pulsater

It's a long but must read article for all of us. A very interesting read of a detailed real track experience of a rider on his first day in a superbike riding school.


Source: California Superbike School - Level 1, The Day I Learnt How to Ride Properly!

Published by Tasha Crook
24 October 2008, 15:32

I have always fancied myself a bit of a girl racer at heart, and once I’d got a couple of years riding experience behind me, I got myself a proper sports bike in the shape of a 1998 Kevin Schwantz, Lucky Strike Suzuki GSX-R 750 SRAD back in 2002. I’d always had the longing to get out on track to see what I could learn about myself and the bike. I learnt that I could go pretty fast, take corners reasonably well, and that I could crash in a very spectacular manner, the only way I could get my knee down!

Roll on six years, a brand new GSX-R 750 in stealth, eight track days later and three crashes out on track. Two of which was my fault totally, by misjudging the corner and speed. The other was unfortunately not; some pratt hit me from behind at Surtees on Brands Hatch which spooked the life out of, me that was two years ago and I hadn’t been out on track since, and to be honest after that, I didn’t fancy it much anymore!

No one warned me that I could possibly lose my confidence in the process! And, that’s what had happened, so I decided to see what I could do about getting over my track demons and spent a day with the California Superbike School a couple of months ago. All I can say is that I now can’t wait to get back out on track and, what the **** was I worried about!! This is how it came about...

I was lucky enough to bump into Andy Ibbott who runs the California Superbike School at the NEC last November and got talking to him about my experiences and now lack of confidence. He said that the course would definitely help me. In the New Year, I received an email from Donna Ibbott offering me a space on ‘Level One’ of their School at Rockingham Circuit, near Corby in Northants. I accepted quickly and graciously and then began to brick it!! Oh dear, what had I got myself into!

About a week later, a package arrived through my door from the school; there were forms to fill out, a welcome pack and a very interesting DVD about a day at the CSS.

Now, The California Superbike School is something that I had wanted to do for a really long time and now I had the chance to actually do it! I mean these guys have trained, and are continuing to train world champions from James Toseland in WSB (now in MotoGP), Thomas Lüthi who was MotoGP 125cc champ in 2005, AMA Supersport rider Roger Lee Hayden, (Nicky’s Brother) and even 2005 British Supersport Champion Leon Camier, who now rides for Ducati Airwaves in BSB. Their pedigree even goes back as far as the one and only Wayne Rainey who was 500cc GP world champion three times from 1990 to 1992. If I’m ever to get back out on track, then these are the people to get me back out there and I was sure to learn a lot!

I must admit, because of my last two experiences out on track I had been quite dubious about this day creeping up on me. Not because my riding had been limited for the past three years, (I don’t actually leave the house much because of working on LB), but because I’d seriously lost confidence in my own abilities. It’s funny, as you get older and wiser, supposedly, it’s so much harder to build up lost confidence in yourself, it’s not the same as when you’re younger, where you get back up, brush yourself down and don’t think about how much it bloody hurts when you fall off, even for the second time around!!

As the day drew nearer, I tried to think of all of the excuses I could so that I didn’t have to go... What the hell was the matter with me? What was I so frightened of?

I thought it would be nice to stay near the circuit the night before to save myself a long ride up there in the morning, and to save a load of stress. It was a seven in the morning start, so I checked out Google and I found myself a nice little B&B called the Old Forge in Rockingham Hamlet for just £30 for the evening and booked myself in.

I got all of my kit together, packed my laptop, a change of clothes and plenty of ear-plugs. I left on the Sunday afternoon at about 5pm and arrived at Rockingham around seven.

Before I went to sleep I sat watching the DVD again on my laptop; it made me feel so much better and not so out of my depth. There is a part where Andy Ibbott says, “I guarantee that after you have completed part one with us, you WILL be 50% more confident in cornering.” I tried to go to sleep repeating it. Watching the DVD a few times before you go is a must!!! Unfortunately I didn’t sleep too well, if any at all, which was a real shame, I’m putting it down to nerves. Spaced out, I tried to eat breakfast and left for the circuit.

The day of my CSS day was tipped to be the hottest day of the year so far and the weathermen were right for a change, I felt blessed after the weather we’d had at the start of the summer. I had a nice short ride from the B&B and arrived at Rockingham Circuit at 07.00 bright and early for registration with a full tank of petrol. As soon as you arrive, you are guided into the paddock area and told where to park you bike. You go into the registration area where you are greeted and given forms to fill out, the atmosphere is really relaxed and I could see by the looks on a few of the other people’s faces that I wasn’t the only one feeling a wee bit nervous.

