Following on from our news about Lelystad Dirt Track's new owner (read the interview here), Lelystad are relaunching with a bang.
Working with Gille (of The Roadshow) and Sideburn 53 fame, the Dutch track is putting on a rider coaching day with Jeffrey Carver on Friday, then full day practices Saturday and Sunday.
To get booked on, email info@theroadshow.es
This is Gille, on the Champion Triumph we have featured in Sideburn 53.
Photo: Braking Point Images
Gareth from Double Six went to the bike festival in Biarritz and sent this report.
This year saw three of us make our way from England to Biaritz for the annual phenomenon that is Wheels & Waves - me and feelow DTRA racers, Sam Neville and Danny Williams. The trip had started to possibly the worse way we could imagine, when French customs decided we needed a piece of paperwork that the British customs said we didn’t need. So 24 hours and a £1000 later we set off (again) to the dreamland that is Wheels and Waves in the south of France.
El Rollo is perhaps the diamond in the crown of the Wheels and Waves extravaganza. This year saw a return to the Hipodromo De San Sebastien in the north of Spain (40 minute drive from Biarritz). As soon as we pulled up we saw a plethora or flat track bikes getting ready for the day's racing. Harley XR750s (3 of them), XG750R (full race bike) Trackmaster Triumphs, Bultaco Astro, Champion Triumph and Yamahas, Rickman Metisse and more.
The pits are what I envision a 70s flat track race would look like, everywhere you looked you found a bike on any other occasion you would stop and stare at, but here, at this makeshift racetrack, you would just walk past because there is so much vying for your attention.
Riders are divided into classes (pre 75, inappropriate and pre 55) groups of 7 or 8. Each group got a timed practice followed by 2 heats with your points being tallied up from the 2 races. I found myself in a group with 2 x XR750, Dimitri on his Trackmaster, Gille on his very sorted Triumph, two other triumphs and myself on my Trackmaster. The racing line was on the inside and it saw a bundle of bikes make way for it. Two riders stretched in front with Gille and Dimitri battling for the lead. Riding behind you could hear the crowd cheering these two gladiators bang bars. Unfortunately, Gille ran wide and slid out letting everyone pass and Dimitri to bring the win home. As the racing went on the crowds excitement grew with volume, a crowd favourite had to be Danny Williams who had made the trip with me.
Read about Gille's Champion Triumph in Sideburn 53
He was attacking the lead rider on his stunning Bultaco (top photo) with his death or glory approach, snapping at the ankles of the lead rider every corner, trying the inside then the outside. After three laps he lined up his pass for only his bike to fail. The crowd gave him a standing ovation as he pushed his bike off the track. As the heats and rounds went by the racing got more intense and the crashes more regular.
Sam Neville (#105, above) the third rider who had made the trip, finished his first raced in second overtaking riders to chase 1st place before running out of laps to catch him. His second race saw a bad start but him making it up and working his way up from last to 5th on his somewhat annoyingly trusty AJS. Over his two races Sam finished a very respectable third in his group.
Read about Sam's AJS Stormer in Sideburn 48.
Other notable racing worth mentioning was the Royal Enfield team. They bought two bikes and riders, not just any bikes but full on custom framers built to the highest spec. They sounded ridiculous in a good way. Not only did they sound great the two riders Gary Birtwistle and Paul Young really put a show on, neither of them letting up on each other on the track. Both took a first and second in each of the races. The pre-55 crew didn't let the event down. This class put on some of the closest racing all day with multiple people taking the lead, again you couldn't help but find yourself cheering them on as they bang bars into the corners.
Read our test of the Royal Enfield Factory Twin in Sideburn 47
The racing all day was fast and great fun to watch, the track had held up pretty good and the crowd in their numbers really made it an occasion to enjoy. The racing ended almost abruptly with everyone expecting a final of some sort only to find final standings to be worked out form the two heats, that were to be announced later back at the festival village. Each year the bikes and riders get better and with the return to the horse track it was one of the best to date.
As the dust settles on yet another Wheels & Waves and I look back and it makes no sense to travel 12+ hours each way for 2 heats of racing and a timed practice. Even the most dedicated riders would struggle to justify it to themselves. But, and it’s a massive BUT, Wheels and Waves is more than just one flat track race. It’s a 5-day extravaganza celebrating everything to do with bike and surf culture. Off-road racing, art show, live music, surfing, sprint racing. It's grown to such an extent you can find yourself bumping into old Top Gear presenters, famous skateboarders, and TV personalities in the festival village. Will I be back? Most likely, I’ve found myself looking into routes that circumnavigate the angry French Karen border control force already, I'd just like a little bit more racing and a final, please.
