[bwhip]

I just had one of the greatest weekends of my life – two days with my son at Jason Pridmore’s STAR school at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park in Pahrump, NV.

What a track! It was absolutely fabulous – very smooth, technical, with all sorts of different challenges and conditions. The weather was perfect – around 80 degrees and sunny both days.

I can’t say enough about how great Jason and his staff were. His mom, Sheila, was a sweetheart who helped arrange rental leathers for my son. Once she found out who we were at registration, she gave us both a big hug! Jason is an incredibly likeable guy – very personable and fun. And what a rider! He and his instructors gave several demos of how to handle different portions of the track and Jason is absolutely phenomenal. The most exciting highlight of the weekend was having the opportunity to ride two-up with Jason on the back of his GSXR-1000. Holy crap! The guy absolutely flies around the track with you on the back – unbelievable lean angles, screaming into corners, a small wheelie down the back straightaway – I’ll never forget that ride! The best part was how much you learned from the experience of riding with him – what the bike is capable of, how smoothly he shifts and brakes. We were all much better riders after that experience.

Last year I did a one-day school with Jason’s dad, Reg, at CLASS in Portland. As many of you had told me, STAR is definitely more track-oriented, although there are great similarities between the two. At CLASS there were guys there on BMW’s and cruisers, along with a bunch of sportbikes, but at STAR it was just sportbikes and SV650’s. The second day made a HUGE difference. I’m really glad we did both days. The instructors were great and gave us all lots of individual attention. The classroom sessions seemed to be much more focused than at CLASS, as several of you had mentioned.

My 19 year old son, who bought himself a 2001 R6 recently, grew enormously in his riding skills over the two days. Saturday morning I followed him around the track and he was sitting very upright, stiff-armed and uncomfortable looking. With the help of the instructors and practice, he learned very quickly. He showed great self-discipline when I passed him a bunch of times on the track and he didn’t try to ride beyond his ability and chase me (I’d warned him about that quite a bit beforehand). By the later sessions on Sunday, the kid looked like a pro racer! It was UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE! He was dragging his knees all over the place, sparks flying from the peg-feelers. And he was passing people all over the track, and just keeping up with him was pushing me to about 85% of my comfort level out there.

Just a few months back a friend loaned my son a bike and the three of us went for a short ride together. I was a nervous wreck as I watched him awkwardly negotiate turns. Sunday afternoon we both had huge smiles on our faces (that haven’t gone away yet) as I chased him around the track – him looking like Nicky Hayden or something around every turn. It was a weekend we’ll never forget. My older son was also able to enjoy it with us as he came over to Vegas from L.A. and took pictures and hung out with us.

If you have the opportunity to experience STAR school, I would jump all over it. It will improve your riding skills 1,000%, and you will have a blast!

P.S. (This will break BDA’s heart): On the morning of day one, some newbie on a brand new burgundy R1 lowsided, taking out a passing rider on a rental SV650. Both riders were relatively unhurt, but the R1 didn’t look so brand new anymore.

[NinerPilot]

Awesome!!!! My dad and I have travelled all over the country on our bikes, but I can get him on the track... He doesnt want to be "the slow guy on the VFR". Some of the best memories I have are on motorcycle trips with my dad.
Chris

[Bacchus]

bwhip, your smile in the first pic says it all! . Really glad to hear that all went well and you guys had so much fun (and learned so much). Wish I could have been there with you!

[ratter]

Congratulations on a great weekend
I just had a track day on friday and are still on a high about it, so I can imagine how you muct feel at the momment

[RaggedEdge]

Great write-up, bwhip.
Very inspirational for those of us who've yet to sample the pleasures of a fine race track at speed.

[bubba]

sounds like it was a blast

[ND4SPD]

Sounds great bwhip Wish my dad cared enough to even come and watch once instead of constantly ragging on me

[Newfie TLR]

Awesome read whip.

A while ago, my daughter and I played a couple of shows for charity at the music school we were taking classes at. The pride i felt at those shows can only be a small percentage of what you felt seeing the diff in Boy from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for the write up and shake his hand for me.

[CBRVFR]

Thanks for the report, Bwhip. I'm forwarding it to my 23 year old son. Maybe we can do a school this year.

[ccwilli3]

Originally Posted by ND4SPD

Sounds great bwhip Wish my dad cared enough to even come and watch once instead of constantly ragging on me

I'll have a chat with Tigerblade on your behalf...

[ccwilli3]

the first pic by bwhip says it all!

[Big Kahuna]

Awesome! What a great way to spend the weekend!

[bwhip]

Originally Posted by Bacchus

bwhip, your smile in the first pic says it all! . Really glad to hear that all went well and you guys had so much fun (and learned so much). Wish I could have been there with you!

Thanks everybody! Yeah, Travis was smiling constantly too - but when the camera comes out he has to put on his "badass Marine" face!