Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > European Superbike School

[electricsheep]

I have just finished a 2 day class with the European Superbike School.

I took the Blue class which covers correct body position on both the straights and in the corners, also covers braking, throttle control, steering and machine set-up as well as maintenance/preparation so you have a broad database of information and skill by the time you have completed the course. This is the beginners/intermediate class. They have more advanced classes

There are classroom sessions and track sessions on both days. In addition there were workshops on suspension and bike setup

The classroom sessions were very good. Basically a presentation using Powerpoint but also using video clips which really helped illustrate what we should be trying to achieve

On the track session you were grouped with 3 other students and worked with the same instructor for the 2 days.

ESS did not use specific drills (unlike at CSS) but you were working on what was presented in the classrooms. After the session there was detailed debrief from the instructor. My instructor had video on his bike and that really helped with the feedback.

The Good
My on track instructor was excellent, providing great feedback and suggestions on how to improve. He also did a couple of sessions where he took each student in turn where you would follow him. He would show the correct lines, brake points, turn points but he would set also just a little faster that your pace just to stretch you slightly. This really helped me improve.

The Less Good
There were a few small organisational hiccups during the first day, but everything got drop, it just got a little off schedule.

Both Good and Bad (depending on you)
Because there were not fixed drills for the on track sessions you are really depending a lot on the quality of the on track instructor, mine was excellent and managed to do a good job with students of mixed abilities. But that might not always be the case.

Bonuses
ESS usually has a guest 'Cheif Instructor' normally Frankie Chili.
This time it was Mick Doohan. He did a Q&A session, posed for pictures and signed autographs. More surprising was that he came out on track for a couple sessions. In was interesting to see him go past and watch as he disappears through the next corner - no hope of keeping up

Overall very good and quite different from CSS which is both good and bad. I think that would depend on your individual tastes