The dream of owning a racetrack remains that for the vast majority of dirt trackers, but not Huub Forrer. The 23-year-old Dutchman (above) is the new owner Lelystad Dirt Track, Netherlands, one of the best track in Europe. We contacted him for a quick interview
Huub, you bought a racetrack? What the hell?
Yeah, just bought a racetrack. It still feels super-surreal. I wouldn't have thought i would be taking this step at 23 but life does weird things sometimes.
How did the deal come about?
The deal had been in the works for quite a while now. I think the first talks about it started a year ago, in more of a joking kind of way. I was doing loads of tryouts at the track and generally spent all my free time there. Dirk, the former owner, had put a lot of work into the track since 2016 and was feeling ready for something new, so the [negotiations] started. What we thought would take a few months took a bit over a year. There were quite a few hurdles to overcome, from the way we would do the deal to environmental stuff, but we made a good deal in which we both feel satisfied with the outcome.
Huub track prepping
How long did you think about the purchase before committing?
i was eager for the deal from day one, how often do you get a chance to buy a track? It also helps that I'm still young and don't have a lot of responsibilities outside of the track. I do still study but I don't have a massive mortgage on a house or a family to maintain. I think that makes it easier to commit to these things.
Does the track need a lot of income for it to make sense for you?
In the beginning I don't plan on taking any income out off the track. It's important for me to reinvest most of the money earned to make the track as stable as possible. In the future it is the plan to take an income out off it, but i don't see the need to make a ton out of it, if it so happens to become that way it's nice, but that's not the aim.
You mentioned your dad on social media. What is his involvement?
My dad supported me all the way through the process and still guides me. He has a few years under his belt and knows me through and through, so he protects me from making stupid decisions that 23-year-olds make. He still has to do a few more years before he retires, but he is not someone to chill off his pension, so he helps me loads at the track, from maintaining the Sunday bikes to grilling burgers after a try-out. He is the jack of all trades one might need at a track. It's also great to have someone besides you who you can talk to about new plans ideas and what not.
Try-out Day at Lelystad
The track hasn't hosted races for a while, just practices, is that going to change?
Oh yeah, I want to bring the race energy back to Lelystad. It's a venue where a lot of people began racing, at the likes of Hells Race, Flatlands and the dirt track series. It's where I had my first contact with the sport as well, and I want to bring back the killer vibes those events brought with them.
What are the short, medium and long-term plans for Lelystad?
For the short term I want to be open a lot more, really put energy into the sport and get more people on bikes. Give people a place to race, chill and have fun. Also getting Lelystad back on the race calender and adding a few extra lights so we can have proper night races. Next to that Mick Jansen (Dutch Brothers) is also super keen on getting a try-out part 2 in which people can really hone their skills.
For the medium term, I would like to fix the infield of the track and make it possible to have a killer TT layout to provide for a broader group of people, so the likes of supermoto guys can have a crack at the track as well.
For the long term I must say I don't really have a vision yet. I think it will form in the coming months/year. It has to do with if I do my job right. If we can manage to get a load of people on bikes and get the sport to grow enormously we can dream big. If I make a mess out of it, well, yeah then it might not be sunshine and rainbows.
Huub during his very first visit to Lelystad. From racing a modified street bike to owning the track
What does the track mean to you, personally?
It's where I learned to shift... My neighbour from back then had an old Suzuki GS450 laying around which he gave me and he told me about flat track, so my dad signed me in and off we went. i got hooked the moment I went through the gate. After the race. and highside, I went to do a tryout at the track and knew Lelystad was the place to be. I started helping around at the track and kept on rolling deeper into the flat track game and so it became my life. Lelystad is the track i enjoy riding the most. I love short tracks and the banking gives it its killer characteristic, the flow you can get into at that track just hits it for me.
Huub #131
You know that the owner/organiser never gets to ride - how are you going to deal with that?
Yes owning a track is a bit of a double-edged sword. My friend, Jean-Paul and I have been organising trainings for quite a while at the track and while we don't get to ride as often as the others, we do still get some riding in. It will probably get even less now but I must say I don't really mind it. There are enough evenings where I can have a session with some mates, so the racing is probably getting less but I aim to get enough riding time in besides that IO love doing other stuff around the track. I've learned to get joy from other things besides riding at the track, not because I wanted to but because i always manage to break my bike so in that case not a lot will change....
What are you most excited about?
Getting this killer track back on everyone's list to visit. I want to make it the best/most fun track on the mainland, willing to share with Rocco's Ranch. That track is killer as well. I'm really looking forward to having great laughs at the track and having the best time possible.
Good luck, Huub and all at Lelystad.