Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki, left in the picture) in the fight with Aprilia ace Max Biaggi (No. 3) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) – the German driver managed what even Stefan Bradl, Dieter Braun and Toni Mang could not do. The Saxon was victorious in the top category of a world championship (© WorldSBK).

Interview about Max Neukirchner’s unique racer training & tour offer

Which biker with sporting ambitions has not dreamed of going out on the track with a racing driver and putting the finishing touches to their skills in the process. In England, Donington Park racing School was for many years the benchmark of all things, directed by “Rocket Ron” Haslam. Unfortunately, as a result of the pandemic, it no longer exists. We checked various offers and quickly realized that it is not that easy to find really serious racer training courses and tour providers. It can go in the pants to fall for the best decoy offer. Even if so-called track days with well-known drivers are offered, this is not always a guarantee of good quality. If, on the other hand, from a company like www.topsbk.com there is a sophisticated concept behind it and with Max Neukirchner a world-class man gives his name to it, you are without a doubt in good hands. We wanted to know a little more about this and asked a few questions. The following is an interview with the German about what we think is a unique offer.

The two Ten Kate Honda team-mates Jonathan Rea (left) and Max Neukirchner in the 2010 season. Two years before that, the German had finished fifth on a Suzuki, right behind the Northern Irish on the Ten Kate Honda (© WorldSBK).

The interview on the offer of www.topsbk.com

The list of route plans on your side were still in the status “under processing” in February. But preferably it will be Spain and Portugal, depending on the pandemic, of course?
Max Neukirchner: “Yes, these are currently being processed as the homepage will be revised in the next few weeks. From this year I will also be offering my own racetrack events under MAX76 Events as part of TopSBK GmbH. The first date starts from May 25th to 26th, 21st at the Sachsenring. Top Superbike – instruction – will complete a total of 16 events at various organizers (Sachsenring, Lausitzring, Oschersleben, Most, Brünn, Pannoniaring, Slovakiaring, Misano and Rijeka) in the spring-summer season from April to the end of September. In the autumn-winter season, Top Superbike is in Spain with customers from October to the end of March for instruction on the racetracks. TOPSBK will also be visiting Portugal once or twice over the winter.“

WorldSBK photographed before the start of the last race in Brno in June 2018. The Masaryk Ring is one of the ideal routes for top drivers, but also for amateur pilots. In 2007 and 2008 Neukirchner was able to achieve top ten results in the WSBK.

Do you already have tour planning in stock, and when do you expect the new season to start, or how was it usually in previous years?
Max: “Unfortunately, we also had to cancel the previously planned events in Spain. We now expect that at the end of April a start to normality can begin again and TopSBK Instruction can take off for the first event with an inclined position in Misano. In May, I am all the more happy that TopSBK has its first own event (MAX76Events) at the Sachsenring.”

Sliding start on the Sachsenring in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators. Almost all motorsport fans know the circuit, but very few of them know that Max Neukirchner’s father was victorious here.
The proof of Lothar Neukirchner’s victory on the old Sachsenring – from our archive of old documents from the GDR in 1989. Karel Hanika’s father was third in the 250cc two-cylinder class.

Your offer is not only aimed at amateur racing drivers, but also at average consumers, because improving driving skills can also be of vital importance. Is this correct?
Max: “Yes, that’s right, over 90% of our customers who drive with us want to be safer on the racetrack. The speed increases with the security. Many customers do not even notice that they are constantly in danger of falling because they have the wrong posture on the motorcycle. TopSBK instruction can cater to the needs of beginners to professionals so that everyone can improve. Most of our customers have to be physically fit again after the racetrack event and get to work on time and cannot risk a fall. Our customers feel very comfortable under the professional guidance of trained instructors.”

