SpeedLounge

if you just want the short and sweet version click here

please note that this is just one person’s recount of their experience with ART School Level II. it may be work out differently for someone else who wants to take it. ALSO, let it be known that I like riding with Team Promotion because their coaches have always been really helpful and their ART Basic school is AWESOME; especially if you’ve never ridden a bike on the track before.

So earlier this month I signed up for a track day with Team Promotion and I decided to sign up for their ART School: Level II. ART stands for Advanced Rider Training and instead of explaining what the purpose is, let me provide a quote from their site:

Team Pro-Motion has been offering rider training since the inception of the club in 1996. The overall goal of our club is to provide not only quality track time, but to allow riders of all talents a place to come and improve on their riding. The methods of training that we offer have come about through proven techniques, which have shown great impact and value to each rider involved. We treat our schooling with a serious approach but make sure a mix of fun and enjoyment is present all the while. Our members are proof that we strive to provide a quality program targeted to specific rider’s abilities each step of the learning process…..We will make sure you end your training program a more confident and established track rider, the benefits of which will carry over to the street.

In one day we guarantee you to have strengthened your riding skills in a way that you could never imagine. Managing and directing your learning and safety is just the start where building new skills, using your talent and taking your riding to the next level will result!

and this is the description for Level II Training:

You have started track riding and now have a few days under your belt and are looking for a way to improve to the next level.

ART Level ll school conducted by Mark Graulty has proven itself to be extremely informative and helpful for those who have the desire for excelling in the sport.

ART Level ll will discuss riding lines in more detail, body positioning and how it relates to lean angles and speed, choosing your targets and properly handling your bike to give you better results. Throttle control and braking are discussed in more detail and on track practice and evolutional feedback is carried out throughout the schools day.

Mark will instruct this course in a way so as the information is easily understood and practice with excellent feedback will give each student a way to find improvement leading ultimately to a higher level of riding.

Now in those 2 segments I’ve highlighted some of the key points as they relate DIRECTLY to why I paid an extra $100 for this training AND why I didn’t have an enjoyable day.

Aug. 26th - 6:50 am
GoodKnight (GK) both signed up for the ART class so we drove up to Pocono Raceway together and arrived to find drizzling rain on and off and a wet track with a couple of puddles here and there. The morning before a day is very exciting and anxiety ridden with thoughts of “God I don’t have enough time finishing the prep work on my bike” or “I hope I pass tech, I don’t know what to do if I don’t” or “What time do we start?” or “Man, I don’t want to ride on a wet track.” Wait did I say exciting because none of those are exciting. Well the smell of C-12 and the sound of 2 strokes and Ducati’s powering up is definitely awesome.

In either case the morning can be very slow and I won’t bore you with the details. I did meet a group of guys from New Brunswick who had an old 98 Gixxer. After the Rider’s Meeting, where they run down the rules, we went to meet Mark, our experienced instructor for the day.

8 or 9:30am
Mark, our instructor, seemed like a nice enough guy in his 50’s who proceeded to go over what we would be trying to do throughout the day and how we would be coming back to his canopy after every session to discuss what we were going to work on. Even though it would appear at first glance that Mark was well prepared with a few bullet points on a white board, we walked away from the morning introduction feeling alittle disappointed. I personally felt that, in comparison with the ART Basic class, Level II was going to be less organized and structured. What also didn’t help was the fact there were two people with us that had only done one track day before so we could tell they would be asking alot of questions that we have already asked and have heard the answer to before.

First Session
Since it rained earlier and was still drizzling on and off, we started off the day on a wet track. I arrived to the line-up late so after i squeezed in with ART Level II we were off on our initial laps. T he first or two for the first session is “white flagged” meaning that there is no passing whatsoever. They have this rule to keep overzealous newbies from trying to push on the first lap and hurting themselves. So once the flag was taken away, I could see GoodKnight was warming up and going faster so I, in turn, did the same. Once we made that turn onto the back straight, which is also a part of the NASCAR track, GoodKnight pulled away and so did I and we started passing people. Somehow I got a really good drive coming out of that turn and found a ton of power so I put it to the stop and banged a gear and passed GoodKnight going into the next turn (as well as a few other people). I’m not sure what happened on that lap but I started riding my ride and having fun. I tried not to be sketchy with my passes but I did make my presence felt. I spent the whole time waiting for GoodKnight to pass me like usual but he didn’t. I also noticed that I was sliding even though the ground was still pretty wet. I could feel the tire slipping on corner-exits but it wasn’t a big deal. After that lap and hitting traffic a few times, GoodKnight passed me and kinda looked back at me. Then when the session was over his first words were: “Who are you and what did you do with Noah?” I laughed and shrugged and that was pretty much the last moment I felt like I was having a really good time for the rest of the day.

