Michael JW - Australia

“As a WERA racer, I signed up for the two days of track time at Phillip Island Circuit, on a California SuperBike School BMW S1000R. The bikes are very well maintained, & they refuel as needed. They even added a little front brake fluid when I asked for it. It comes with Dunlop Q3’s, an adequate tire.  They will change them when shagged. This tour is the easiest way for anyone to make that happen: pick up & drop off at the airports, hotels are booked, transport to & from the track, & you can rent a full set of gear if you don’t have your own (any color you want, as long as it’s black).

December is the start of Summer in Oz, so the weather was great. There is always some wind on the circuit, usually coming off the water. There was some brief rain, but it never fell on our group. By the time we got back out, the line was dry.

They do 4 groups, with no lunch break per se. I recommend the Medium Slow for the first day to get the layout & feel of the bike, then bump up to Medium Fast for day 2. PI Ride Days runs everything, check their website for more details, & they are as good or better than similar groups here in the US. They constantly monitor laptimes, & move people up as needed. They can’t tell you times for “insurance purposes”, but can give generalities. Cat says, “You’ll never watch the races here the same way after riding it,” & he’s right.

The bonus is 5 days of street riding on some of the most scenic twisty roads in the world. Up hills, down hills, coastal highways, through jungles, forests, & ranch land. Your steed is a BMW GS, also well maintained; rental choices are limited in Oz. 90%  of the route is paved roads, that 10% makes the GS the right choice. Most roads are equal to stuff here in the US, depending on where you are from. Their freeways are equal to our interstates. I build roads & bridges for a living, so I know what quality looks like. Some of the more rural stuff is sketchy, watch out for loose gravel at the worst place it could be.

We had a small group, so we were all fine with a ‘spirited’ pace. At times, I wanted to go faster, but it is street riding. Watch out for traffic (speed) cameras & live cops in Victoria.

Hotels were all good (the ski lodge is amazing), great food at the evening restaurants & morning coffee shops, & yes, plenty of great Australian beer! (Not Fosters)

  Bottom line, if think you might want to or be able to go, BOOK THIS TOUR! It’s worth every penny, & all your friends will be jealous.