Hill race, hill race ... Hum yes, hill race !
Well, Marchaux race, in French department of Doubs, it's not the impossible hill climb
From the start to the summit, we only ascend 100 meters.
You don’t need oxygen, high mountain guide or any decompression stop
And to have fun, in only 2 km race, you don’t need high performance bike either
In a hill race, anyone can have fun, regardless of your own old crate.
You can find everything, in each class.
Old sport bikes
it’s a bit rusty, no races for four years
real racing bikes
2 strokes
pit-bikes
So, what’s your weight/power ratio ?
It’s the worst of all !
grannies who have no longer age
kids
to seduce chicks, does it work ?
Not really !
and even sidecars
it’s really comfortable, like a Goldwing... after a front crash !
Can you explain me what are these two pedals for ?
It’s for the gear box. Because it’s easier to push than pull like on a normal bike
the hill race regulation is not too strict
everything that can run, as long as it can brake, turn and not piss too much oil.
The rules ? Very simple... you just have to be the fastest !
1,840 meters to swallow one by one, between oaks and pines.
And obviously, it does not just climb
Hill race : it turns too!
And it shakes a little bit, because the road is not a like a race track
. Holes, bumps... If you’re too optimistic, it’s the bank, the gap, or the straw bales in the hottest corners
Do you want to try ?
Be cool
if you crash, just do like in the White House: use the red phone !
Race commissioners only need to pick up the phone to stop the race.
Another specificity of the hill race, is the « block start »
No block, no race… Or you have to find someone else.
So you’re the race director ?
Well, yes, almost
Hill race is definitely the less expensive competition on road
With 5 or 6 climbs by weekend, you don’t consume more than a full tank of gas
A set of tires can almost do all the season !
An old Honda CB 500, a few friends for the mechanics, and let’s go !
How much is it to race all the season ?
Well, you are not lucky because i only do Marchaux race.
It cost a full tank and two tires ?
Well, it’s a little bit more.
It depends on how ambitious you are.
It’s more or less 1,000 euros,
because we have to set up the bike and do some tests.
How many races can you do with the same tires ?
It’s my first hill race, but on racetrack test, we can do 10 runs with the front tire and 5 with the rear one
In the paddock, it smells good old races atmosphere
with the tents, warm beer and sausages cooked on the barbecue
It does not prevent few riders to choose big guns
with little gems like this beautiful Yamaha YZR 250
Yamaha stopped producing these bikes in 2009
They maybe made two bikes that year
And maybe 1,500 or 2,000 between 2006 and 2009
Because after, in Moto GP, they stopped 250 class for Moto 2
Or others to do as MotoGP, with data acquisition for their F2 sidecar
Obviously, if the aim is to win, as Arnaud Motte, it requires a little more preparation
we put new tires before each race, the Sunday afternoon.
And after that, we use them for tests and qualifications
I train a lot on racetracks. Because in hill race, you can't take your bike and train on open roads
This is the big difference between road races and track races
For the entire season, my race budget is between 8,000 and 10,000 euros
Without trainings, how many kilometers do you do in a season ?
Most of the time, hill races are less than 2 km
I do 7 uphills in a weekend, so 15 km each weekend.
And 10 races each season, so 150 km of pure race.
So you can do all the season with one full tank !
Yes, more or less.
Do you want a little ride with the Marchaux race winner ?
So hang on !
Here you are, Arnaud Motte’s Yamaha R6 swallowed the 1,840 meters in 1.08:645
Slower riders will maybe need 10, 20 or 30 seconds more to complete the race
It doesn’t matter, the most important thing is to cross the finish line up there...