When the light turns green, Emporian Roberta Seaman revs her bike, dumps the clutch and shoots out like a rocket.
Seaman is only in her second season of motorcycle drag racing and she’s already way ahead of the game. A little under halfway through the All Harley Drag Racing Association circuit, Seaman is sitting at second in the nation in the Western Division. Last season, Seaman was named the AHDRA Lady of the Year. Seaman said she couldn’t be happier about her success.
“Last year I thought it might be beginners luck,” Seaman said, with a smile.
This year, Seaman’s success continued. She has made it to three quarter finals and one final so far this season. She races both the super eliminator race and the elapsed time bracket. In the super eliminator, there are 38 people vying for the title and keeping points throughout the season in hopes of being crowned the national champion in Las Vegas in November. There are two other women in Seaman’s class and the rest are men, she said. Seaman said the men in the circuit are OK racing with women.
“They’re scared of me,” Seaman said, with another smile. “They just know how deadly consistent the bike is.”
The bike that Seaman referred to is the same bike she used in last year’s races: a 1997 Buell S-11. Seaman said she and her husband, Julian, who also drag races, have kept the bike pretty close to stock with some minor changes.
Julian Seaman works on bikes in the shop they own, Hog Heaven, so he’s had lots of practice tuning bikes. Roberta Seaman said her husband, who got her involved in drag racing, has tuned her bike to fit every race.
“He’s been able to tune it to every weather condition,” Roberta Seaman said. “He tunes the bikes and does a good job.”
In her husband’s absence, Seaman has learned how to listen to the bike and tell him exactly what she’s hearing so the bike can be tuned.
This being her second time around in the circuit, Roberta Seaman has picked up some things along the way that she is putting into practice this year.
“My reaction time has really improved,” she said. “I’m a lot less nervous this year than last year. I am a lot more confident.”
Seaman is looking for sponsors for the rest of the season, she said.
“It would be nice to get help with gas and motel rooms,” she said.
Seaman said her husband taught her to ride. He has a bike that with go 200 miles per hour.
“I had a good teacher,” she said. “He was good at teaching me how to ride.”
Seaman also credits some of her success to her personality.
“I’m very competitive by nature,” she said. “Always have been.”
Seaman said she enjoys most everything about racing in the circuit.
“The people are really fun,” she said. “I like to travel all over and it’s something I can do with my husband. We have a good time.”
And one cannot forget the speed involved in the races — between 118 and 122 miles per hour.
“I like the speed,” Seaman said. “It’s fun to go that fast and not get in trouble.”
• Anyone interested in sponsoring Seaman can call Hog Heaven at 343-2021.