After my US Sprint Enduro race weekend in PA, I wanted to understand the format more, but also learn from one of the best. Being that Barry Hawk was in my class on Saturday, and royally kicked my ass, I wanted to learn why. Sure, he’s Barry Hawk, but what does he do different on course that helps make him Barry Hawk. The video breaks down the key points Barry and I discuss, and the podcast audio is the full interview. There are tons of nuggets in the audio for all dirt bike racers.

Youtube Video

Full Interview

American Lines vs European Lines

Having watched footage from the International Six Day Enduro for years, and having talked with the likes of Ryan Sipes and the late Kurt Caselli, I thought I had a decent grasp on how those courses were ridden. Brian Storrie also tried to help me understand how I needed to attack more and pick different lines. But it wasn’t until I was on a proper grass track at the US Sprint Enduro that I realized the truth—I’ve been hearing it, I’ve been seeing it, but I still have no idea how to actually ride it.

Barry Hawk brought this up early in our interview and broke it down as American Lines versus European Lines. He had faced the same struggle I was dealing with, back in the early 2000s when Juha Salminen came over to race the GNCC Series. Barry had to figure out why Juha was consistently beating them. What he discovered was that Juha, like many European riders, didn’t just ride fast—he rode smart. His lines didn’t look aggressive, they didn’t sound fast, but the results told a different story.

European riders, especially the EnduroGP racers of today, approach a course with strategy in mind. They might not hit one particular corner in the fastest way possible, but that’s because they’re setting up for something later. Barry compared it to a pool player setting up a shot two or three moves ahead. For me, it felt more like chess—looking at how the course fits together, not just what’s right in front of you.

Patience on course

Towards the end of the cross test loop, we had some fun off-camber turns that rolled up and down the Pennsylvania hillside. Throughout the course of the weekend, they formed a nice rut, but it was high and on the inside of the turn. I asked Barry if he leveraged that rut, or if it was too high in the turn for the line he wanted to take.

He said he knew he always wanted to take those ruts, but he had to be patient—he couldn’t “rush the rut.” His plan was to come from the outside, or center, of the track and work his way into the rut. Once in it, he needed to stay patient, so he didn’t pop out and have to adjust from a precarious spot in an awkward off-camber section of the track.

It was interesting, and honestly refreshing, to hear him say he had to remind himself to be patient there. I’m pretty sure we all know that “being patient” for Barry Hawk is still a fast pace, but hearing him say those turns weren’t ones for 110% effort gave me a different perspective. “Smooth is fast” is coming to mind.

The Off-Camber turn

There was one off-camber turn before we started all the downhills that never formed one of the ruts we just discussed. This turn was a loooong, sweeping left-hander that cut hard toward the end. I felt like I was tiptoeing through it, so I thought it was a good one to ask Barry about.

It felt good to have Barry agree—he didn’t like that turn either. It had such an odd angle and was shaped just right to feel really precarious. He said he would stay to the outside or center on entry, then cut hard to the inside so that by the end of the turn, his elbow was scraping the tape. That was the complete opposite of what I was doing. I was almost scraping the tape at the beginning, then fading wide on the exit.

But this was the perfect corner to bring up setup.

Barry’s line gave him a better setup for the next right-hander and kept him off the steepest part of the hill. My approach had me creeping into the corner and then trying to get on the gas too late. That meant I had to cut momentum again to make the next turn at the top of the climb. This single corner kind of summed up everything Barry and I had been talking about.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The only way to get better at this is to practice it. For me, that means building more grass tracks or racing more cross-country events. I enjoyed my US Sprint Enduro weekend, but I don’t see myself making any across-the-country drives just to practice these techniques.

The National Enduros are my focus this year, and for that I need more comfort on the GasGas in singletrack. Brian Storrie has still been helping me behind the scenes, but it’s probably time we make another video.

What would you like us to make a video about?!

I hope y’all enjoyed the podcast and video. Share them with your riding buddies, leave a comment, grab a shirt, and enjoy getting seat time!