~ Auto Buzz ~: IENATSCH TUESDAY: Growing Our Sport At the Sunset Rider Clinic, we create better riders who are hooked for life!

Hmmm. What happens at most racetracks from 5 p.m. to sunset? Nothing! But at Pueblo Motorsports Park, there’s some learning going on. Here, my trusty Yamaha FZ1 enjoys the late light as I coach at the Emergency Stop section of the lap. Three years ago, I met Ray McPeek for dinner after speaking on the phone about our shared passion for the motorcycle industry. Ray was then an Army E9, a Motorcycle Safety Foundation coach, and a Rider Mentor at his base, with retirement only a few months away. “If possible,” he told me and my wife Judy over dinner, “I’d like to be involved in the motorcycle industry when I retire.” “Oh,” I answered, “So you don’t want to make any money?” What followed was some unsure laughter from Ray and a few muffled sobs from Judy.

This is Ray helping me change a tire because he’s Army strong. We were No-Marring new rubber onto his race bike before he headed south to race with Albuquerque’s SMRI (Sandia Motorcycle Roadracing Inc.). This club’s Kim Prichard (above) has coached at Sunset and is incorporating Champions Riding School teachings into SMRI rider/racer training. McPeek had just started racing and his Novice year had opened his eyes to how much he didn’t know about piloting a motorcycle. He had an interest in rider education beyond the new-rider schools. Me, too. We agreed to pursue the matter and Ray went about his soldiering business. And then I met Judy Faass. Faass is a car racer and driver coach who signed up to manage Pueblo Motorsports Park (PMP) when the track started looking for new management after faltering slightly. PMP is 30 minutes from my house and I met Faass at the track on a Saturday because I stopped in to “do something.” I didn’t know who to see or how to help, but knew that if PMP closed, my life would be a lot less fun.

This woman “did something” when Pueblo Motorsports Park stuttered. Judy Faass took on the managerial position and turned things around with enthusiasm, hard work, and a plan. Part of that plan was to run a Dwarf-car race series and a motorcycle race series on the same weekend. Judy rode an R6 years ago and something tells me she’ll be riding at Sunset very soon. She likes speed!

“What can I do to help?” I asked Faass. “Get more riders to this track.” “What else?” “Get more riders to this track.” Judy Faass can be quite clear in her communications. Instantly, you think the solution is to have more track days, yet PMP is available for lapping practically every week. I called McPeek because he is Army smart. “Ray, we need to show street riders that the track is fun, safe, and addicting. We need to increase business at PMP so we can continue to do second- and third-gear wheelies off Turn 4 for the rest of our lives.” The Army man agreed and we started brainstorming. His MSF history and my experience at YCRS brought us to the Sunset Rider Clinic, a three-hour riding class aimed at street riders held at the racetrack after regular business hours for only $100.

Louis Ferrari sits on his R1 while I talk about all the things he did to get his bike to the apex, or street-riding’s “decision point.” Sunset Clinics, like YCRS, work on the bike’s speed and direction control right from the first moment. This class, taught on a short late-autumn day, started in the parking lot and then moved to the track, but the venue doesn’t matter: A corner’s entrance serves to get the bike ready to exit. Louis’s bike positioning is perfect because of what he did at the entry with his eyes, body, and brakes. At Sunset, rider-attire minimums are boots, gloves, jacket and helmet and no special bike prep is needed: Makes it easy to get on track. If you haven’t already guessed, track-rental costs are the main hurdle to any racetrack enterprise. Because Faass was a motivated, open-minded track manager, she realized the hours between track closure and dark could be maximized. She also realized that money made after track closure was simply icing on the cake. She wasn’t worried about the nickel and dimes from the Clinic because she was focused on addicting more riders to the track. Track-day addicts are nodding your heads right now. This is a simple mathematical problem. If you want to rent the track, you can charge a few students a lot of money, or a lot of students a little money. Rarely can you charge a few students a little money. At Sunset Rider Clinic, we can do just that. Faass knew low cost was part of Sunset—part of luring the wary street rider to the racetrack for the first time. My perspective: This sport can’t be taught well in a cattle-call situation. It must be specifically explained and individually critiqued. I have no interest in yelling out a few pointers to a room full of riders and hoping some information sticks. It won’t. So we cap Sunset to 20 riders and beat on them one at a time. Drills. Demos. Critiques. Explanations. Right/wrong examples. U-turns. Trail-braking. Emergency braking. Eye usage. Lines. It’s an action-packed three hours and every brand and model of street bike has participated. Life—specifically the Yamaha Champions Racing School—kept me busy, but the Sunset Clinics have marched along. Louis Ferrari, Scott Rybarik, and Mark Schellinger would join me and Ray to teach. Kim Prichard came up from Santa Fe to help. Riders came back five and six times. Peripherally, I’ve heard that a few of our Victory cruiser riders had bought track-only bikes, and that a few other graduates also bought track-only bikes. I also heard that some new-rider schools in Denver and Colorado Springs were pushing their graduates to us. Flash forward to a month ago. I rolled into PMP and Judy Faass walked up. “Hey, your clinic has added 90 new riders to my track-day people. Thanks.” Faass’s hands-on management and true enthusiasm has turned PMP around. Part of Faass’ enthusiastic view for the future of PMP is launching the Rocky Mountain Race Series, a motorcycle roadracing series with a grassroots feel that she has been thinking about since 2009. Ray McPeek is helping with the series, which will have low entry costs, a simple rules structure, and a friendly, inclusive feel. Faass wants the Rocky Mountain Race Series to bring new racers into the fold and give all racers in the southern half of Colorado a place to race. She launched with a nine-race schedule for 2015.

Meet Doug. I met him at Sunset when he arrived on his Victory touring bike to “be a better rider.” He didn’t know a racetrack from a hacky sack. But two months later, his newfound track addiction led him purchase a Honda CBR. Now he’s racing. “And riding my Victory with a lot more confidence and enjoyment.”

Two weeks ago, Ray called while I was in Texas. “I’ve got an incredible story,” he began. “Today was Rocky Mountain’s first race and it was raining its ass off. A few people went out to practice but it was really cold and wet, not a lot of fun. Everybody sat around and when it kept raining, most people left early. “We decided to run the main race anyway and only four riders made the grid. And guess what? All four were Sunset graduates. They raced around, all four finished. They all told me the things they learned in the clinic gave them the confidence to race, even when nobody else did.”

Here’s what a grassroots racing series looks like—small but enthusiastic. Plenty of first-time riders are getting their feet wet in the Rocky Mountain Race Series. www.rockymountainraceseries.com, www.pueblomotorsportspark.net

So, how do we grow our sport? At the wonderfully fun track in Pueblo, Colorado, it’s done by keeping riders healthy via the Champions Riding School “Champions Habits” taught at Sunset. Get on the Clinic’s Facebook page for more information. More next Tuesday!