Making My Track Debut With A BMW S1000 RR Wasn’t As Terrifying As Expected

The phrase ‘baptism of fire’ springs to mind when looking at the neatly arranged line of BMW S1000 RRs lined up in the pitlane. Or, given what the weather has been doing on and off today, simply ‘baptism’. Mallory Park is particularly soggy today, and whenever the track starts to show signs of drying, the heavens open, and it comprehensively shits it down.

It’s the first running of the UK BMW Motorrad Performance Academy in its new format, although the weather gods don’t seem to care all that much. But no matter, the show must go on, and this will still be the day of my first wobbles on track on a motorcycle. One with 206bhp. Eek.

It’s worth noting that you don’t have to choose an S1000 RR. There are also F900 Rs available for anyone after a less pokey track introduction, and S1000 Rs for a more blustery take on the S1000 RR superbike. But I’ve been booked on the RR and had no intention of changing - such a bike would make for a pretty memorable introduction to track riding, right?

And here’s the thing - you can twist a motorcycle’s throttle as much as you want. And so, our first introductory laps behind chief instructor and former British Superbike rider Taylor Mackenzie are easygoing, accounting for the differing levels of ability in our group of four.

We’ve three of these grouped sessions, alternating between on-track action and classroom sessions and, to keep it in the family, Niall Mackenzie delivers the latter. There’s an S1000 RR in here, giving a good prop for Niall to show body positioning, which will be key to our progression throughout the day. 

Speaking of, the pace increases bit by bit through our three sessions, and everything’s starting to make sense. After lunch, proceedings get taken up a notch with our one-on-one sessions. I’m sticking with Taylor, but whatever happens, you’ll end up with a big name - the all-star cast of instructors includes Rory Skinner and Josh Brookes.

Taylor does a remarkable job of gauging the pace I’m comfortable with, and continually increasing the speed gradually enough that it’s not until the end of each of the one-on-one sessions that I realise I’m going quite a lot quicker. As each session ends, there’s not a huge amount of time to get feedback from Taylor (but I’ll find out a little while later that the programme has switched a bit, which should allow for more pointers).

Throughout the day, the S1000 RR is resolutely not intimidating. As mentioned, you’ll only ever give a bike like this as much gas as you’re comfortable with, so the massive power figure isn’t something to fret about. What’s more, the S1000 RR is so littered with electronics that it feels like it’s very much on your side. Chief among these is an incredibly sophisticated traction control system working with a six-axis IMU, doing its thing imperceptibly and providing a big safety net that’s very welcome in these wet/dry conditions.

The brakes are particularly eye-opening coming up to Shaw’s hairpin. Confidence-inspiring feel at the lever plus mighty stopping power means I’m happy to start braking later and later, with the bike starting to move around underneath me. Initially, this a buttock-clenching thing, until you realise it’s all in hand.

The flick/flack nature of Bus Stop is proving particularly tricky to nail - each and every lap I feel as though my line isn’t quite right and I’m generally slow AF through the tricky little section. But on the other hand, I’m getting on the power earlier and earlier out of Devil’s Elbow, and using more of the throttle, finally starting to wind the bike open fully during the latter sessions.

Sweet. Baby. Jesus. At full chat on a relatively small track like Mallory, the S1000 RR feels mind-scramblingly quick, with the Kirby Straight disappearing behind you at a breathtaking rate. It means there’s not much time to collect your senses before braking and getting the bike leant over into Gerad’s, but as an experience, it blows anything I’ve ever done on track in the car journalism part of my job out of the water.

With the day at an end, it’s clear I’ve only just scratched the surface. I’ve no regrets for picking an S1000 RR as the steed for my first two-wheeled track laps, but at the same time, I wonder if something smaller, lighter and less powerful might have made the day easier, if not as memorable. Better weather would have helped, too, but as an introduction, it’s been quite a day.

If you fancy trying this yourself, we should point out now that it isn’t cheap considering Mallory isn’t a massive track - a one-day course costs £749. We should also note that equipment hire isn’t included - you’ll need your own ACU gold-stamped helmet, long enough gloves to cover the cuffs of your sleeves and either one or two-piece (zipped together) leathers.

Then again, California Superbike School costs more if you include bike hire, and you aren’t going to be presented with the wonderful sight of a load of S1000 RRs filling most of the pitlane. It’s also a far less intimidating introduction to this kind of riding than rocking up at a busy track day - there are never that many riders on circuit at one time.

Whether you have a particular penchant for BMW motorcycles or not, it’s worth a look.