Under the Helmet - A lap of Walton through the eyes of a rider

by Chris Pomeroy

Editors note: Chris wrote this piece for the event program prepared by Inside Motorcycles in 1997 based on his recollections of the layout in 1996... the layout has been varied since but this gives a good feel for the type of challenges created.
The most important part of riding this track is keeping your momentum up and choosing good lines.

The track becomes very choppy and very fast and it takes a lot of strength to ride this track because of its high speeds and because, when it gets choppy, the bike always wants to dance away from you. So you have to hold on very tight.

You'll see the guys that do really well here, especially in the second motos, are the guys that are in good shape and have the most strength at the end of the day, because it takes so much strength to ride this track.

Getting a good start is also very important. A bad start can put you in the back and when you're in the back, especially at Walton, it is hard to come backup to the front. So many guys are going at a good speed because the track itself is not really technical. Since it doesn't have too many jumps on it there isn't a lot to separate the guys, especially in the first few motos when the track really isn't that smooth. In the afternoon, in the last couple of motos, you'll find the track a lot rougher and that will slow guys down and there are always lines around the rough stuff. You can make up time on guys then.

Turn 1 is a left-hander that leads into a right-hand off camber - a corner where you're turning on a bit of a side of hill. The bike wants to drop away on you and you really have to lean the bike over slowly and weight the outside peg - that's what makes the tires want to stick to the ground.

Then you come over a little rise that's a natural table-top, it's got a flat top, and you land on the down side. You're building up speed and you hit one of the first jumps on the track, an uphill, high speed jump which you can take a couple of different ways. Some guys don't jump as far up it and some guys hit the thing wide open and jump really far. You want to do something in between. You don't want to spend too much time in the air - you want to be on the ground with the wheel driving - so you want to hit it and shift your body weight on the bike so the bike flies nice and low.

That jump leads into a left-hander. You'll find the corner has developed 'braking bumps' from guys braking going into the corner. At the beginning of the day, everyone goes in on the same spot and the braking bumps usually start on the entry to the corners on the inside. As the day goes on you want to work your way to the outside as you enter the corner and miss the braking bumps.

It's about third gear but some guys do it in second. It's not off camber, but you want to weight the outside peg because it's a fairly flat corner and they don't put too much water out there during the day so it gets nice and dry. As it gets dry it gets harder and dusty, and it becomes very slippery.

After the left-hand sweeper you have a right hand 90 degree with a little jump down a hill. You have to be careful as the day wears on. There are a lot of bikes going over it during the day and a little 'kicker' develops right on the take-off from guys using the same line. Since you're hitting it on an angle that can lead to problems if you're not careful.

You drop off down the hill and then you accelerate back up a gradual hill and come across a very tight, 180 degree left-hander. Braking is very important. Like the sweeper, they don't water very much back there and it becomes really hard packed and dusty and you find the bike really wants to skid. You want to brake as late as possible, but not too late or you won't get the proper line into the corner.

After that you don't want to get too hard on the gas because you're on a gradual downhill that leads to a right-hand turn. This is a very important corner because there's a short uphill right after it and you want to get a lot of momentum going into the corner and keep the momentum through the corner so you don't lose much time going up the hill.

Once you're up the hill, there's a 180 degree left-hander, and right before it there's a two and a half foot jump - I guess it's there to slow you down - and it makes entering the corner with a lot of momentum a little tricky. You don't want to catch too much air off this because the corner's right after it. The idea is to just bounce over it and concentrate on the corner.

You hit another little two and a half foot bump which drops back down a little hill, then you're into one of the trickiest corners on the track, a 180 degree right-hand off camber going back up a little hill before a long straight away. Again, you want to keep as much momentum as possible but if you try too hard you'll skid out in the corner and you'll lose a lot of drive before the long straight.

There's usually one rut leading into the corner. You want to find that rut and put your wheels in it and just get on the gas very slowly and gradually, adding a little more power as you climb the little hill. As soon as you crest the top of the little hill you want to be on full throttle.

This is probably the fastest part of the track. You shift up to fourth gear down this straight away. It becomes very rough as the day goes on and if it's dry the dust can come up so it's a very tricky section.

You make a gradual right hander at the end, you're still on the gas, then you come into a heavy braking zone. This is one of the few places to make up time on guys. Some guys will brake earlier, and if you keep your drive up and brake late, you can make up a split second here.

That turn leads to a left-hander which is not quite 180 degrees. You turn right around a tree. There are two lines around this corner. There's an inside rut and as dirt gets pushed to the outside guys will use it as a berm to slingshot down a hill because there are three 'drop aways' right after. These lead to a left-hander which is kind of off camber and very hard packed. You'll want to weight the outside peg and get on the throttle very cautiously.

That leads to a right hander, a big sweeper. This section gets very rough and very choppy. They keep it well watered and once you get a bunch of bikes over there the bumps start coming up.

That right-hand sweeper leads you to a very good passing spot. It's a 180 left-hander with a bank on the outside of it. This is probably where you see about 80 per cent of the passing. As you enter it, the guy in front of you has to protect the inside line. You can come into the corner on the outside and then square up underneath him and block his exit - it's a classic block pass - and there's nothing he can do about it. He has to protect the inside because if he doesn't, you can jump to the inside and pass him that way. The advantage goes to the guy behind, which is rare on this track.

