Attitude and the Art

by Timothy Kast

Working with racing tires is a dirty, grueling job. You begin sweating an hour after the tent opens and you generally don’t stop until the tent is closed and everyone goes back to the motel ten to twelve hours later. Over the years, despite the hard work and the sweat stained team clothes, the job has given me some clarity of vision for those in the quest of becoming a competition of roadrace motorcycles. In the course of attending to my duties as crew chief of the former Phil Flack Racing Services team I got the opportunity to see a lot of faces come and go. Being an observant, quiet kind of guy, I have noticed that there are some earmarks of a real life champion as they make their adjustments through their learning curve. I can relate them to you in a roundabout fashion, but first allow me to explain.

There are four major steps to completely mounting a fresh roadrace tire. Before anything can happen you have to take off the old tire. Then you have to mount the new tire on the naked wheel, next the new tire is inflated to properly “blow” the head out onto the wheel’s rim. Finally, the most important, the wheel/tire combination is balanced to perfection, essentially providing a centerless state.
(Do not forget to clean you wheels before you take them to the tire guys. You WILL find that you get better service - the editor).

Becoming a successful racer requires four major elements as well, ingredients that all triumphant racers possess. Like preparing; a wheel for competition they al have their order of importance.
First, you need determination, without it you’re just another face in the crowd. Second, you need dedication, that makes everything new and worthwhile. They you need discipline because like blowing out the bead on a new tire, if the going gets rough, and you lack discipline or a solid bead, you will quickly fail.

Finally, and most significant you must have attitude. Attitude helps you make the thousand mile trips to the Outer Mongolia tracks as well as the “puppy trips” in your own backyard. This is the feeling that gives you dignity while walking through the paddock while others are crashing each other out on pit bikes. A quick check of other sports tells you that motorcycle roadracing is probably the cleanest, least scandalized sport in the world; it is attitude that puts us there and keep us there. I have seen brilliant, consistent riders blown away by the tranquil resolve of a woman racer. Racers who command fantastic raw talent and speed, but fall short of drive and attitude. Some riders showed great promise aboard their steeds, but shriveled because they grasped Mom’s Visa Card and not much else. These four components of character provide the essential glue that gives the champion his/or her measured tread. No amount of flashy sportscars, one off street bikes, or five bill shades can replace this simple no-cost comportment. Your racing effort can be a classic, high-labor, low budget scuderia but without those plain tire-changing four steps you will join the ranks of the also rans and the fading faces everyone soon forgets. Oh sure, everyone these days has their 4, 6, 10 or 12 steps to Nirvana, psychic awareness, or better living through less bovine fecal matter intake, but the attrition level at most race facilities seldom lies and the people who shod and balanced the winners and losers tires, don’t really need a program results sheet as to who went home with the gilded angel and the check.

Everyone, these days, is talking about certain tire companies cheating with special tires for certain riders; the real true story is that most tire companies cheat on a regular basis; the ones making the news today are the ones who recently caught at it. Sportsmanship, like chivalry, lives on in many good people so no one really needs a lecture on the morality of the concept of cheating; it’s wrong and should not find it’s ugly path into motorsports. The end result is that if you as a racer feel compelled to rely on cheating to better your performance, you are obviously not employing determination, dedication, discipline, and attitude. Not ever a super-duper megabucks factory contract can replace those simple ethic basics.

You can walk the walk and talk the talk, but your longevity at your chosen racing profession hinges on your ability to comprehend and adopt the idea that you are responsible for your actions and your career, not your mechanic, your manager, your tire company or the motorcycle manufacturer. Little else matters but that fundamental concept of accountability for the steady rise or the meteoric fall of your racing campaign. The field is full of racers with all the right stuff and all the right moves. Your edge will always be inside your helmet and leathers.
Roadracing as a whole will benefit from this and theat will be the best thing to happen to it since the checkered flag!

Vaya Con Dios!