BSB legend and Suzuki EWC rider Dan Linfoot launches Superpole PillionXperience
If you have ever wanted to feel what it’s like to lap a race track at near-qualifying pace, you’ll soon have a chance to do it.
Suzuki EWC star Dan Linfoot has launched a unique business in the UK that puts anyone in the race boots of a superbike rider. His new Superpole PillionXperience allows riders and non-riders to get a feel of what lapping a track at near-Superbike speeds is like, riding pillion on a specially adapted GSX-R1000 at some of the UK’s best-known tracks.
The bike in question is a Suzuki GSX-R1000, tuned to sit somewhere between a full-fat Superbike and a Superstock machine. From there, the bike is further adapted, gaining heavier springs, stronger Superbike-spec brakes and the obligatory pillion footpegs and tank-mounted grab bars.
Speaking to Visordown about what inspired him, Dan told us it was a fleeting few laps on the back of Ron Haslam that first planted the seed. “I had a pillion ride with Ron Haslam while working at the race school, and that experience will always stay with me”. More recently, it was a similar experience set up by Linfoot’s Yoshimuira Suzuki teammate, Gregg Black, that convinced him there was an appetite for the thrill ride here in the UK.
“My EWC teammate Gregg Black runs a similar course in France, and I went over to help him out with it … since then, I’ve been getting everything ready, building the bikes, getting the riding kit, sorting insurance. Now we are ready to go.”
The Superpole PillionXperience is being run in Partnership with James Whitham Track Training Days, with events running at Croft and Mallory Park from April through to July. Linfoot will also be taking his bikes to Moto Fest at Trac Mon, Anglesey.
Rides are priced at £150 for three laps, and all riding kit is included. You can even have the whole thing recorded via an on-board camera for an additional £25.
Superpole PillionXperience: A unique opportunity in the UK
Since the closure of the Ron Haslam Race School, the chance to lap a UK track with a top-level racer in control has been limited. There are options, via the BSB sponsor Carol Nash, although places for those are limited, and they are just a single lap, which takes place on a closed track. The Superpole PillionXperience rides will be taking place during live sessions during the James Whitham Track Training Days, adding an extra layer of excitement and authenticity to the day.
So, if you are a non-rider who wants to feel what it’s like to lap a track as fast as the pros, or a trackday rider who wants to find out how late you can actually brake on track, head over to the Superpole PillionXperience page on the JWTTD website for more information.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