Coming out of this corner there's a jump and you land on a straight away which is probably the second fastest part of this track. You accelerate to third gear and have the throttle wide open. That leads to a right-hand gradual sweeper as you head under the overpass for the spectators.

They keep this section very moist and they cultivate it a lot so it becomes very bumpy and very rutted. It's very tricky because you're coming in third gear, full throttle, and you have to brake hard for a tight left-hander and you do so in one of about 10 ruts going into that corner. Once you're in a rut, you can't get out of it and balance becomes very important. You don't want to brake too quickly and be slow going into this corner - you want to carry as much momentum as you can. So this is a very important section, very tricky for the riders. You can out brake someone and it becomes a passing situation.

It becomes very rutted and very choppy on the exit of the corner. As the day goes on, you can come into the corner on the outside, square it off, and exit on what would be the inside. That would be the opposite of what you would do early in the day, but you'd be missing the bumps, and sometimes missing the bumps is the fast way to do things in the last few motos. Sometimes you waste a lot of time trying to find the smooth fine, but most of the time you can make up ground on people and save energy by missing the bumps.

The next corner is a left-hander. Again, there are about three ruts to choose from. You accelerate up to about third gear on a short little straight away before making a left-hand, 90 degree corner, the narrowest place on the track. There's one line and it's almost impossible to pass. The line gets very rough and you want to be very careful. One little miscue could put you into the bushes or into the trees that surround you back there. ,

Next you come across a drop away which is almost straight down. It's about a 10 foot drop off . You have to brake hard since there is a left hand corner right after the drop off.

You catch almost no air off the drop off. You just brake really hard and roll over it because the corner after is very important. The corner is flat, but the exit to the corner is off camber and becomes very rough.

That leads into a right-hand sweeper that is followed by two jumps. The first one is an uphill. The second one is a big table-top which isn't too long, but the height of it is quite good.

This is one of my favorite sections. All this section is natural, not man-made, and it's really good this track has these natural sections. A lot of tracks don't have this type of terrain.

The section is very rutted and over the day gets very rough. If you can keep your momentum up over these jumps you will make up time on guys and you can set them up for the next left-hand sweeper, which is a very good passing spot. They keep it quite moist and quite cultivated, so there are lots of ruts and lots of traction. The bike will hook up - you can just lay the bike right over and just keep right on the gas. It's a great corner.

After that you drop down the hill and accelerate as much as you can. You drop down into a little gully and then back up a hill and you hit the biggest jump on the track, a natural double. This jump is about 60 feet and it's exciting to watch. I think this is the best part of the track for spectators. Every pro jumps this double, so it's not really a good passing opportunity, but jumps are fun - the riders love them and the spectators love them.

After you land from this double you hit a right hander which leads to a big sweeper right before the finish line. They keep this nice and watered and there's a lot of traction for the bikes. The bikes will hook right up and if you can keep your momentum through the sweeper, you will find yourself making up time on the riders in front of you. The finish line is a nice kind of a jump land going down a natural hill. It's a great feeling - you're up in the air about 20 feet and you drop down into the gully. It's very safe but it's also very exciting for the riders, and those are the best kind of jumps to have!
 

Jean-Sebastien Roy is likely Canada's hottest motocross property at the moment.

The Acton Vale, QC rider is a former one plate bolder and has recently been making a big impression south of the border.

He has also raced at Walton twice and was the 125 Pro champion in 1994.

Who better then, to ask for an overview of the Walton track?

How do you rank the track?

It is probably the best track in the Canadian series. It has a good design and the track is really wide, 40 or 50 feet in spots, so there are lots of places to pass. The dirt is also really good some rocks but it is not too bad.

What is the hardest part of the track? .

There was one up hill / down hill section that came into an off camber turn that was hard when 1 raced there, but other than that everyone goes really fast at Walton.

Where are the best places to pass?

Everywhere, because the track is really wide.

What part of the track will you pick up speed on?

Over the big jumps, if there are any there this year, because I can jump lower and get back down to the ground fast and get back on the gas. If the track gets really rough I'll also have a better advantage. Because of my conditioning I can ride faster in the rough stuff so where the track gets rougher I'll be a little faster than everyone else will.

What's the best jump for styling?

Probably the finish line jump. There is a pretty big double jump but it is a really high speed jump and if you mess it up you are are going to crash hard. Jump contests are not really my department anyway. I'm there to race.

What makes the track so good?

The preparation of the track is really good. They water tile track a lot before the race and if sections of the track get messed up they groom it between races.

They also work it if it gets too wet.

The track also has really nice dirt, good traction dirt.

Can you describe the technique you use to get through the sweeper corners at Walton?

Sit down and hold the gas! It's easy to say, bit hard to do.

What are the straight-aways like?

They're 40 or 50 feet wide so there are lots of lines and lots of room to pass.

Are ruts ever a problem at Walton?

Yeah, but I don't mind the ruts. What I don't like is riding hard packed dusty tracks. I've liked it better when it rains at Walton.

Have you raced the track when it has rained?

Yeah, it can get rutted and slippery in some spots.

Have you raced the track when it was dry? What was it like?

Yeah, they water the track well but it still call get hard packed and dusty.