MRA New Racers’ School generates enthusiasm for the 2016 season!
Byers, CO – Again this year attendance at the Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) new racers’ school increased as a larger number of Colorado motorcyclists shook off the winter weather and decided to become road racers. Fay Myers Motorcycle World provided the Friday night venue where 45 race students received instruction from the returning MRA New Rider Director Jeff Brown. On Saturday, High Plains Raceway (HPR) was the scene for all day on-track instructor led sessions including a number of riding drills. The track day culminated with two races where the new racers put their developing skills to the ultimate test.
During the packed classroom session, Jeff covered topics including motorcycle preparation, mental and physical conditioning, track procedures, and race registration. Just after the mid-class break, Dave Day (MRA #619 and 2015 MRA Rookie of the Year) did a live demonstration the Hit-Air inflatable motorcycle vest. Dave gave an excellent description of the vest’s functionality and a personal testimony of the use of the Hit-Air vest. Dave can be reached at [email protected] for more details.
On Saturday, fantastic weather greeted the on-track instruction session at HPR. The new MRA VP of Rules & Tech Brett Leveque performed a quick tech inspection of the students’ bikes based on the MRA SuperStreet tech rules.
Then Jeff and the MRA instructors took the students through a series of exercises consisting of race line selection, launch, weave, and threshold braking drills. After lunch, the race curriculum consisted of one-on-one instructor/student coaching focused on refining each of these skills while increasing the speed.
The track day then finished up with two student races. The MRA decided to add a second student race this year so that students that “blow it” in one race have a chance to understand what happened, come up with a plan to correct it, then go out and try their correction all within about an hour.
The MRA instructors are there to cheer their students on during the races and consult with them on any improvements they can make. This interaction not only helps the students do better in the second race, but also starts a mentoring process that we hope will keep racers coming back to the MRA.
By the end of the day, there had been only a couple of crashes and a very commendable number of saves, thanks to the excellent runoff preparation by the HPR staff. The result was 18 students deciding to get their MRA novice race license before they left the track with the rest of the students taking home a new set of skills and a whetted appetite for track riding.
The MRA will start its official season with the opening race at Pueblo Motorsports Park, Pueblo, Colorado on April 30-May 1.
The Motorcycle Roadracing Association is dedicated to promoting safe and competitive motorcycle road racing events for enthusiasts in Colorado and the surrounding area. For more information go to http://www.mra-racing.org/.