DRAGON CITY SPORT BIKE EXPO
W
e’re taking a departure, a side road if you will, from our regular content and are banging some gears to the fast lane - sport bike racing. Living in Tennessee we are blessed to have a superb mix of mountain roads, loops and twisties, lazy scenic rides and the mac daddy of them all, The Tail of The Dragon. Many of us have ridden The Dragon and plenty have done it over and over. It’s just one of those things that has to be done. Trikes, glides, sporty’s, metrics and an assortment of baggers make up the majority of our reader/riders who have done the 11 miles of 318 curves. Not to mention the vast numbers of sport car drivers that test their mettle as well. Understandably so, most of the 318 curves we shift, brake and clutch through remain anonymous to us. But to others, Copperhead Corner, Gravity Cavity, Thunder Road Bend, and Cooper Radar Straight take on a whole new meaning; Knee dragging. So let’s talk about a local knee dragger, Jamie “Red” Hester. Jamie started riding just over a year ago on a 650 Triumph and has made hundreds of trips up and down The Dragon. And not in a racing posture, but one that allows her to apply specific techniques that build skills and confidence. She saves the racing for the right venue. What started out to be an interest, an allure, in the sleek sexiness of fast aerodynamic bikes with plenty of get up and go HP, to the variety of flashy protective gear (side note-Jamie’s nickname “Red” comes from her first pair of riding gear, red pants), has
morphed into something much more. As part of her progression to become a skilled rider/racer she was introduced to a program, a how to 101, that actually is a day at the track, many days at the track in fact. Training at these world-class raceways, Virginia International Raceway with a 3 mile grueling course, Carolina Motor Sports Park with 2 miles of tucked tight racing and Road Atlanta, a pro-grade 2.5 mile 12 turn course all at speeds up to 135mph, are a few where she applies the learned skills of lean, push, get off the bike and drag that knee to use. This is that racing we were talking about. During the last year Jamie has caught the attention of many professional sponsors and had the opportunity to race many high performance bikes- Aprilia, Ducati, GSXR, Kawasaki and Triumph in a competitive setting. And her initial role as a participant at track day sessions is behind her as well, she’s now an instructor Staff member. When she’s not racing, she’s taking pictures as an accomplished photographer. As Jamie is a local East Tennessee rider that is passionate about her sport, she’s just as passionate about sharing her journey with others. Along with Thunder Roads Tennessee and Dragon City, Jamie will host a 3 hour workshop (vendors, equipment demo, tech talk) for those who are interested in learning more about the inside line of sport bike racing. We hope to see you on August 28th at Dragon City, 4407 Calderwood Hwy, Maryville, TN 37801 #Thunderroadstennessee, #Dragoncitytn, #wickedred865
AUGUST 2021 ThunderRoadsTennessee.com
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