ROADRACING Through the Eyes of a Racer’s Wife BY: Ashley Esterline
Each off-season I’m told the same thing, “I’m just going to make little tweaks this year. Nothing major. I have no intention of tearing the bike down or doing anything fancy.” And when I’m able to wipe the smile off my face, my reply is always the same, “Ok, whatever you say,” laughing quietly to myself, knowing that statement is the furthest from the truth. 2019’s race season ended a bit more abruptly than anticipated. I stood by with high anxiety, late in the afternoon on Sunday at Barber, and watched as my husband, Matt, and Mike Dixon battled back and forth for third and fourth place. As the racers rounded the curve heading toward the start/finish line, I watched as the yellow number plates breezed past and counted—quickly—to see Matt’s position amongst the other racers. And I didn’t see him. Many race wives (and husbands, partners, sisters, brothers, friends, kids) have had that knotted feeling in the pit of their stomachs when they know something just doesn’t feel right. They know something happened, regardless of a yellow or red flag. As the race ended and the rest of the Sportsman 750 gents rode off the track, I was informed that: a) Matt was safe and b) he appeared to have had a mechanical issue that took him out. Matt received a chauffeured ride back to the pits on the crash truck and said that he started to hear something strange in the front end of the bike and pulled off the track before Charlotte’s Web. Initially, he thought it was a front-end issue, potentially a brake problem. Later, he surmised it was a tappet adjuster nut that had come loose, off the adjuster, and was rattling around in the engine; a 6mm nut that had been tightened and checked the week prior that cost him the last race of the season. Isn’t that always the case, though? A small, measly part or piece—a spark plug, a nut, a bolt—that costs you the win, or the race, or the championship? And then, the familiar diatribe of the offseason started: “It’ll be a light off-season. Don’t even worry about it. I’m glad I got off the track when I did, otherwise that nut could have caused some serious damage.” I’ve learned in the few short years Matt’s been racing, chronicling my very amateur understanding of this race life, usually in person at these races, that you don’t jump to conclusions too quickly. Getting excited about an easy (inexpensive, even?) off-season is a rookie mistake. We got home from Barber and Matt started digging in to see how much damage there was
AHRMA Family fun with Ashley, Jackson and Matt
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AMERICAN HISTORIC RACING MOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATION
MAY 2020
