BMW have announced they’re launching an on-track performance academy starting in Spring 2022. Tuition will be dished out by current and former BSB riders, over four different courses using various BMW models.
I think every motorcyclist, at some stage, should do some track riding. Not just so you can learn to get your knee down. And not just so you can send off for your ACU license. But because it makes you a better rider. And a safer rider. Because on a track, where there’s a fraction of the hazards you find on the road (pedestrians, road furniture, oncoming traffic etc.), you can focus on exploring what you and your bike are capable of. How sharply you can brake without loosing the front; what difference that bit of extra lean angle makes; how fast you can corner and how hard you can accelerate; that sort of thing.
It’s much easier (and safer) trying to learn where the boundaries are on a track, where you can bottle it once or twice and run wide if you need to. Trying to learn where those boundaries are on the road is foolhardy; if you ‘run wide’ on the road, you might die.
The four different courses at the new BMW Motorrad Performance Academy are all aimed at making riders faster, safer and more accomplished. Not necessarily lap record holders.
Riders new to circuit riding will start with the Level One course, and with any luck will progress through Level Two and Level Three, all the way to the M Experience, on the BMW M 1000 RR. Before they get there, students will have to get to grips with the F 900 R, S 1000 R and S 1000 RR.
The courses will all be delivered at Anglesey circuit in North Wales on the 1.55 mile coastal circuit. Your sessions will be caught on camera, and you’ll be debriefed after each session, but the instructors will also be in touch with you during the sessions via Bluetooth headsets, which is kinda neat. Instant feedback.
As BMW Motorrad UK National Marketing and PR Manager Scott Grimsdall explains,
“We wanted to keep the school quite intimate and the groups relatively small. The idea is to deliver a premium yet relaxed and supportive experience. Every rider will benefit from quality time with the instructors.”
The instructors, which include former British Superstock Champion Taylor Mackenzie, are all top national level racers that have raced (or still race) BMW machinery. So you’ll be learning from the best.
For more info, why not have a quick look at BMW’s dedicated Performance Academy website, here.
