RESOUNDING SUCCESS FOR FIRST RICK DEVELOPMENT CAMP
The first-ever Rick Development Camp (RDC) — a full-spectrum rider development program — proved to be a tremendous success. Held over three days from February 22-24 at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, RDC provided a number of promising riders tutelage on and off the racetrack to help provide them with the tools necessary to succeed in their racing careers.
Open to riders of all developmental stages who aspire to be professional racers, the inaugural Rick Development Camp featured a student list that reads like a who’s who of emerging road racing superstars. Among those who attended to nurture their burgeoning careers were M4 SportBikeTrackGear.com Suzuki teammates Cameron Petersen and Xavier Zayat, Daytona Anderson Racing’s Daytona Anderson, Icon/MotoSport.com/DiBrino Racing’s Andy DiBrino, LaRoche Racing’s CJ LaRoche, and Gauge Rees Racing’s Gauge Rees.
The wide-ranging curriculum was developed by world-class riding instructor Ken Hill and World and AMA Superbike Champion Scott Russell. Hill, Russell, and RDC’s staff of elite-caliber coaches provided extensive, leading-edge data and video-aided instruction in the areas of technique, theory, fitness, and focus.
“My first experience with RDC was awesome,” said Petersen. “I was blown away by Ken Hill’s tutoring and within 10 minutes I realized how much value Ken and his team had to offer. It seems like I have learned so much already and can’t wait to put it all together to take it to the next level.”
Rickdiculous Racing co-founder Josh Bronfman said, “The inaugural Rick Development Camp (RDC) couldn’t have gone better. It was really exciting! The students had direct access to the best riding coaches in the world with Ken Hill and Scott Russell, mindset lectures with Northern Red’s JD Potynsky, and PR and sponsorship lectures provided by Team Hammer. The Rick program is investing in American road racing by training riders to be professionals on and off the track. Our first group of students ranged from 15 to 30 years old. RDC has a very rigorous curriculum and we challenged the group in many ways. Every student worked hard and showed focus and maturity we are all impressed with. The results are fantastic!”
“I can’t be happier the with results of our first RDC event,” said Hill. “Everyone involved; every student, instructor, and each member of our support staff was focused on one thing only — training professional motorcycle racers. We already know our curriculum and methodology is solid, but to bring it to this environment is really something special. The improvement we witnessed on and off the track was nothing short of amazing. The event was super intense and really fun at the same time. We are very grateful for our sponsors Team Hammer, Suzuki and Dunlop.”
In addition to honing their riding, the racers were able to receive instruction in the increasingly vital areas of media and sponsorship relations during training seminars with Team Hammer’s Chris and John Ulrich.
“It’s a unique program because we don’t just cover racing and racecraft,” said MotoAmerica Superbike pilot Chris Ulrich. “We try to cover everything including the parts that get overlooked. Team Hammer took part in the media training and sponsorship seminars, and I put my own experiences into it. The goal in these things is getting a fine balance. I think everyone is looking to develop more rounded riders that are good for their programs on and off the track and that extends to a racer’s full career. Overall, the goal for RDC is to get the guys up to speed, break any bad habits, and go fast over a race distance, but also be charismatic and a real asset to their team and sponsors.”
Rickdiculous Racing will continue to build on the overwhelming success of the first Rick Development Camp with the second RDC, which will take place from March 8-10 at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.
To learn more about the Rick Development Camp, visit www.rickdiculousracing.com or contact Ken Hill at [email protected] or (510) 755-3638.