Oil and water marks on the track: no surprise for road racers in Horice

Shortly after arriving at this year’s Czech Tourist Trophy in Horice – which included the IRRC (International Road Racing Championship) and the ESR (European Series Road Racing) for Superbikes – not all the riders had realised yet, but word quickly spread via the paddock radio that there were several oil stains on the track. It should be noted that parts of the ‘little Isle of Man’ had been resurfaced. In some places, as is not uncommon with fresh tarmac, an ominous mixture of water and oil had seeped to the surface. In some cases, these patches were even visible on the racing line.

What in other racing series causes safety officials to break out in a cold sweat, triggers panic and leads to staff being rushed in to fix the problem, is dealt with in a more laid-back manner in road racing – and even more so in the Czech Republic. First, the areas were marked in colour and alternative lines were ‘suggested’ to the riders with lines drawn on the track. In addition, during the riders’ briefings, it was explicitly pointed out that they should exercise greater caution at the affected spots. That was it as far as the status quo for the rest of the race weekend was concerned.

All those markings left us looking a bit daft.

David Datzer

Speaking to SPEEDWEEK.com, German road racing veteran David Datzer, who made a rare guest appearance in the IRRC Sportbike class this time round, explained: “We were told in advance that water or oil was leaking out here and there. Then all those markings did make us look a bit silly. It was a bit confusing because there were loads of lines and a patch on top of that. In total, there were two spots in the woods, as well as in the first and last bends. In the end, though, it worked out fine once you’d ridden over them. It wasn’t a big deal and wasn’t as bad as we’d first thought.”

David Datzer umfuhr die Flecken

Foto: thorsten horn

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Datzer and other brave souls drove over the patches

As ‘Datzi’ explained – and as could also be observed – ‘…a few brave souls gave it a go, including me. I have to say, though, that it didn’t turn out to be a major issue for me. Over the weekend, it didn’t get any better; if anything, it got a bit worse. But it wasn’t really slippery.’

Commenting on the obvious confirmation that road racing is different and that road racers are cut from a different cloth, he said: “I do believe that it wouldn’t work anywhere else. You just have to adapt to that and take a slightly different line.”

He also confirmed that, even on other tracks, you don’t always take the ideal line, but rather ride where there’s the most grip or fewer bumps. “We road racers look for the right line and then stick to it throughout the weekend.”