The Ultimate Riding School Coming to Loudon!
Posted by Scott Lian on Fri, Feb 05, 2010 @ 09:15 PM
Last year we were fortunate enough to be joined at Virginia International Raceway by Doug Polen, former AMA Superbike Champion, 2-time WSBK champion, and 2-time World Endurance Champion... who now spends his days traveling the country with the Polen 1-on-1 Riding School.
We met Doug at Miller Motorsports Park for World Superbike Series' stop in Utah, and after talking for a bit found out that Doug and Brian Larrabure (Managing Director of the Polen 1-on-1 School) would be in Virginia around the same time we would be hosing a 3-day track event. Follow up conversations sorted the minor details and shortly there after we found ourselves at VIR watching the guys from the 1-on-1 school unload their gleaming red Ducatis.
Luckily, I was fortunate enough to get to ride on-track with Doug. I got my session with him on the South Course, a course I had never been to before. Within 2 laps (Doug observes from behind on your first flying lap), Doug came screaming by on the main straight and in my ear I hear "Ok, so get on the brakes softer and stay on them deeper... deeper... still on the brakes... ok now you're off and on the gas..." Then came turn 3, a very tricky turn where you come up over a hill (unloading the suspension) and dive back down in a mini-Laguna-esque corkscrew. "Stay on the brakes over the hill as you turn in.. see... it helps settle the front so the bike can turn..." Sure enough, a little pressure on the brakes up and over the hill as you turn left made the bike track unbelievably, and felt completlely solid. The entire morning I'd been afraid of this section, as it really feels like you're going to get some serious air time there and the last thing you're thinking of is front brake as you're leaning the bike in!
Turn after turn, lap after lap, Doug picked very obvious weak points in my riding around this particular course. Just the way your brain processes real time information makes worlds of difference, no matter how many times you tell yourself to do something in the pits, having his voice in your head in the very seconds approaching a particular turn or spot... is an unreal experience.
After my session (that was over far too quickly), I knew that this would be absolutely the best tools to lower my lap times at my home track in Loudon, NH. I assumed at the time, this would never happen... what are the chances Doug and Brian would be up near us?
Fast forward to December of 2009, I receive a call from Brian and he mentions they will be up in the area to run the1-on-1 school with Sportbike Track Time at Monticello in Upstate New York, in late May. A quick glance at our track calendar shows a two day event at NHMS on May 25-26th, and Brian says "so we'll see you there?"
I could barely contain my excitement at the opportunity to have Doug show me the finer points around my home track, a place I've ridden for nearly 10 years, and know I still have vast areas for improvement.
It would be an understatement to say we're extremely happy to have Doug and his 1-on-1 Rider's School joining Boston Moto at New Hampshire International Speedway on May 25th and 26th. If you have been waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime to get real-time instruction around our own Loudon circuit, now is the time.
Bear in mind the 1-on-1 School is limited to 6 riders per day, so a total of only 12 spots are available for these two days.
Here's the run-down of basic information:
Where? New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, NH
When? May 25th and 26th
Who? Boston Moto and Doug Polen's 1-on-1 Riding School
Cost? $199* track day entry plus $400* 1-on-1 School admission
(*Boston Moto Elite Members receive a $50 discount off 1-on-1 School admission and may use one of your banked days!!)
How do I signup?
Register with Boston Moto by clicking on either date here: May 25th or May 26th
Signup for the 1-on-1 School by calling 888.376.5361 or 818.717.8180
Note: Dates have not been posted to the 1-on-1 School's website yet, but will be soon... act now to reserve your spot!