I’ve talked a lot about the nerve it took to race motorcycles at Rockingham. I came across this photo I took from the stands during a WERA race there in the mid-1980s. You can see a good portion of the infield section and the east banking. The approach to the west banking was even scarier since riders were up to top speed heading into the steeply banked bowl.
Motorcycle road racing at Rockingham circa 1986. (Larry Lawrence photo)
Rider Files 
Rockingham was a scary place for sure. I went there once, 1989, I think, and thought, “WTH?” But I didn’t think it for long because we raced places like that without giving a whole lot thought to how things should really be; we’ve come a long way since then. The NASCAR tracks were often scary business for bikes because of concrete walls and infield road courses that were, many times, secondary thoughts and of poor design when it comes to interfacing with the NASCAR ovals.
When I first started racing at Texas World Speedway in 1988, we used NASCAR T3 and T4 and it was a freaky thing. Huge, fast, steep. Not as steep as Daytona, it’s still pretty steep and quite daunting. The road course at the time entered the NASCAR oval just before NASCAR T3, and was dangerous. A rider, Terry Exum, was killed there in 1988 when he slid into the concrete wall and was followed into the wall by his bike.
In 1990 I did Daytona and didn’t get the scary vibe I got when I first raced TWS, probably because I was more experienced. But in 1990 I went to Pocono and that track was scary to me. In those days, we used much of the NASCAR tri-oval, and two of the NASCAR tri-oval corners. It was scary fun. Do you have any pix of Pocono?
LikeLike
Linz
I think Daytona’s banking is longer, wider and more neutral in terms of rider input. Places like Rockingham and Pocono were more intimidating because of the tighter radius of the banking.
I shot Pocono once, but it was way back (1983 or ’84) and don’t know how good the shots would be to show the actual banking of that track.
Larry
LikeLike
The Rock was a challenge for sure,you would enter the banking flat out,at that speed it seemed like a high banked hairpin. It was almost impossible to hold it flat out without lifting on a big bike.If you did keep it flat you stood the chance of hitting the wall at the exit,which always resulted in a fire.I rode a 1.5 hour endurance without a pit finishing 2nd to Jeff Atwell.I picked up 2 positions on the last laps by holding it flat out when others couldnt. I was riding a FZ 750 “proddy”.
LikeLike
I loved Rockingham in those days. Flat out through the tri-oval turn, and then into the west banking. The G-forces were like nothing I experienced at any other track. Later after the chicane was added in the middle of the west bank, I hardly feel like it made things safer, since I now had to dive down to the apron and back up to the banking. I could still do it flat out on my Guzzi, but it obviously slowed down the GSXR’s of the era…
LikeLike
I clearly remember the 1985 WERA race at The Rock. I think it was the first time in awhile the track was used by motorcycles. I saw everyone lifting going into Turn One’s banking. Finally Doug Polen came around on a Honda 500 Interceptor and held it wide open all the way around. It was ballsy. I would guess a 600 Supersport bke of the day was the biggest that could probably be held wide-open all the way around the banking. I seriously doubt any 750 Supersport riders would even attempt it.
Tony if you really held it wide open through there on an FZ750 I’m giving you a couple of bows right now. Ha, ha.
Larry
LikeLike
The tires were sliding it was hairy.I was using take offs from Bart Peterson.
LikeLike
I’d say that was my least favorite track – perhaps tied with Pocono.
LikeLike