Class Motorcycle School
August 5th and 6th, 2002
Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond Pennsylvania


Pocono Track Map
In early August I completed Reg Pridmore's CLASS school at Pocono International Raceway's East Course. This was to be my third and final two day track school for the year.
here I am with my race face on
Unable to bear the thought of having completed my self imposed regimen, I immediately signed up for a two day American Supercamp school held in September (an entirely different kettle of fish). I had learned a lot from my past outings and was far less nervous upon arrival than at the previous schools. I was also helped by the fact that my girlfriend Diana was with me for the first day taking photos.
At each previous school I had stood around self-consciously in my unscuffed leathers listening to tall tales of power slides, stoppies, outrageous top speeds and other exaggerations and extrapolations. I felt like I was a lowly pretender who didn't belong. Now I had enough experience to feel comfortable being there and to realize the talk was mostly just bullshit. The people who seemed to really perform on the track were rarely the people blathering about it in the pits.

coming around turn eight.
CLASS was significantly less racing focused than other schools. Reg continually made the point that he was interested in teaching safer techniques for the street and not how to become junior racers. This was reflected in the student body by the presence of a large number of full BMW cruisers, a Harley and less gung ho speed freaks like myself. It seemed to be about a fifty/fifty slow fast split. Tech inspection was also considerably more mellow. You were only required to tape or disconnect your taillight and mirrors, as well as have good tires, functioning breaks and a sound bike. Uncovered headlights, turn signals and regular anti-freeze were all acceptable.

here I am passing on the outside
After introductions and Reg running down the rules, (the most important being no passing on the inside of a turn) we self divided into a faster and slower group. One of the best aspects of CLASS was with only two groups, you were guaranteed a ton of track time. The routine was the same as in previous schools. After a turn out on the track, I rode back to the pits and reported to the classroom for a lecture. Then as the other group was returning from their track session, I mounted up with my group, and we went back out. The first two sessions involved playing follow the instructor around and learning the line, the track etc. The track was a short (1.4 miles) infield course with only one straight (on the NASCAR tri-oval). It was made up of largely left hand turns with two right handers, one an 180 degree horseshoe that gave folks fits. It wasn't a wide or particularly fast track, but it was loads of fun.
on to the back straight (Diana kicked ass with the photos)
There were two ambulances on either side of the track, but no corner workers and no flags. When the instructors wanted us to come in, they would signal us by going to the end of the back straight and facing their headlight towards oncoming traffic. This was definitely playing it a little looser than either Penguin or CSS. When a rider had a particularly bad accident in turn one on the second day, there was a significant delay in getting the ambulance to him, in part because it took so long to clear the track without flags.

coming round turn three
setting up for four

 

CLASSROOM
The classroom set up was similar to previous schools, but the end result was quite different. Reg did all the lecturing, concentrating mostly on the correct line, body positioning, and body steering. He always brought each subject back to the street and was less interested in pure racing points.
coming round the horseshoe
The lectures seemed a lot less focused than other schools. I think this may have been in part because I had heard a lot of what was being said before, so it was less revolutionary for me. It also seemed that points were covered multiple times without a progressive approach to understanding them. With less structure in the classroom, there was less focus on practicing a prescribed piece of curriculum on the track. This lack of carry over from classroom to track was probably the weakest point of the school. Even so, all track time is an incredibly useful learning experience. Reg teaches a different and tighter line than a traditional racing line and spent a good bit of time on body positioning. I found both to be very helpful. He is also a proponent of body steering as opposed to counter steering. This is in direct contrast to Keith Code who is a proponent of counter steering as opposed to body steering. Both make reference to the fact that it is possible to use the other approach, but ultimately their approach is correct. It was the whole "opposed to" thing that drove me a little mad in both schools. Both approaches seem to me to be obviously beneficial. It is very useful to break them out so you can concentrate on and practice them separately, but it's when you put them together that you really begin to turn. In the end, I felt like I got less out of the classroom instruction at CLASS than at the other schools.

INSTRUCTORS
watched by an instructor on day one
Here CLASS really shined. The enthusiasm displayed by two of the instructors, Derek and Greg, was over the top. Not only for motorcycles and being out on the track, but for me and my personal progress as well. They were professional, motivated and a ton of fun to be around. I really think I lucked out here. The first day I was doing pretty well, using everything I had learned so far, and really ripping around at my personal limit. Diana was taking photos, and I was having a blast. I was faster than quite a few of the other folks on the track and was pretty aggressive about passing them. I think it was the aggression, combined with being less than a hundred percent smooth during passes that originally got me noticed. By the end of the day, Derek had asked me to slow down and concentrate on my body position. He deftly handled the situation by complimenting my lower body position (I was now all knee scraping all the time) but pointed out I needed to get my torso hanging off as well.
finally doing it right, my whole body off the center line of the bike.
I'm pretty sure I must have been a topic of discussion at dinner that night because on the morning of the second day, each instructor came over to chat with me. I made a concerted effort to slow down the second day and concentrate on my torso. I also realized that I had been over doing it with my knee a little bit and tried to let it happen more naturally. On the afternoon of the second day when Derek complimented me on my new upper body position and thanked me for slowing down, I realized I really had made substantial gains. I wicked it up a little for the last two sessions and found that I was a whole lot smoother at full speed than I had been the day before. Of course riding around the track is always fun, and this was no exception, but Derek and Greg made this into a truly fantastic learning experience.

 

Put a series of still photos together and presto! Motion pictures
out of turn one setting up for turn two

 

Back to Motorcycle Schools

home