Away from the racing at Silverstone for last weekend’s British Grand Prix – which saw Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins claim victory – Suzuki was lending a helping hand to new riders and those looking to get onto two wheels for the first time with a star-studded lineup of instructors passing on some of their own hints and tips.
Race-winner Rins and teammate Sylvain Guintoli made time after qualifying to visit Suzuki’s taster zone, which gave visitors to the British Grand Prix that don’t yet hold a licence the chance to learn the ropes and gain their first experience of riding a motorcycle. On race day British Superbike race-winner Bradley Ray, National Superstock 1000 series leader Richard Cooper, and three-time British Superbike champion John Reynolds joined in to share their expertise.
Suzuki’s taster zone gave 149 people their first experience of riding a motorcycle over the three days at Silverstone, using a combination of GSX-S125 and GSX-R125 machinery.
Wayne Orton, who enjoyed expert tuition from Rins, said afterwards, “I’m typically a four-wheel person and have raced cars, but my partner Jayne is a bike person and as a result I’ve always had a look at bikes and thought about learning to ride. We go to British Superbikes and follow Grand Prix but Silverstone was our first visit and we saw Suzuki was offering their taster sessions and it was the perfect opportunity to take the next step. But I didn’t expect to be being taught to ride by Alex Rins!
"The whole thing was great and we were in awe for about an hour afterwards. I couldn’t believe he was just having a chat with me like a normal person and giving me lots of tips. It was a pretty surreal experience for your first ever go at riding a motorcycle but I loved it.”
BSB star Bradley Ray added, “I really enjoyed it, to be honest. It was nice to see people going from having absolutely no concept or experience, and really being quite nervous, to learning to pull away and ride around by themselves and leaving with a big grin. It was really rewarding and I hope I was able to help, and hopefully they’ll go on to get their full licence.”