Speedway. No, not within the Daytona or Bristol sense. It’s a type of motorbike racing which takes place on filth ovals, and it’s massively standard in Europe. It’s additionally thought to be the nationwide sport in Poland, which this week performed host to a Speedway competitors with a distinction.
Like all types of motorsport it’s massively specialist, with custom-made bikes the likes of which you received’t discover anyplace else being the instruments of the commerce. However when Maciej “Magic” Janowski threw down the gauntlet to the world of motorsport and stated, “Come and have a go in the event you suppose you possibly can beat me,’ it led to an intriguing competitors.
Going down at Wrocław’s Stadion Olimpijski, the distinctive Purple Bull Speedways contest noticed athletes from the worlds of rallying, drifting, and — being a Purple Bull occasion — Formulation 1 take to the filth in a bid to dethrone Magic. With a 500cc engine and a prime velocity of round 80mph, if it was a sport of stats, the bike would possibly as effectively have stayed at house, however the true world tells a really totally different story. This was Magic and his Stuha’s house turf.
The four-wheeled machines might have been up in opposition to it, however Magic noticed issues otherwise and was impressed by what he confronted.
“On the check day I used to be stunned how good they went and and began to be slightly extra careworn,” he advised RACER. “However no query, it is a speedway bike made for a speedway monitor so it might have been a disgrace to lose, however I’m grateful to have all these automobiles on this monitor.”
Naturally, gentle work was manufactured from the rally automobile — a Volkswagen Polo GTI, the cream of the Rally2 crop, pushed by Adam Małysz — and the drift machine — a extremely modified Toyota GR86 pedaled by Jakub “Kuba” Przygonski — however what in regards to the F1 automobile? We hear each day that it’s the top of motorsport, and the automobile in query, the 2011 championship-winning RB7 within the palms of 13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard, should have simply had the bike lined — anyplace else, no less than.
The automobile was largely unchanged from its Showrun kind — primarily because it was raced in interval, albeit it with sure parts of underneath flooring aero eliminated, a raised journey top, traction management programmed into the automobile’s electronics, and followers fitted onboard to help cooling — however Pirelli developed particular tires for the occasion. Initially anticipated to resemble the Italian model’s World Rally rubber, tires nearer to Formulation 1’s moist climate tires had been delivered, however made up of a a lot bigger compound.
“I’ve obtained no comparability, so I’m going to should say they did their job,” Coulthard advised RACER of the distinctive boots on his ex-Mark Webber machine. “Usually once you do tire growth, you do back-to-backs, and also you then really feel and also you see all that kind of factor. (However) effectively accomplished Pirelli, the tires are nonetheless on the automobile in order that’s signal.”
The competitors adopted an Olympic cycling-style pursuit format with opponents beginning at reverse ends of the monitor. It was a slim affair, however Magic wasn’t to be crushed at his personal sport, even when within the numbers sport he was simply backside of the pile.
He had Coulthard and the RB7 licked till Coulthard turned the tables — and the monitor — and known as for a rematch going clockwise.
So what, simply flip proper as an alternative of left, huh? Effectively, very like in oval racing on 4 wheels, the Speedway bike is designed to go just one method. The exhaust placement and steering setup makes it a a lot larger problem for the rider to beat, and with the shortage of brakes, there’s little or no in the best way of a get out of jail free card ought to issues go flawed. We received’t say that’s what occurred, nevertheless it was sufficient of a gamechanger to lastly see Magic defeated.
“I used to be fearful as a result of we by no means truly do this a lot — possibly I attempted twice, 3 times earlier than nevertheless it’s arduous to show proper due to the exhaust,” Magic stated. “It was arduous.”
Coulthard’s name for a rematch resulted within the day ending with a 1-1 draw, and Magic pondering what the decider may very well be. Coulthard, nevertheless, dominated out a journey swap for spherical three.
“I feel it’s safer for everybody that I don’t race the speedway bike,” he stated. “But it surely’s nice to see the competitors, the speeds, to only perceive the challenges they’ve as a result of in my thoughts, I knew it was filth however I assumed beneath the filth there was tarmac or concrete or one thing, in order that they actually should be reactive, like rally drivers, so I actually loved experiencing that and coming right here.”
“I loved the expertise. Everybody’s going house protected, no champagne and trophy, nevertheless it was nonetheless nice to be a part of the competitors.”
“The problem once you’ve obtained very restricted operating is you solely discover out the place the restrict is once you’re sliding in direction of an air barrier, and we don’t have the spares!” – DAVID COULTHARD
However was all of it in useless? Was the F1 automobile crushed earlier than it even took to the monitor? Coulthard had a couple of concepts of how he may higher himself if the competition was redone.
“If I had a a lot wider course to know — as a result of principally once you drive a rally automobile, you’ve obtained to maintain it floored to drag your self by way of the automobile, and a system automobile, you don’t do this since you simply burn your tires out,” he stated. “However I feel if I had a bit more room to play with, then a barely extra aggressive driving model would’ve been faster.
“However the concern once you’ve obtained very restricted operating is you solely discover out the place the restrict is once you’re sliding in direction of an air barrier, and we don’t have the spares!
“So all issues thought-about, I’m fairly pleased with how we confirmed up. It was the competitors nobody knew we would have liked, however this feels prefer it won’t be the final time we see one thing like this.”
So there you will have it. Can a Formulation 1 automobile race on a dust oval? Sure. However whereas Coulthard joked that it was a “match made in heaven,” it’s in all probability not one thing that groups will need to be making a behavior of.