Terrain de Blargies

Blargies in the Oise is an address with history: the Terrain du Treforet on Rue du Motocross staged a round of the 125cc world championship in 1988 and one of the 500cc series in 1994. The MC de Blargies course, under president Daniel Blond, measures 2100 metres at 6 to 10 metres wide and is built of natural and imported earth; three national races a year are still on the calendar, and there is a separate track for children. Riding runs from January to October, every Sunday from 10:00 to 17:30, and motorcycles, quads, dirt and pit bikes and sidecars are all admitted. A licence is compulsory: with FFM the day costs 7 euros, with UFOLEP 8. Twenty-one hundred metres on loose earth is a different session from fourteen hundred. Split the lap into three sections and ride them separately - full laps at the limit only come once the sections are solid. And on the jumps the problem every face brings arrives: the bike kicks and bucks instead of leaving cleanly. Top of our cause list is rear rebound - it returns too fast and launches the back end; slow it down.