Detroit’s track had to be respected. There were three difficult rhythm sections that all demanded their own consideration. The first two lanes after the start held most of the action throughout the night, whether through passes or the many crashes. The first lane, in particular, was a big topic of discussion in practice. What was the best way? That depended on who you asked.
In the first untimed practice, there was really only one main approach. Riders would come through the first turn and hop over the small bumps, leading into the first real obstacle. Within a couple of laps, everyone had begun to triple onto the tabletop in the middle of the section. Most would then hop off of the flat edge and over the next single. Most were succeeding even without a bump to help clear that next single. They would then double-double the remaining obstacles and move on.
In the first timed practice, however, a few options began to spring up. After watching the 250 A practice, many of the elite 450 riders began to apply their ideas. Cole Seely, in particular, was implementing a different technique very effectively. Instead of skipping off the tabletop, he chose to let the rear end of his bike drop and bounce onto the face of the next jump, which would propel him over the next double. Then, with three remaining obstacles, he would triple out of the section. While there were many riders doing this this, he was doing it much more quickly. He was able to almost go “through” the jump instead of allowing it to pop him upwards and kill his momentum. It looked like a BMX technique, and knowing that Seely rides BMX often, it made sense that he would excel at this method. Many were following the same concept on random laps, but Seely was just better at it.
Another option was also emerging: Instead of tripling onto the tabletop, riders found that they could jump all the way to the downside. Jimmy Decotis was the first to do this and Marvin Musquin followed suit quickly. After landing on the downside of the tabletop, they then had five obstacles left. Tripling again and then doubling into the turn was the fastest line available, but I didn’t see that happen much. More often, Decotis and Musquin would opt for the double-triple approach. As the 450 riders saw this develop, they knew that having the power of the 450 would make this option much more viable than the riders struggling on the 250. They went after this new line right away, one after another making the leap. It became the popular line, but Seely was still opting for his bounce technique. With the timing watches keeping score, the riders were all trying the different methods to see what would be the fastest option and what would look best on video. I saw all of the top riders try the different rhythms in a fast lap, hoping to learn which was ideal for the night’s racing.
I wondered which they would utilize in a racing situation. Racing is much different than one-lap sprints. The line has to be sustainable for twenty laps with manageable risk. Riders may be able to execute some insanely technical line one time for timed qualifying, but if they try to put that together over and over, as heart rates climb and muscles fatigue, it often ends in disaster. A rider has to ask himself if the creative, sketchy jump combination is sustainable. Power wise, there aren’t many jumps on a track that a 450 can’t clear. The bikes are faster and more capable than ever before. Being able to mentally grasp what jump combinations that are both ideally quick and safely able to execute is the name of the game each weekend.
In the end, the riders went for the “keep it simple” route. The first combination that they put together was the one utilized most often. Tripling onto the tabletop, skipping over the next jump, and then going double-double was the line of choice. There were two reasons for this.
First, as we discussed before, being able to race around a track for twenty laps is much different than one lap. If a rider can only gain tenths of a second by executing a treacherous section, often times it is not worth the risk. One mistake due to difficulty will cost not only seconds on the stopwatch but could also end in a big crash. Secondly, the first turn was a very fast and riders were pushing the edge of traction. They were being very aggressive through that section,, which made it tough to set up for big obstacles coming next, such as jumping to the downside of the tabletop. To do that jump every lap, they would have to back it down a bit and make sure everything was going perfectly in the approach. Instead of worrying about perfection, they could push a bit harder through the first-turn section, knowing that jumping onto the tabletop was easily manageable. Riders were able to be a bit less careful, which is always a bonus. That was really the decision maker for everyone. The risk versus the reward simply wasn’t there in that section. The easier line was just fast enough to make it the easy choice.
