Troy wants to teach you a lesson...
In the vain pursuit of turning a naturally slow driver into someone blisteringly quick, I have attended dozens of advanced driving and racing schools over the years. Just as my earlier schools can't be blamed for my lack of French or inability to do long division, it's not really the fault of these academies of wheelmanship that I haven't been turned into a Senna.
Or a winning club racer for that matter. But I have come out of all this being able to spot a good school from a rubbish one. And there are plenty of wonky schools around, with teenage instructors who are failed racing drivers and for whom teaching 'Billies' is a last handhold on motor racing before finally signing up with McDonalds.
... as part of the Ducati Experience
The best school that I've ever been to is actually for bikes. It's the Ron Haslam school that's now at Silverstone. I went twice, the first time on CBR600s and the second time on Fireblades with one-to-one tuition. It was brilliant, I learnt a lot and was encouraged to go as fast as I could.
Now there's a new school that sounds as good as Rocket Ron's. It's the Ducati Riding Experience. You've probably heard about it but the big news for this year is that there's a new bit added called the Troy Bayliss Academy. This involves the incredibly talented Bayliss giving you and three other riders tuition on a 1198 SP for a day. At €2000 it's a tad pricey (the courses are run in Italy so that's further expense) but then you can blow that sort of money on a pair of Ohlin front forks that'll never increase your speed as much as learning a few more skills.
There are other cheaper courses in the Ducati Riding Experience starting with the €350 Basic course on a Monster 796. Have a look on www.ducatiridingexperience.com for dates and venues.
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