CALL ME A FAN

Nate Kern’s BMW Double R Fest at VIR

Mark Byers

It wasn’t just hot, it was humid and the sweat wouldn’t evaporate. Riding wasn’t bad, because the air ow did some cooling, but sitting under the canopy between sessions was like basking on a kettle. My rst track session on a new-to-me 2012 BMW S1000RR I’d ridden less than 4 total hours was not stellar: between the heat, the riding position, and the challenge of Virginia International Raceway’s 1.65-mile, twisty South Course, I began to question my sanity.

My wife and I have a rule, however, that if someone offers us the chance to do something neat, we have to take it; consequently, when Jeff Massey of Morton’s BMW offered me the chance to take my S1000RR to the track that weekend, the only word I could say was “Yes!” Never mind I’d have to leave in two days and I had no place to stay - just details. A quick call to VIR miraculously netted me a room and suddenly I was a kid at Christmas!

I’ve known of Nate Kern for a while: I interviewed him at Morton’s shortly into his career riding R1100S’s and I watched him go from edgling racer to BMW Brand Ambassador and factory test rider. He’s got a wicked sense of humor to go with his sharp skills on the track and he mixes solid riding advice with his own brand of snarky standup. I was very much looking forward to an event by/with him. Apparently I wasn’t alone, because as I was setting up in the South Paddock, vehicles came rolling in from as far away as Indiana, Florida, and Texas. While Double-R Fest is a track day, not a school, it is divided into three groups and the rst two, beginner and intermediate, are “instructor-led,” meaning Nate and plenty of his trusted agents are out there to either lead or follow riders. The rules are strictly enforced and in two days of riding, there was not a single stoppage for someone crashing, even with the groups hitting 150 or more at the end of the straight. A couple people did take short excursions into the “lawn” but the ample runoff at VIR allowed them to get right back in the fray. I was in the beginner group because I was on new bike(s) and this was de nitely a sportbike-centric event. That shouldn’t worry anyone, however, because we had a lady in our group who was “just barely post-MSF-course” and we handled her presence without any trouble. Nate’s instructors kept the ow going admirably while she learned and no one felt “held up.” Nate limits groups to 20 riders each, so it spreads people out nicely. When you line up, there are 3 grids: those who want a lot of instruction line up on the inside, those who don’t want quite as much in the middle, and those who would like the least line up outside. It works well. I’d like to say I jumped on my new sportbike and looked quite the pro. Umm…no. I could barely get in my leathers after being a slug during COVID. My age, in exibility, and lack of tness were telling: in the rst session, looking through the last left in the esses while trying to hang off sportbike-style made me wonder if I should continue or just go slam my neck in the truck door, which would have had the same effect. Fortunately, I had the good sense to bring an S1000R with a riser on the tubular bars, so for the subsequent sessions Saturday, I rode the “old man’s machine” and had a much better learning experience. Nate himself

gave me some pointers about bending my inside arm to get me in a better cornering position.

I was determined to ride that RR, so Sunday I switched to the Double-R and rode it in every session. I wasn’t tearing up the track, even in the beginner group, but the solid tips and lines I got from the rst day had me riding the sportier machine with much more con dence and even comfort. When Nate announced that he’s doing a similar event at Circuit of the Americas in September, I was truly disappointed that I don’t have the vacation to do it.

Everything about the Double-R Fest was top shelf, from the track to the instruction, as one would expect from a BMW-associated event. Each day featured a catered, cold-cut lunch and there was an excellent catered dinner Saturday night, where there was a new M1000RR bike over which to salivate. Three BMW Air ow jackets were raf ed off. There were even tire and equipment vendors! A cherry on the sundae was the presence of three BMW M3 cars and professional drivers who took people on hot laps of the track during lunch hour. It reportedly had some experienced bike guys squirming in their seats and/or reaching for their checkbooks. Nate’s goal is to have the cars back for COTA, plus maybe even BMW demo bikes.

If you can make one of Nate Kern’s Double-R track days, no matter where it is held and what bike you ride, you can expect a safe, outstanding experience. You’ll be among a diverse, friendly, energetic group of enthusiasts, vendors, and instructors. I de nitely hope he returns to VIR next year where hopefully a more svelte, experienced version of me can make a better showing with my new ride.

I’m not only a big fan, I’m buying fans to bring. ,