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Just came back from the Star School last night … I’m about to post a write-up, but George thankfully covered most of the details in his post, here:

We just finished the 2-day STAR school by Jason Pridmore today. Taking the course from Hooligang was Sharad, Martina, Matt, Rick and myself (Diane was scheduled to join us but was unable to ride due to her broken collarbone – she did attend the classroom sessions).

Arrival at the track was a little chaotic – there was very little organization. The school had a trailer set up, a registration table and a tech inspection. Everyone had to first register, get a wristband with different colors depending up whether you were there for one or two days. After that you needed to go to tech with your bike, riding suit, helmet and boots!

Jason Pridmore himself did most of the morning classroom sessions both days. After a welcome and staff introduction the advanced group was sent out first.

The school was broken up into two groups – street and advanced. On Monday, Martina, Sharad and Matt started in the street group and Rick and I started in the advanced group. Both groups alternated track and classroom time with about 20 minutes on track followed by classroom. First session was a track orientation and we were supposed to follow a coach in a group of about 6 riders. After one lap, the lead rider dropped to the back and everyone moved up so everyone got a chance to ride behind the coach.

It was quickly apparent to me that the advanced group had some really, really good and fast riders. I had trouble keeping up at this controlled speed as I was learning the track. New Hampshire International Raceway at Loudon is a long standing facility and its track has 13 major turns (and some minor ones) with major elevation change. There is a large hill that you ride from turns 4 through 10 that is a fairly technical section. I did drag my knee a couple of times in the first session in the “bowl”, the left hand turn 6 with positive camber.

Classroom focused first on lines, with Pridmore emphasizing NOT using the whole track and going into turns from the inside out. He wanted us midtrack for most corner entrances. Futher sessions concentrated on straightening the track, body position, smooth throttle roll-ons and downshifting.

I had an “oh” moment in about my fourth riding session as I was exiting turn 3, a sharp right before uphill turn 4. I made it through 3 and was leaned over pretty hard right when I probably got on the gas a little too hard too early. The rear tire spun up and fish-tailed me first to the left and then to the right before coming back in line. I was lucky I held the throttle steady and didn’t chop it which would have surely caused a highside.

From that point on, my confidence in my bike in that turn dropped and it took the remainder of the school to actually do better there.

By the end of day one, we were all basically exhausted as the 20 minutes on and 20 minutes classroom didn’t leave much time for rest. My left thigh was aching and I was happy when the track time ended.

We went out to a nice Mexican restaurant in downtown Concord, NH, for dinner that night. Concord is a real nice little town, the state capital and has a lot of history. Franklin Pierce, the 14th President, was from NH and has a statue in the capitol square.

Day 2 started early with a track walk. We went out to a couple of different spots and watched as Jason and some of the instructors came screaming up and over the hill and around the curves. It was amazing to see how fast they could go (and how much faster we could go). They were also very consistent in their lines through the corners. We had much to work on!

Today, both Sharad and Matt joined the advanced group leaving only Martina left in the street group. It was great to ride with Rick, Sharad and Matt in my group as I gave them all a nice target to pass! I was probably one of the slowest riders in the advanced group.

Our first session out, I definitely felt better than day 1 and tried to implement some of the many suggestions made in the classroom. Some of the items I worked on included downshifting technique, different body positioning and straightening the area between corners.

I didn’t realize how hard I was working on the motorcycle. The simple task of squeezing the fuel tank with my knees and resisting braking forces that way, instead of with my arms, helped relax my arms and helped me make better, easier turns.

Rick, Matt and Sharad all improved throughout the day. By the afternoon sessions I was starting to enjoy myself. Uphill turn 4 was much better and downhill righthand turn 10 that was messing me up also improved. I was flowing better and slightly faster around the course.

After a “graduation” ceremony, we all departed, with Rick and Matt leaving first, Diane and I heading back to Concord, and then Martina and Sharad heading back home.

It won’t be until the next track day that we all realize the full results but it was a great experience and not much more expensive than just a regular track day. Jason and his staff were very approachable and they pulled you over and gave one-on-one suggestions when appropriate.

Next year, they are planning more STAR schools in the east. We may actually try one in CA and rent one of their bikes. All-in-all a good time and nobody in our group got hurt!