercross—whoops and jumps, for example—into a short race without those pesky elements like turns, conditioning, bad starts, and the like. It’s just enough of a difference to become a real wild-card race. We seriously don’t know who will be the best rider in this format.
It’s so wild that the wildest wild card to ever swing a leg over a dirt bike—Travis Pastrana—is going to give it a shot. And on a 500cc two-stroke to boot! We fired off some questions at Pastrana to get his take on the event, and his chances. It’s always good to chat with Travis.
Racer X: Okay, first of all, what made you decide to compete in this?
Travis Pastrana: The Straight Rhythm concept has been in the works for years, and it's something I've always been excited about. This Red Bull Straight Rhythm has all the elements of racing I love, plus it's short enough that even someone as crippled as me can be in good enough shape to ride hard for the entire race!
Since no one has ever raced an event like this before, is there anyway to predict what might happen?
I think you can. I would look at your riders that have the most flair and aggression to be out front. It won't be a lot different from a normal race, but the riders who set fastest time in practice and are regular front-runners at the beginning of the race will shine brighter than normal. In other words, this is a sprint. The riders who win by consistency and conditioning are going to struggle.
How much differently can you ride a rhythm section when you're not as worried about getting tired? Will guys ride much harder than we're used to seeing in a twenty-lap race?
I feel like twenty years ago it was possible to run half the race hard and then ease up and still be competitive. Since the Ricky Carmichael era, you pretty much have to run wide open for the entire race if you expect to win. The big difference is in the amount of risk you are willing to take when you only have one straight. If you have to go through a set of whoops twenty times in a race, you have to ride at a level where you know you won't crash. However, it's a lot easier to gamble when you are fresh and know the only way to win is to take a chance…or ten!
That said, can you actually get tired on a run this short? Is it possible to pin it and push it that hard?
Well, maybe not for Ryan Dungey, but I guarantee you that I will be running a heart rate of 200 by the finish of each run! Still, I think it would be almost impossible to get arm pump, so that's a plus!
Can you revise bike setup without having to worry about corners?
For the most part, in a regular race, you have to set your bike up for the whoops and deal with it in the turns anyway. So not a lot will change with suspension, but I'm sure some of the guys will experiment with a little more sag, which is normally not acceptable because of its negative effect in turns. Also, I'm running a 500cc two-stroke because I think it will be more of an advantage to put the power down. The extra weight would be a huge disadvantage in off-camber turns, or breaking bumps, but since this race takes out the need to turn and there isn't a lot of braking, it seems to be a less bad idea.
How would you rate your scrubbing abilities? That came into fashion mostly after you were racing supercross full time.
Yeah, the Bubba Scrub was after my time. Even though I made a career of flipping and spinning my bike, whips were always my kryptonite. Having said that, scrub all you want; I have a 500 and plan on using it to touch down as few times as possible!
Dude, seriously? A 500? Tell us about the bike.
Service Honda built the bike. It's an old school CR500 motor in a new RM-Z450 frame. It’s amazing how outdated the motor is. Lots of torque, but it vibrates the bolts out of the bike. Literally, I lost half the bolts on the bike in the first hour of riding and had to go through and loctite everything! It's amazing how close the factory 450s are to that 500, but I still feel it's got more power. And, really, it's just way better because it's a two-stroke of course!
Also, the fact that I bleed yellow was only matched by my love for two-strokes, so it still rides like a Suzuki and has all the good modern geometry, but there’s also enough power to be competitive in this Straight Rhythm event against the new and more lightweight 450's.
How excited are you to be back among your old peers as a racer again?
Well, some of these guys I've had a chance to race but most of them I've only had the opportunity to watch ride from the stands or on TV. This is going to be so much fun for me. I feel like a little kid again going up against my heroes but this time they happen to be a lot younger then I am!
What kind of prep have you done?
I ride motorcycles almost every day of my life, but it's not to the same to trail ride with your friends as it is to blitz a set of whoops trying to compete with James Stewart. I don't think I'm any slower then I was in 2002, but unfortunately, everyone else is a lot faster! So, as far as preparation, I had my redneck buddy Hubert Rowland build a Straight Rhythm course on the longest straight area we have in the woods. And it's rained almost every day I've been home. So if it's a mud race, I think I have these guys covered! [Laughs]
What can fans really expect to see—from both you and the event?
Fans can expect to see a handle-bar-to-handle-bar, head-to-head, last-lap battle in every heat. There isn't going to be a lot of separation between most of the riders. Personally, I expect to have a lot of fun riding, and hopefully using my 500 to hit some jumps that the other guys aren't. Of course I'm coming out hoping to be a contender, but in the end, all my friends are coming out to watch and I'll probably be sitting in the stands with a beer in hand by the time the finals roll around. Either way, it's going to be an epic experience.