With my indemnity forms all filled out and both parts of my driving licence all checked, I was handed out a work pack containing a number to stick on the front of your bike, (mine was number 19 which is still on my bike! I know sad!) and a booklet with the schedule for the day and a place on each page where you can write notes. I headed outside to my bike and found that the mirrors and the Speedo had already taped up, and they were already in the process of checking my tyres to see if they were in a fit state before we were allowed out on track.

We each then had to go adjust our tyre pressures. These are different when you go out on track and the pressures have to be reduced because your tyres build up a lot more heat and expand. They also have a compressor and pressure gauges for you to use at you leisure during the day. The recommended pressures for the track are 32psi for the front and 30psi for the rear. It’s really important that this is done and that you pump your tyres up again when you leave the circuit before your journey home. Check your bike manual for the correct road tyre pressures if you don’t already know them.

After your bike has been checked over and your tyres have been sorted out, you have to go back to registration garage and get your kit checked out by the scrutineer’s. This is just basically to check your helmet to see if it has the right ACU/FIM standards that are required for the track and to make sure that your leathers, boots and gloves are up to scratch safety wise.

Once all of this has been completed by 8am, everyone was lead into the classroom for a funny and in-depth introduction the whole team. We were all then given a safety briefing in which we were told about track etiquette and rules, this included telling you about the meanings for all of the flags that are used out on track, they are all quite simple to remember really, especially if you are into you're racing!

We were then sorted out into out into three groups, one for each level that was being taught that day at Rockingham, we were also assigned a riding coach for the day, mine was ‘Butch’ who is also known as Chris Butcher. Each riding coach looks after you one to one when you’re out on track; he has two other students to take care of also, you get adequate time with them and lots of feedback during the day.

The California Superbike School is split up in to four different levels, each one takes a day to complete; I started the course at level one obviously. Level one of the course is split up into five sections and each section includes a technical briefing and a session out on track to practice what you have just learnt. Your riding coach also debriefs you after each time out on track. This is particularly handy as it helps you better understand what mistakes you might be making, and where you can make it better.

Right, here we go with the fun stuff. The first drill that we covered in the classroom was throttle control. Our teacher for the day was Glen Rothwell who is one of the schools Senior Riding Coaches. This man knows everything and teaches in such a way that there is lots of student input, you remember more this way and it allows you to get to know the other students as you bounce ideas off each other and have a bit of a laugh.

Drill One – Throttle Control

The first thing we spoke about was how to keep the bike stable; we discussed riding improvement, confidence, knowledge and stability and then went into depth about all of these in turn. We then talked about using the throttle, brakes, clutch, gears and handlebars and how these are used in bike control. The conclusion was that the only thing that actually stabilises the bike was control of the throttle. The smoother the throttle control, the smoother the cornering will be. As soon as you reach the right lean angle, apply smooth, slow throttle. We also talked about what we worry about when we are cornering for example, road surface, speed, grip, traction, lean angle and lines, and how all of these factor into an everyday ride and why they effect us.

It was now time to go and put all of what we had just learnt into practice out on track. Now, when we all were told that we could not use our brakes in this session and stay in fourth gear, we all looked at each other in total disbelief thinking that this was not possible without crashing.

We all got ready and lined our selves up ready to hit the track, not literally! Waiting at the entrance to pit-lane was Course Control/Wrangler Corinna Flynn with a massive smile on her face. Corinna asked each of us in turn as we headed out on track if we knew what the brief was, and to repeat it her. This let her and you know exactly what was expected of you in this section. It also made me feel more confident and think about what we had just been taught. When she patted you on the back it was time to go.

Out onto the track I went, and after a couple of sighting laps I was still feeling a bit dubious, but I felt confident knowing what I was supposed to be doing. As I went up the gears, I got into 4th and pootled along at a steady pace, all the time keeping the throttle smooth and steady and thinking, don’t use the brakes!!!!! Each time I went round and completed a lap it got a bit easier and my speed naturally got faster. Doing the right speed for a corner is essential and it also makes the corner flow better. It felt really great, and to think that we were all crapping ourselves 20 minutes earlier was funny. You’re also learning the track on your first session out, Rockingham is definitely the one to learn cornering on, and I really liked it.

Butch pulled me to one side after the session was over and said that he was happy with what I had been doing. Cool!

Drill Two – Turn Points

In this section we talked in depth about turning points, Glen was very thorough, drawing images for us in each step to help us understand the theory behind getting the right turning point and how important it was to get the right entry speed. He told us that if you miss your turning point by one bike’s length, you will miss your exit by at least three bike lengths. Thinking about this, I can see where I was going wrong and why sometimes I had nearly missed the exit of a corner!

Just sitting down and chatting with an expert and the group about the most simplest of things like where to turn makes the picture much bigger and clearer. I couldn’t wait to get back out on track to put all of this into practice.

