During the rider's meeting...
During the rider's meeting in the morning, Polen and partner Brian Larrabure discuss how the day is run and what to expect.
As the name implies, each student receives one-on-one instruction with Polen. As such, group sizes are no more than six riders-so early reservation is key. What separates this school from the rest is the use of two-way radios between yourself and Polen (it's more like one-way radios, as you can't talk back to Polen). This way, as he's leading someone around the track he can give real-time advice for each turn as you approach it. Riders are divided into the different sessions of the day depending on skill level and are free to ride, alone, in their session when not being instructed by Polen.
What separates this school...
What separates this school from the rest is the use of two-way radios. Each rider gets fitted with a pouch containing a radio and different sized earbuds are available. The noise-cancelling earbuds also act as earplugs while riding and block much of the wind noise.
During the morning sessions Polen will take a few students at a time onto the track (the only time he does this) as a warm-up-both for man and machine. Here he goes rather slow to demonstrate the proper lines on the track at a pace that's easy to follow. The entire time he's communicating through the radio exactly where you want to be at each turn and why you want to be there. From there it becomes a lead-follow ordeal (mainly follow) where Polen will gauge your pace and act as a rabbit to chase around. The idea behind this is to push you to the limits of your comfort zone. All the while getting instruction via radio in real-time. This method of getting instant advice while riding seemed to work for many of the students, myself included, as the classic case of "monkey see, monkey do" applies and the rider behind sees the rider ahead turning at a certain time and speed and figures they can do it too.
On a personal note, through the radio communication Polen stressed to me the importance of smoothness on a motorcycle; a basic fundamental element I seemed to have forgotten. Slashing apexes and applying fistfuls of throttle at maximum lean gave way to wide arcs, gentle acceleration and taking advantage of the tire's contact patch. As a consequence it also opened my eyes to the vast width of most racetracks and how little of it I actually use. This would come in handy later in the day.
Each student's sessions are...
Each student's sessions are broken down into one of the three experience levels that run every hour. On average, this equates to at least three one-on-one sessions with Polen, usually more.
As helpful as the radio communication and rabbit method of instruction was for everyone involved, there was still a major obstacle to overcome: one's personal comfort zone. At the mid-way point in the day Polen gathers everyone together and discusses lap times. On average, each student shaves eight seconds from the morning until this halfway point. While impressive, these times are a bit misleading as they were set earlier in the day, when students were still warming up and getting acclimated to the track configuration. Realistically, each student was capable of reaching their best times on their own at some point during the day as they rode to the limits of their comfort level. Polen just helped them get there faster.