ianblewitt
New Member
Had the privilege of being part of the Yamaha Champions Riding School this week at Buttonwillow on my RC. I can say it definitely changed my life as a rider.
They teach two main aspects: 1) How the best riders in the world ride. 2) How a modern motorcycle is designed to be ridden.
As these were my first track days on a motorcycle (had done them in cars, but totally new to every "motorcycle" aspect of it,) I was placed in the "newbie" group with others of similar skill and bike size (street-only riders, new to riding, etc.) The whole group ranged from people who've owned a bike less than a year to pro AMA riders. The coaches are all world class riders themselves and it's very obvious because teaching is effortless to them. Many of them either ride pro themselves or are coaches to pro riders. A lot of fantastic people running this school. Whenever I didn't understand a concept or ideas execution, they were skilled enough to word it in a different way or try to use a metaphor so that it made sense to me. It wasn't all just riding though, there was classroom work with lots of theory beforehand on both days, as well as van rides with an instructor going through the track lines, apexes, and technical process in slow motion.
Over the course of both days my confidence and ability went up ten fold. Being someone who had no idea about body position, it was one of my main priorities. At the end of the first day I felt confident going into my video lap and had that ethereal feeling of a great lap. Afterward during video review, my lap received a round of applause for the lines and drastic improvement from the first rides. Went to sleep with the track on loop in my mind and how I was going to change things the following day.
On the second day everything felt better. After a sleight adjustment to my shifter (was having trouble with downshifts) and an enlightening 2up with Nick Ienatsch riding in street positioning, I was riding the best I've ever ridden. I spent the day working on every technical and mental aspect I could while doing the drills. Eventually we got to do some open lapping which was a lot of fun. With more confidence than ever I felt like I was able to really get around the track. The day blew by as fast as the guy on his 1199 Superleggera.
Today, I'm tired and sore but excited for the next one (and of course, looking at RC performance parts.)
They're typically NJ based, with a few classes in AZ (and this year spreading to CA, NC, and CO.) I can't wait for them to come back for another course in CA. In the meantime, I'll keep developing my "Champion Habits."
Highly recommend it to anyone on here who can make it out. Be prepared to forget everything you thought you knew about racing.
ridelikeachampion.com
They teach two main aspects: 1) How the best riders in the world ride. 2) How a modern motorcycle is designed to be ridden.
As these were my first track days on a motorcycle (had done them in cars, but totally new to every "motorcycle" aspect of it,) I was placed in the "newbie" group with others of similar skill and bike size (street-only riders, new to riding, etc.) The whole group ranged from people who've owned a bike less than a year to pro AMA riders. The coaches are all world class riders themselves and it's very obvious because teaching is effortless to them. Many of them either ride pro themselves or are coaches to pro riders. A lot of fantastic people running this school. Whenever I didn't understand a concept or ideas execution, they were skilled enough to word it in a different way or try to use a metaphor so that it made sense to me. It wasn't all just riding though, there was classroom work with lots of theory beforehand on both days, as well as van rides with an instructor going through the track lines, apexes, and technical process in slow motion.
Over the course of both days my confidence and ability went up ten fold. Being someone who had no idea about body position, it was one of my main priorities. At the end of the first day I felt confident going into my video lap and had that ethereal feeling of a great lap. Afterward during video review, my lap received a round of applause for the lines and drastic improvement from the first rides. Went to sleep with the track on loop in my mind and how I was going to change things the following day.
On the second day everything felt better. After a sleight adjustment to my shifter (was having trouble with downshifts) and an enlightening 2up with Nick Ienatsch riding in street positioning, I was riding the best I've ever ridden. I spent the day working on every technical and mental aspect I could while doing the drills. Eventually we got to do some open lapping which was a lot of fun. With more confidence than ever I felt like I was able to really get around the track. The day blew by as fast as the guy on his 1199 Superleggera.
Today, I'm tired and sore but excited for the next one (and of course, looking at RC performance parts.)
They're typically NJ based, with a few classes in AZ (and this year spreading to CA, NC, and CO.) I can't wait for them to come back for another course in CA. In the meantime, I'll keep developing my "Champion Habits."
Highly recommend it to anyone on here who can make it out. Be prepared to forget everything you thought you knew about racing.
ridelikeachampion.com
