Focused Events: Bike Track Days, Car Track Days, UK Track Days, Euro Track Days, Bike Events, Car Events, car racing, bike racing, motor racing, silverstone, brands hatch, oulton park, cadwell park, donnington, cartagena, jerez, estoril

Our Instructors

What the "orange jacket" means:

Our instructors are completely voluntary - they volunteer their spare time and efforts because they get a genuine sense of achievement from seeing the progress that their riders make as the day progresses. All our instructors have completed our yearly instructors course which covers "circuit etiquette" with the

owner of Focused Events, Kevin Healy and the legendary Steve Plater. This covers the rules of instructing and looking long and hard at what could really be achieved by instructing and best practice. Then there are Eddie Roberts and Liam Spence from competition logistics. These are the guys that run the Pirelli tyre support for the big races. Their time was spent on helping our guys understand more about tyre pressures, wear, characteristics and the correct choice of tyre for each bike from the Pirelli/Mettzeler range. Alongside Lee Bell who runs the race support for Teknic - explaining the technical side of the gear you wear and rely on to protect you!

Next up they are in the presence of another superstar - Mick Grant - who does a lot of our suspension set-up service at events. Real time here was again spent going over what could be achieved from properly set up suspension and things to watch for with customers bikes.

Finally an hour with Julie from St Johns ambulance.

Out of our 75 instructors, 20 are senior instructors, of which at least one will be at every event to help co-ordinate who is being instructed next and to maintain instructing standards.

Other elements of the instructor's responsibilities are equally important.

The instructors on the day also act as additional eyes and ears for the organiser both in the paddock and on track to ensure all riders have the correct attitude in terms of safety and rider etiquette and also help point out riders that should be in a different group.

Instructors will actively pick out riders which stand out as needing help whilst monitoring the group out on track. Often riders are shy in asking for help so its important instructors are approachable and maybe offer small tips to riders in an unobtrusive way in the paddock/garage to start things off, particularly for our novice riders.

All our instructors are a terrific bunch of guy's and girls that enjoy what they do. Come say hello to them. They can spend a session or two with you free of charge, are always available for help and advice or you can book one for the whole day for maximum benefit!

Who are our instructors?

We have instructors from all walks of life and all parts of the country, bringing their own characters, experience and abilities with them. Some of them you may recognise? (more pictures in our gallery)

Niall Mackenzie: The Scot has been Britain's most successful Grand Prix racer since Barry Sheene. At his final race in Knockhill in August 2001, more than 20000 fans turned up to bid farewell to their local hero. After moving up through the amateur ranks and securing his first factory 500 rides on a Suzuki, Niall notched up a host of 500 GP podium finishes before moving to Superbikes. He proved unbeatable between 1996 and 1998 when is claimed a hat-trick of British Superbike titles! On every occasion he beat big-name team-mates Jamie Whitham, Chris Walker and Steve Hislop.

Steve Plater: Steve has recently taken the win in the Macau GP with a 0.962 second advantage over six-times winner Michael Rutter. He took the lead just three laps into the race and engaged in a two-way battle for supremacy with Rutter which continued throughout the 15 laps. But Steve held on to take his first Macau GP win for AIM Yamaha. Other major achievements: British Powerbike Champion, British National Supersport champion, Twice British Supersport runner-up, Bol’dor lap-record and rostrum, NW200 wins, Macau lap-record and winner, British Superbike race winner 4 times and 17 rostrums.

Simon Crafar: the former Grand Prix motorcycle racer from New Zealand. Most famous for his time in the World Superbike Championship battling the likes of Fogarty, Slight, Kocinski, Corser & Yanagawa. 1994 - 5th overall for Rumi Honda on the RC45. 1996-97 - Kawasaki Racing team again getting an overall 7th & 5th in the Championship. Paired with Gobert, Crafar took 2nd at Suzuka 8-hour in 96. 1998 - WCM Yamaha - 500cc GP - finished 7th overall, highlight of the season was a win at Donington, it was the last time Dunlop tyres won a GP in the dry. He returned to the WSB for 2000 as a sub for Slight for 2 rounds and in 2002 raced Yamaha in the British Superbike Championship getting 8th overall.

John Reynolds: JR, from Nottingham, has been racing since he was eight years old and has competed at the very highest level in Grand Prix, World Superbikes and British Superbikes. A triple British Superbike Champion, JR was the reigning title-holder and sporting the number one plate when he suffered his crash.
With more than 200 British Superbike race starts and 50 victories to his credit, JR is a living motorcycle legend. He started his career in Schoolboy motocross before moving on to short circuit racing in 1987 and sampling road racing at the Isle of Man TT. In 1990 he won the British Supersport Championship and then in 1992 his first British Superbike Championship – adding titles two and three in 2001 and 2004 respectively. In between his national titles he raced in Grand Prix and World Superbike Championships, including a full season as a factory WSB Suzuki rider in 1996.

Chris Walker: Started road racing in 1994, 95 British 250 Champion, 97,98,99,2000 British Superbike Championship runner up. 2001 to 2004 rode in 500 GP for Honda Team Shell, Rode for Foggy Petronas, and Ducati. 2005 Rode for Kawasaki in WSB finished 7th in series. 2006 Riding again for what is now a works Kawasaki team in WSB alongside Regis Laconi. 2007 Moves back to the British Superbike championship by signing for Rizla Suzuki. 2008 Moves to WSS with Kawasaki.

Jamie Whitham: is one of Britain's most successful motorcycle racers, having twice won the British Superbikes Championship, and four other classes of national championship (80cc, 125cc, Production and TT F1). He was also a serious contender internationally in the World Superbikes and World SuperSport championships, before retiring.