Freddie Spencer school report

I just got back from a two-day Freddie Spencer school at Miller Motorsports, and for me that is the ultimate two-wheeled experience. Day one started with a ride on the west-side in a van with Nick Ienatsch at the wheel. He showed us lines and trail-braking around the track, and the consequences of getting those things wrong. I don't trust vans, so it's already mildly scary when he does it the right way, but it gets downright frightening when he does it wrong! He easily gets his point across.

After a few laps in the van, we got out and watched Ken Hill run through some corners using both good and bad technique (btw, that guy is fast!). Again, the difference is easy to see. We spent some time in the classroom after that discussing the track and trail-braking techniques, and then it was down to the garages to meet the bikes and work on body position.

We spent the rest of the morning on the track, mainly working on trail-braking (do you see a pattern here?) and lines. Then we did the dreaded cone drill and lunch followed. As we ate, we analyzed MotoGP qualifying at Donnington to talk about how the pros do it.

During the afternoon session, Nick gave me a two-up ride on the VFR, and once again I was stunned at how smooth he is. It's a real eye-opener to see what these bikes are capable of. Later in the afternoon we did a video lap, and I was a bit nervous, since I know they don't pull punches with returning students, but I managed to settle down and put in a good lap. Since they had been complimenting my body position, I felt some pressure to perform, but the critique went well. I was happy to see that I was hanging over the curb in nearly every apex, and they gave me positive feedback about my lap. In fact, Ken's first comment was: "I think you can go faster."

Day two began much the same way, but this time we took a van tour of the east side. We spent a short time in the classroom discussing the new track, and we hit the bikes earlier than day one. Nick gave us some challenges to work on, and everybody had visibly improved from the prior day. We finished up the morning with a video lap, but unfortunately, I didn't feel that I did a good job. Oh well.

Nick arranged for us to ride karts on the kart track during lunch, so we grabbed a quick sandwich and headed over there. It was pretty much just goofing off, but he reminded us that slow hands and good lines can be applied to any kind of vehicle. That's the first time I've tried karts, and it was a blast. Wild, aggressive passes and a little bit of paint-trading were the norm.

After the karts, we reviewed the student videos. My lap didn't turn out to be quite as bad as I thought it was, but I still wasn't really satisfied with it. I was hanging over the curb on almost all of the apexes (good!), but I rushed 7b (bad!), and wasn't as fast as I'd like to be. Something to work on for next year, right?

In the afternoon we worked on some really cool rear brake stuff that wasn't covered last summer. Finally--open track! Nick and Ken pointed out that my body position was already where it needs to be, so I should start adding speed. Ken also mentioned that I need to work the rear tire more off of the apex. To practice, Nick towed me around for a few laps to push my comfort zone, and I suddenly realized that eyes are one of the things that's holding me up. Fortunately, I can work on that every time I ride, rather than waiting for the next visit to the track.

As usual, I was a little disappointed when the riding ended, but after I put the bike away I realized how tired I was. They really pack a lot into a day. We had a quick "graduation" ceremony, said our goodbyes, and Nick and Ken drove us back to the hotel. I had already checked out in the morning, so I jumped in the car and drove straight to Boise. Already, I can't wait to go back next summer!