Kevin Schwantz School at Barber Motorsports Park

In early May, my better half Kenny spent 2 days at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama doing the Kevin Schwantz 2-Day Track School. Astride a school-provided Honda 600RR and Suzuki GSX-R 600, he had an absolutely great time riding and learning from the talented riders and instructors.

The 2 day school was a mixture of classroom instruction and on-track sessions. Under the tutelage of the instructor riders Brad Coleman, Reuben Frankenfield and Lee Acree, the class clustered together in groups of 3 or 4 riders and put what they learned in the classroom into action on the 2.38 mile track.

Barber Motorsport Park - Museum Turn - Click to enlarge

“We had driven the track in the truck once, so we already knew what the track looked like. The usual nervousness about the track was already gone. The first session was reasonably slow as people were learning the track, so it was different from a normal track day where 3 laps in you are already going balls out. It was a nice pace. I was immediately excited by all of the elevation changes and how dynamic the track was.”

-Kenny describes his first session on the track.

“During the last session of the first day – it was 3 of us, running faster than we did the entire time before. We were in a rhythm, every corner felt right. We were working well as a group and I was hitting all my turn points in the right way. I had solidified where and what my gear changes were going to be – it just all fell right into place. When I got off the bike I said to Reuben If the day ended right now, that made it all worth it right there – that was great“. I found myself chasing that moment the whole second day.

- Kenny on what he felt was his best session.