Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Bart Maciejewski came to the April 27 round of the 2003 Buell BattleTrax Series at Camarillo Airport in Camarillo, California for some free food and rode home with a Regional Championship and a free trip to the Buell BattleTrax National Championship event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Maciejewski rode his Michelin-Pilot-shod 1998 Ducati 916 to the fastest time of the day, 33.70 seconds, on a 20-turn course laid out on the tarmac of the Camarillo Airport, but it was consistency in the competition, not speed in practice that earned Maciejewski a very close win over a tight field of 16 BattleTrax competitors.

The BattleTrax, which started six years ago and continues as a Buell Motorcycle Company promotional tool, introduces riders to motorcycle road racing in a safe, low-cost manner while keeping much of the same excitement. The same basic skills of line choice and smooth throttle and brake application are utilized on the chalk-and-traffic-cone parking courses of BattleTrax as are used on 160-mph road courses with less danger and a much smaller investment.

Although BattleTrax has been run as a fastest-time competition in the past, the 2003 Buell BattleTrax Series runs with a bracket racing-style format. One at a time on the course, competitors make electronically-timed practice laps in the morning to figure out their Target Time. After selecting their Target Time, riders then try to come as close to that time on each of four runs during the afternoon’s Target Rounds. Competitors are allowed to go over or under their Target Time because all four laps are averaged. The difference between a rider’s average lap time and their Target Time is what determines a winner. The rider with the average time closest to their Target Time, over or under, wins.

Maciejewski, who admitted that he only came to the event because he heard there would be free food and drinks (supplied by Ventura Harley-Davidson), arrived late but did a number of practice laps in rapid succession before setting a Target Time of 35.10. Maciejewski got off to a shaky start by hitting the very first cone on the course, drawing a 0.5-second penalty and resulting in a first lap time of 37.00 – well over his Target Time.

Due to the allowance to go under the Target Time, Maciejewski was able to go faster in his remaining laps to lower his average time closer to his goal. After a second run of 34.73 and third run of 34.57, Maciejewski’s friend and impromptu Team Manager, determined (with the assistance of the calculator on his mobile phone) that Maciejewski needed a time of 34.04 on his final run to have his average time match his Target Time. Incredibly, Maciejewski’s final run was a 34.03, resulting in an actual four-run average of 35.117 seconds, or 0.017-second off his Target Time.

“I was a little worried on that last run,” said Maciejewski, a 26-year-old Polish immigrant who works as a bookkeeper in Ventura, California. “I spun it up over that pavement transition in the back and almost dropped it.”

For his efforts, Maciejewski was awarded a Buell leather jacket and declared a Regional Champion. Nine other BattleTrax Regional Champions will be determined in the national touring series and flown at Buell’s expense to Las Vegas, Nevada, July 16, 2003, for a National Championship run-off where they will compete on identical Buell XB9R Firebolts and XB9S Lightnings.

Asked about having to give up his highly customized Ducati for one of the new Buells, Maciejewski said, “I can’t wait to get on the Buell!”

BattleTrax BattleMaster Reg Kittrelle said Maciejeski’s time difference and the results of all of the top finishers at Camarillo were the closest yet in the 2003 Buell BattleTrax Series.


Buell BattleTrax Results, Camarillo, California April 27 (amount average lap time varied from Target Time):

1. Bart Maciejewski, Ducati 916, 0.017-second
2. Steve Natt, Buell XB9R, 0.023-second
3. Paul Pecoraro, Buell XB9S, 0.035-second
4. Lance Wood, Buell X1, 0.132-second
5. Tim Norton, Buell XB9R, 0.137-second
6. Al Bradford, H-D FXD, 0.325-second