Kevin Schwantz Announces 2011 Schools

Cycle News Staff | December 27, 2010

Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 500cc World Champion, celebrates the 11th year of the Schwantz School with a six-event calendar for 2011.Four of the schools are at Barber Motorsports Park, the school’s permanent home. But they’ll also make a return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, as well as a return to their former home at Road Atlanta.In order to make the school as accessible as possible, they’ve kept the pricing the same as it was in 2010. The two-day schools, which include lunch both days and dinner the first night, are $1999 with the use of the school’s Honda and Suzuki motorcycles. Riders who bring their own Honda or Suzuki get a $200 discount. Top of the line riding gear, including Dainese leathers, boots and gloves, along with Arai Schwantz Replica helmets, are available for rent.”At the Schwantz School what I do is I try and teach things that I’ve learned from riding motorcycles and racing motorcycles that help you with just basic skills of how to handle a motorcycle better,” Schwantz said during a recent interview. “I am not attempting to turn people who come to my school into racers. I have that ability to work with people and try and make them become better racers, but that’s not the intention of the school. The intention of the school is to take what I’ve learned as a motorcycle rider and a grand prix racer and try and spread the word to the public to help people become more advanced riders without having to make all the same mistakes that I made.”Just because I’m teaching you to get off the center of the seat a little bit, I’m not helping you to qualify for a World Superbike race or a grand prix. I’m trying to help you realize that just a little nudge off the center of the seat really does help that bike change direction in case you’re out there on the public roads and a car does something in front of you and you have to try to make some really quick, evasive action.”So there’s a lot to trying to get over the name Kevin Schwantz and it having such a history in racing. Whereas the last thing I want to do on the track is try and teach people to become a racer. I work with Red Bull Rookies Cup kids, I work with Suzuki. I consult with as many different people as I can to try to help them in their racing programs and that is one thing that, since school started in 2001, I’ve tried and tried to get away from. I don’t want this to be about the racetrack. The reason we teach it on a racetrack is because we can control that typically two, two-and-a-half miles of road course. Everybody’s out there trying to do the same thing. I can’t teach that on the public road.”

2011 Schwantz SchoolsMarch 19-20                  Sat.-Sun.                  Barber Motorsports Park

May 14-15                  Sat.-Sun.                  Barber Motorsports Park

May 27-29                  Fri.-Sun.                  Road Atlanta 3-Day

June 27-28                  Mon.-Tues.                  Barber Motorsports Park

August 20-21                  Sat.-Sun.                  Indianapolis Motor Speedway

October 1-2                  Sat.-Sun.                  Barber Motorsports Park