As I sat on my bike waiting to go out, I was excited, what a stark difference to when I’d turned up for the day! I was really enjoying myself and I could tell by the big smiles on everyone’s faces they were too! We were told that there were big crosses on the track to show us where to turn the bike, wicked!!

It was my turn to tell Corinna what the drill was and I was sent out on track again. We did two sighting laps to warm up our tyres and whilst we were doing this I was keeping an eye open for the crosses on the corners. Some of them were not where you expected them to be at all, it was a little strange at first, but once you had been around the track a few times in all came together and flowed beautifully. The hairpin bend at the very end of the circuit was the hardest one for me to get to grips with, then Butch came to my rescue and made me follow him around a few times as he was giving hand signals to show me where to turn exactly.

Butch pulled me into the pit lane and told me where he thought I was going wrong, I agreed and went back out to try it again, he followed me and I got it right. It felt so good mastering something completely new, the rest of my session out I was hitting the turning points perfectly and feeling great doing it.

Drill Three – Quick Turning

Glen started this section asking us if we knew about counter-steering, most of us put our hands up and described what we thought it was, we were right. We talked in detail about the geometry of the bike and how counter-steering is done through the handle bars and that most of us were doing it whether we actually knew it or not.

The two main things that we discussed about counter-steering were that it is important to be loose on the handle bars and to put just enough pressure on the bars until you get the desired lean angle. The looser you are on the bike, the better the traction on the bike works. It’s as simple as that! We were told to push a little harder on the bars than we normally would as this would help us through the corners quicker and smoother.

Once again I was sat waiting for our next session out on track and as it came to my turn to go out, I told Corinna that we were practicing quick turning, she nodded and patted me on the back to go.

After the sighting laps we started to wiz around the circuit making an extra effort to counter-steer harder than we normally would. I personally found it quite hard getting my head around just tipping the bike in harder than usual. I was worried about over doing it and wrecking my bike, not a good state of mind to be in if you want to progress.

Butch saw that I wasn’t riding to my fullest ability and once again came to my rescue. He pulled me into the pits and asked what the problem was. I was getting spooked in the corners when another bike came through faster than me; this was from my Brands Hatch incident where that idiot had taken me out in the corner when I was leant over, he could clearly see it. Butch went back out with me and made me follow him closely, all the time he was giving me hand signals to start tipping into the corners earlier and harder, it came together and I was turning in faster and with more confidence, god it felt good!!!

For the rest of the session I was putting this new found confidence together with the throttle control and the turning points, all of these little pieces of jigsaw coming together to make the bigger picture was just great and it flowed. The session was over and it was time for a break before going back into the classroom for our fourth lesson of the day.

Lunch Time

It was now time for our lunch break. Lunch was provided to us in the form of sandwiches, crisps and biscuits and on the tap hot and cold drinks. It was nice to take a break and chat with all of the other guys in my group about our own personal progress and about the things we had learnt. There were actually a few people I knew there including a couple of Londonbikers members. It’s a small world!

Drill Four – Rider Input

As we sat in the class room Glen started talking to us about rider input and our positioning on the bike. There were various things discussed like relaxation and how ‘not’ being relaxed can change the way the bike is ridden and your control over it. We brought up ‘keeping light pressure’ on the handle bars again, this is important for you to be able to control the bike and steer it where you want it to go. Something that was new to all of us was to sit in the middle of the seat, it helps you relax your arms and shoulders, and get more leverage, which in turn helps you have more control over your machine.

Glen then asked the people to put their hands up who thought they could go round a left hand bend better than a right hand bend or vice versa, a few people put up their hands and Glen started to tell us that it was because their feet weren’t in the same places on the foot pegs. He said that it’s important to try and position both feet on the same places on both pegs, your weight distribution on the bike has a massive hold over how the bike rides, centre yourself and check your feet. We then chatted about relaxing the spine and it was better to sit like a sack of spuds rather than sitting upright and stiff. All of these put together helps your bike handle better and feel much more stable.

Sitting on my bike waiting for our turn to go back on track and to put all of this into practice, my head was full, repeating all of the things that we had just learnt in the class room. It was a lot to remember but once I was out there again it seemed to come naturally. I was relaxed, sitting in to middle of my seat with my feet equally placed on the pegs and steering the bike lightly, I can’t begin to tell you how great the bike felt and how in control I was, the feeling was incredible. My Gixxer was flowing through the corners effortlessly and I was totally in control, something I hadn’t felt for some time. I was gutted when the session was up; I just wanted to carry on.

At the end of my debrief session with Butch, he said he was pleased with my progress and that I had got to grips with it all really well. It was a great feeling knowing that I was back on track to becoming that confident rider that I used to be.

