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Monday and Tuesday saw me and some Hooligangers up in New Hampshire (LIVE FREE OR DIE!!) at Loudon for the Jason Pridmore STAR school. You’ve most likely already read George’s wonderfully detailed post on the event (if not, read it here). Rick, Sharad, George, Diane, Martina and I got a lot out of it. Here’s my take on …

… The School:

Firstly, Jason Pridmore is an okay teacher. He’s skilled at getting his message across to non-racers like me, and he’s got a great curriculum (unlearning things like “always use the widest line possible” before learning new techniques, etc). My only gripe is that he repeated himself a lot in each class session. But that’s excusable, he’s not applying for tenure or anything. He’s got good material that’s a ton of use to me, teaches is fine, and has a great support staff of instructors (some of whom taught the 2nd half of each day while he rode with us out on the track).

Secondly, Jason Pridmore is fast. Not, “wow, look at him go” fast, but “WTF was that, I saw a blur pass me, I think Rick was on the back of it!” fast. I took the opportunity to do a 2-up ride with him (sorry man), and it blew my mind. He has a stock Gixxer Thou with Dunlop Qualifiers, and a modified tank that had two flush-mount grips for me to hold on to. Good thing they were there … even on the “easy” first lap I was holding on for dear life when he accelerated, and pushing back with all my might when he braked. He was super-smooth, even with 200+ (ahem) pounds of me bobbing along in the back. I was amazed by how far he looked up the track, how often he looked around to take in the scenery (since it was a slow pace for him, and race pace for me), and how smooth and hard he got on the stick, and on the brakes. There’s so much room for me to improve … if you get the chance to ride 2-up with a master, take it. Dignity be d@mned.

Thirdly … I learned a lot. We did some really helpful exercises that taught me to downshift super early coming off a straight, and using a lot more engine braking than I had bin (make sure you clutch smoothly!). When the class critiqued pictures of ourselves (yes, I was critiques by Jason Pridmore, in person), it was helpful … I stick my knee way too far out, and am not moving my upper body or head enough. I spent Tuesday trying to drop my inside shoulder to make it easier to look through the turn, and rotating my body instead of getting up and off and out. This was very hard, as I had been tracking for two years the TPM way, which was seriously upsetting my undersprung chassis. I finally felt it improving in the last session. I also learned about the many different lines through each turn, picking ones that allowed me to straightline more of the track (better for braking and acceleration), instead of “swooping” left to right trying to use all of it (and wasting time). Jon Nichols, one of the coaches, led me for 3 laps and really hammered it home. I feel much better about finding my own reference points for entry/apex/exit, as well.

Fourthly … you do in fact get a lot of personal attention (and TONS of track time). I had 4 different instructors talk to me about 6 times total, all providing good feedback. It made me bold enough to follow George and Rick and attempt to offer advice as well! I had started Monday in the Street group, but it was crowded … so Monday afternoon I bumped myself to advanced (LIVE FREE OR DIE!!!) and started getting the proper attention. It was great to get a chance to ride with all of the Hooligangers, over the two days.

… The Track:

Loved it. I’ve heard folk tell of unsafe conditions, rough track, no runoff, big walls, etc, and yes it’s all true. But I had zero problems (unless I was a bonehead, see below) with any of that. The walls are usually where there’s great positive camber, and if you’re looking through the turns then you’re not looking at walls. Sure, there are some transitions in the pavement that affect your suspension, but it’s just something new to test your skills on. It’s a very technical track with a few fast sections, and I found it challenging and a ton of fun. Plus, did I mention that we all got garage space? And air-conditioned classroom space?

… Boneheaded Maneuvers:

I was getting pretty excited about myself at one point, and was tailing Rick for a few laps (he was still going easy and working on smoothness). So I accelerated out of turn 2, and passed him on the brakes into three. Well, this is a tight right-hander leading into the uphill RH Turn 4, and as I had just made a hot pass, I blew my entry. I got the bike over, but was running wide, and bottomed out on a deep indentation, which upset the bike. Nothing too puckering, but the bike was not happy and I was headed towards a 6″ curb on the outside of the turn. I maintained throttle and tightened up, doing my best to not look at that curb, and made it through the turn without further ado, but man, was that a crappy follow-through to the pass. I cooled off and rode through the lap, pitted in and berated myself for a few seconds. I later learned that Rick was chuckling at me as I pitted in.

Lesson learned: passing okay, but be sure you can do it and still hit the next turn smoothly!

Other boneheads? I was passed on the outside of Turn 1 (off the short fast front straight) way too close, twice, on the second day. These folks got me on the brakes (fine) and went to pass on the outside (fine), but shot right across my line as they tightened up for the turn (@sshat). I had to apply front brake pressure while turning, something I’m okay with but would rather not do in the middle of an 80mph left hander. I spoke with the offenders after and they apologized, they knew they made bad passes.

… Preparedness:

Okay, okay. If you put your track bike battery on the tender overnight and it still won’t turn over the day you leave for the track … buy a new battery. Don’t ask your buds to bump-start you 4x in the heat, and end up paying $100 for a $50 battery at the track. DAMHIK.

… New Hampshire:

LIVE FREE OR DIE!!! No, seriously. This isn’t a state motto, I swear people were going to shoot me if I put a helmet on and rode on the street (which wouldn’t be “living free”).

My pics from the school are up here — they’re mostly behind-the-scenes fluff shots. Diane took many wonderful action shots, and I’ll post the link up as soon as I get it!

And Rick … you make an excellent traveling companion, thank you for the trailer space. That Tahoe is a dream.