NORMAN Chung, one of the more recent motorcycle racers at Dover Raceway, has been having a super ride on the circuit and even urges others with interest to suit up and get on the track.

“Riding at Dover is really very rewarding and I encourage anyone to get involved, but you have to master your craft first, because racing a bike at Dover is very different from riding on the road,” Chung shared in a recent interview with Auto.

Under the influence of experienced motorcyclists Adrian Blake and Jason Flyn, Chung started racing at Dover in April 2010 on a 2004 Yamaha R6.

And as he honed his biking skills, he moved up to a 2008 model Yamaha in 2011. But despite this upward shift, Chung confides that it was somewhat too sudden.

“I shouldn’t have switched my machine so quickly because I didn’t master the first one as yet,” he said.

Alongside the CEO at Super WiFi, David Lee, on a 2006 Suzuki GSXR, Chung says he practices very hard on the R6 in order to get the best from the bike. Lee, through Super WiFi, sponsors Chung’s racing exploits.

“You have to practice at Dover once you decide to ride at Dover. My first bike was too old and I wasn’t getting the right handling from it, so now I have to practice to get the right handling from the newer version” Chung told Auto.

Another important lesson for first-timers, Chung shared, is to know your bike and it’s specifications, then adjust it to suit your riding style, if necessary.

“The 2008 R6 doesn’t give me the power when I want it, because this model was made for a longer track, so I have to make changes to the bike to solve this problem,” he said. “Whatever tweaks needed to be made to the bike to make it run better should also be done.”

According to Chung, it is important that the riding gear should be in order to take on the track. A helmet is priority, racing suit and boots are paramount; modification to the bike is secondary and safety of the rider takes precedence. And once the rider is fully suited, the bike must be engineered to fit the track. ‘The Dover track is very bumpy so the bike can make some very erratic movements if it’s not properly adjusted,” Chung explained.

Dover motorcycle track-record holder, Stefan Chin, also sponsored by SuperWifi, helps the budding Chung with technical work on the R6 as well as race-winning tricks of the trade.

The style of the rider is very important and he needs to learn how to manoeuvre the knee-grinding corners and bullet down the straights. “Adrian (Blake) also showed me some good riding styles, he has been riding for a long time and is very good and shared some of his technique with me,” said Chung.

Feeling comfortable with the full support of his sponsors, family and friends, Chung said he is ready going into the Heroes of Speed race meet in October.

“I’m looking forward to October as I have been improving my time. Every time I get comfortable I get faster; I’m just racing against time and I’ve gotten faster since I started racing,” said Chung.

 — Kesi Asher