California Superbike School (CSS) India 2024 Is Here To Teach You How To Be A Better Rider

How do you make your bike go faster? A lot of people might answer this question by saying you need to mod it by installing a high-performance ECU, better tyres, better suspension, and even better brakes. But ask any serious rider or racer, and they’ll say the best way to make your bike go faster is to install a better rider. Upgrading your own riding skills has a much greater net effect on speed, and safety, than any mod you can do to your bike.

And that’s exactly what California Superbike School’s aim has been for over 40 years now. Founded by Keith Code in 1980, the school’s goal is to help amateur and even experienced riders unlearn their “survival instincts”, essentially things riders do on their bikes which might feel like the safe or right things to do but are actually counterproductive to riding effectively, and relearn the basics such as vision, suspension, grip and body position, and more.

The school has some prestigious alumni as well, including world-class racers like Wayne Rainey (3-time 500cc Grand Prix world champion), James Toseland (ex-MotoGP rider and 2-time World Superbike champion), and Leon Camier (British superbike and supersport champion), among others.

California Superbike School India uses the same format used by the school since its inception, and includes multiple classroom sessions per day, followed by on and off-track drills. Spread over three days, you can either opt for Level 1-3, which focuses on more generalised skills such as turn entry speed, finding good lines, bike stability, vision and body position, or Level 4, which is a more tailored programme for riders who have already completed Level 1-3.

There’s no doubt that CSS is an exceptional tool for riders looking to improve their riding skills to make them not just faster on the racetrack, but safer on the roads as well.

CSS India 2024 is set to take place at the Madras International Circuit (MIC) in Chennai over two weekends - Jan 26,27, and 28, 2024, and Feb 2, 3, and 4, 2024. Both weekends offer Level 1-3 and Level 4 training. Level 1-3 is priced at Rs 75,000 for any weekend (including training, food, fuel and medical facilities, if required), while the specialised Level 4 session costs Rs 1,30,000. That said, travel and accommodation is something that needs to be managed by participants. It’s also ideal to get your own bike to the track for the training, but if you can’t do so, CSS will offer some bikes (mostly TVS Apache RTR 160 race bikes) for free, though on a ‘first come first serve’ basis. Proper riding gear (helmet, boots, leathers) is, of course, mandatory. 

While it might seem like a pricey affair, the training and skills riders can learn at CSS are invaluable, even during everyday riding. Even if you’re not someone who’s looking at doing regular track days or racing, we can’t recommend the school enough. But you’d better hurry up, as registrations for the 2024 sessions end on Dec 25, 2023.