We went to the pits and met back up with Mark. He proceeded to mention a few things that he noticed with the other two guys but he said that he really didn’t see GK or myself that much. He did suggest that I take it easier on wet ground though. So at this point, Mark starts going over the finer points of how to take enter and exit a corner and taking a proper line. It was all great information that I thought was very useful and it was great to hear most of that info…….even if it was all a reiteration of things that I had heard in ART Basic. Also, from my observations of the other two guys, they didn’t seem to need help with the basics either. One of the new guys seemed to find some of the information helpful with dealing with the East course but they were things that GK and I had gleemed from coaches in past track days. It was at this time that GK and I started to wonder if this class was worth the $100.

I’m not going to bore you with the rest of the day because it pretty much continued in the same vein: we do a session, we come back, Mark would hit a finer point that wasn’t really applicable to me or GoodKnight so we would sit there for about 20 minutes before going back to our pit area for 5 or 10 minutes before we went back out. And every time I would get more sleepy and disheartened as Mark would say, “I didn’t see you out there that session but I’ll get you on the next one.” In the afternoon, GK suggested that we wait at the back of the line until Mark got on line so we could get in right behind him and we did. But as we followed Mark for a lap, we both noticed that Mark was going pretty fast. GK eventually went ahead of me after a few turns in order and that helped to pull me along for a lap but eventually they were both going too fast. GK told me that Mark eventually left him as well. So much for one on one instruction on that session.

4pm - i’m fatigued
Mark did get around to following me eventually: my last session for the day between 3pm and 4pm. I was mentally exhausted at this point from the long day (got up at 4:50am) and from listening to riding tips that I already knew for most of the day. I went out on the track and on my first go round I immediately noticed a shiny object coming out of the last turn. It wasn’t on the race line but it kind of surprised me that it was there. I was in front of the group so I quickly pointed it out since we had a ton of ART Basic people in our group. On the third lap, I realized I was looking for the object and not my exit cone so I figured I should pull in and tell someone that it needed to be picked up. Of course it was at this time that Mark decided he wanted to show me something. So of course we went around and did a lap and followed his instruction. I did learn to take one turn in a different way then I usually take it. Unfortunately, it was the only thing I learned from Mark all day. After that lap, I left Mark and pulled in to let the linesmen know about the object. He, unfortunately, thought I was in the Intermediate Group and never let me back out for my session (that’s what I get for being the good samaritan). Once we got back to the pits, I didn’t even stop to talk to Mark, I just went back to our pit area. Mark came over to tell me that I needed to work on my lines and I just nodded my head and agreed, not pointing out that I did that all day but he wouldn’t know because the only time he was supposed to stay with us he left. No I just kept my mouth shut in order to avoid confrontation due to my built up aggravation during the day. So after Mark talked about the guys that were currently on the track and kept pointing out how people should be hitting the apex he said, “You know, now that I think about it and from what I can recall, your lines weren’t like that this morning.” At this point, I told him that I was getting tired and that’s why I took the opportunity to pull in and let the corner workers know about the debris on the track.

So what did I learn during the day, you ask? Well after talking to some of my other fellow riders, who had similar issues to my own, gave me suggestions that were given to them by other coaches throughout the day.

And what of GoodKnight? Well he was pretty frustrated considering the only help he received all day consisted of “you really need to stick your knee out more and work on your consistency.” Every time I would hear this I would have a perplexed look on my face. GK usually gets his knee down through most turns and I always follow his lines around the track (when I can keep up) because he always hits the same spot, give or take an inch. He eventually did get some helpful information at the very end of the day…..too bad it was from another coach.

Short & Sweet:
I paid $100 on top of the $190 I paid to do this track day in order to receive helpful feedback. from a knowledgeable and experienced coach. that would enable me to be more consistent and faster around the track. However, for $100 I received the same feedback that could be garnered from asking a coach to follow me around the track for a session.

So much for my $100….

photos courtesy of Raceday Photo