MotoSchool delivers world-first training

World-first smart helmets and clever rider coaches combine to change the way high performance motorcycle riding is taught.

It would have been disastrous on the road.

Soaring over a crest at a speed that would put you in a courtroom, I braked too late and ran wide of my intended line.

This could result in the head-on smash that kills motorcycle riders.

David McCowen on track with MotoSchool rider training at Sydney Motorsport Park. Photo: MotoSchool/SDpics

But we’re on a racetrack, so there are no oncoming cars, pedestrians, animals or speed traps. There is plenty of room to adjust my line and refocus for the next bend.

A voice in my head chuckles, pointing out I was “a little bit late on the brakes there”, and suggests I adopt a new trackside reference point to help slow down safely.

MotoSchool coaches follow riders at Sydney Motorsport Park. Photo: MotoSchool/SDpics

The voice belongs to Giuseppe Scarcella, head coach at Sydney’s MotoSchool riding academy.

He’s riding a race-prepped Yamaha a few metres behind my Kawasaki.

“Sepp” learned the art of motorcycle riding in races throughout Europe and Australia before applying his knowledge as a trainer.

Scarcella was sponsored by Sydney’s Forcite helmet company while riding in the Australian Superbike Championship.

The lightweight smart helmets are built around a camera, microphone and speakers that allow riders to take phone calls and record video without sticking extra devices to their safety equipment.

MotoSchool founder Haydan Parker says the video helmets have changed the way high performance riding can be taught.

MotoSchool uses Forcite video helmets for rider training. Photo: MotoSchool/SDpics

“We use the Forcite Helmet to do our one-on-one coaching in real time,” he says.

“This is a world first in motorcycle riding innovation.”

Sepp guides me through a strategy for mastering the corner I fluffed.

I need to brake earlier, turn in a little sooner and carry less entry speed into the first part of the corner, then position the bike correctly to fire away from the bend.

MotoSchool rider training at Sydney Motorsport Park. Photo: MotoSchool/SDpics

It works well.

As obvious as it sounds, slowing down a little more gives you more time and space to place the bike with precision, allowing you to select the ideal line and get on the throttle sooner.

The approach isn’t just safer – it’s faster, too.

I tell Sepp “that was better,” as his voice confirms it looked “beautiful”, building my confidence for the next lap.

MotoSchool coaches show customers the right lines at Sydney Motorsport Park. Photo: MotoSchool/SDpics

I’ve had a riding lesson or two on the road and in classrooms, and even had video replays to help under at what I’m doing right – and wrong – on the bike.

But the real-time coaching is next-level.

And taking home a video of your performance, complete with professional analysis, gives riders the opportunity to take in the coaching again and again.

Sepp following Dave during MotoSchool rider training at Sydney Motorsport Park. Photo: MotoSchool/SDpics

Which is one of the reasons action camera giant GoPro announced plans to acquire Forcite in January.

Forcite’s office in the Australian Motorsport Innovation Precinct has sweeping views of the circuit where riders put its product to the test.

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of controlling a fast bike.

David McCowen on track with MotoSchool rider training at Sydney Motorsport Park. Photo: MotoSchool/SDpics

It’s an adrenaline-fuelled combination of skill, precision and bravery unlike anything else I’ve experienced.

One that can only really be sampled on a circuit, says Sepp.

“You can have a lot of fun and learn just as much while out on track,” he says.

“If you can come and do this and not do it on the road, and keep safe, that’s what it’s all about.”

MotoSchool rider training days start from $249. Photo: MotoSchool/SDpics

Originally published as MotoSchool delivers world-first training