Drill Five – Two-Step Turning

This last section is set up to get you ready for level two of the California Superbike School and to put all of the things that you have learnt in the previous four sections all together and into practice. We talked about two-step turning and this involves keeping your eyes looking mid-way through a corner and to look where you want to go. Glen drew lots of diagrams to help us visualise what we had to do. We were asked if when we were using the turn points in the second session of the day, if we were fixating on them. Most of the class put their hands up. We were told this time to just use the turn point as a reference and to keep on looking through the corner towards the next and to tip the bike in.

Out on track again and off we all went. It was amazing putting all of the corners together and feeling them all join up and flow into each other, this is what it was all about and I couldn’t wait to put all of this into practice and get back out riding my bike everyday like I used to. Being the last session of the day and me not getting any sleep the night before, I retired from the session early as I was feeling really tired and yawning lots. I didn’t want to put myself or anyone else in danger. I felt completely satisfied with what I had done out on track implementing all of the skills that we had be taught.

Butch came to see me to see if I was ok and I just said that I was so tired that I didn’t want to mess up, he understood and thought it a wise move. He said that he could see that I was already doing two-step turning from my earlier sessions on track as he could see that I was looking through the corners and was happy with what he had seen.

It was now time for our last class debrief, we all sat down grinning like Cheshire cats pleased with ourselves and generally buzzing from our achievements and personal journeys. The three people that made the most progress during the day received a bag of goodies as a prize which was a really nice touch from the school; they had already given us so much knowledge. We were all given our Level One Certificates to take home and went to pack up our things ready for the long ride home.

Conclusion

I made a good friend on the day and rode home with them; we were able to practice some of what we had learnt on the way home. I felt like a completely new person on the bike, it was fantastic. I had some major breakthroughs during the day and it all came together for me, I cannot recommend this course enough to everyone and anyone that wants to learn something new, put any demons to rest or just to improve their riding. It’s not just a school for racers; it’s a school for anyone that wants to be a better and safer rider.

The school itself is very well organised and run to the minute, with the staff being just amazing and I had the best day possible to boot.

Since the course, I have been out on my bike almost every day, I’m riding it with much more confidence and, I’m in much better control of the bike. Each time I get on it now, I remember what I learnt that day I’m relaxed with a smooth throttle, check my body and feet positions, I sit in the middle of the seat, look through the corners and am looking for the turning point way in advance, and all of this has stayed in my head without having to really think about it. I loved the way we were taught, I can’t wait to get back out there and have a go at level two.

The California Superbike School have got a TV series running on Motors TV at present, it has six episodes called 'Superbike School UK'. The final episode is running next Tuesday 28th October at 20:30. The series will have a second re-run again in December.

If you like what you have read and are inspired to do this course and fancy getting yourself booked in with the California Superbike School over the winter, they do a number of courses abroad in the warm and sunshine. They have two day camps in South Africa, Greece; the infamous MotoGP circuits Laguna Seca in the USA and Jerez in Spain, they also have courses in Dubai, Turkey and other camps in Spain. You can hire bikes at the circuits or they give you the option of getting your bike shipped out to any of the destinations, which saves you a load of hassle.

I would like to thank both Andy and Donna Ibbott for giving me the opportunity do this course, for my new found confidence and all of the knowledge that I now have. Thank you also to all the guys at the circuit, Butch, Glen, Corinna and all the people doing their bit to make the day run so smooth and efficient.

Don't forget to check out the CSS stand at the NEC show with a stage area in Hall 1.

Related Links:
California Superbike School

Telephone: +44 (0)8700 671 061
Fax: +44 (0) 1933 229389
E-Mail: info@superbikeschool.co.uk

The Old Forge Guest House,
Main Street,
Rockingham,
Nr. Corby,
Northants, LE16 8TG.
Tel: 01536 770559
Fax: 01536 771696

Aryan

Topic Approved.

A real, nice informative article. Thanks for sharing it Pulsater.

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pudix

Excellent read, man!! Big thanks for posting it!
Now, am I dying for my turn at that school or what!

rossiter

I have heard nothing but great things about CSS. In fact, I was supposed to enroll and take part in their 2 day course in Willow of Springs, CA. But I couldn't make it as I decided to leave for home early.

Fantastic read man.. Will read this time and again! Thanks for sharing man

sam92

wow .. nice write up .. thankz for sharing this wonderful article

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pulsater

manage to find the some video content of CSS on youtube.



also check related videos. they are really informative.

scarecrow

good write up, cant wait to have a track day like this

ravi@17bhp

Very useful and informative article Pusator. Thanks a ton for sharing!

archistar

very nice info there Abhi...
thanx for sharing...

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atul_the_rider

This is superb stuff! i am really amazed by this piece of information and thrilled by reading your experience.

thanks a ton for sharing.

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