You can also book individually or as a group on a Spanish route, for example, and then arrive by car (of course with a station wagon, helmet, etc. in your luggage) and reserve a bike with you. Is this feasible, and how big is an ideal group from your point of view?
Max: “Top Superbike also offers various rental motorcycles on site (e.g. Yamaha R1). Many of our customers have their motorcycles transported by us to the bike depot in Cartagena in Spain. There we have the option of safely storing up to 200 motorcycles right next to the racetrack. Thus, the customer does not necessarily have to travel to Spain with his own car. Our extensive range of services also includes the entire organization of the customer’s trip. If necessary, we can book flight-hotel rental cars for the relevant event on site. If you are on a racetrack for the first time, you are welcome to drive in a group with a maximum of 4 people in order to get to know the racetrack and ideal line for the first time. Then it is an advantage to do a 1 to 1 coaching with a top superbike instructor, as you learn a lot more than in a larger group.“

Photographed by us at the last WorldSBK Event 2017 at the Lausitzring – the view from the huge grandstand. Unfortunately, it was the last event in Germany so far because Oschersleben fell victim to the pandemic in 2020. The route is ideal for track days and training.

Especially due to the pandemic, the current question: Where can the customer find information about which courses can be done without traveling such as Spain?
Max: “We drive on various German racetracks (Sachsenring, Lausitzring and Oschersleben) but also in the Czech Republic (Most & Brünn). For more information, please go to our homepage: topsbk.com – under Events, there you will find all the dates we are offering in 2021.”

In principle, you also offer a full service for track training in Spain, for example. In other words, you would take over the entire organization including the rental car and the customer can, for example, choose where he wants to fly from and back to when. Is this true?
Max: “On request, TopSBK offers this pleasant service in cooperation with our travel agent, a large tour operator with experience in this area, see the answer to the fourth question.“

A special edition of a superbike was only available for a few drivers – here the Suzuki advertisement for the GSX-R1000 “Power Max”, a special model with the collaboration of Max Neukirchner at that time in Germany.

Subject to the further development regarding Corona, of course, but certainly also interesting to know for racing fans: It would also be conceivable to book a tour to a WorldSBK event with you in advance (or are you as an expert already as a co- Commentator pre-booked)?
Max: “It is a very good idea to offer our customers such a special event as well. Perhaps it will be possible in the future to expand our range in this direction. At the moment, however, I am concentrating on my work at home, with TopSBK and my important time with my family. As a co-commentator, I am currently only involved in a few MotoGP and FIM-EWC events.“

If someone does not currently have a bike, but has a driver’s license. Can he also contact you for tours to organize a rental including a bike?
Max: “Yes, we offer some bike tours in Spain during winter. In the summer months we like to go on one or two Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) tours in my home country. As an ambassador for the Ore Mountains in Saxony, this is also a matter close to my heart. TopSBK bikes are also available to customers.”

Visiting Misano – in 2019 we experienced very exciting races here at both MotoGP and WorldSBK. In the first Corona year there was even a MotoGP double race. This route near the seaside resort of Rimini on the Adriatic is also part of the TopSBK program.

Which is your favorite route as an instructor and which one would you like to take under the wheels again as a driver?
Max: “As an instructor, Brno is my favorite racetrack. “(The editors: The answer to the favorite track as a driver can be found in his review of his active time as a racing driver, see under” Interviews+TV “on this page or via this link http://www.motoracers.eu/max-neukirchners-review/?lang=en).

What are the absolute strengths of TopSBK, in addition to a definitely very large team of experienced instructors who make you one of the best on the market?
Max: “Core process: instruction on how to correctly and safely drive a motorcycle on the racetrack.”

Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) in front of “Nitro Nori” Haga (Yamaha) – two drivers who are still considered icons of WorldSBK and who did a lot for the popularity of the near-series World Championship in their countries.

Closing words from the author

As an experienced biker, the author of this article and interviewer from Max Neukirchner can only emphasize how much the control of your own vehicle can make the difference between life and death on the road. A practiced reflex can save you from falling and bad consequences in a fraction of a second. Especially in everyday life, the dangers that can lurk around every bend are often underestimated. Anyone who, like me, survived a burst tire at over 100 kph (60 miles), sudden sand on the road and much more fall-free, had countless times either just huge luck or the saving reflex. In my case, I am convinced that there were countless training hours away from public roads and off-road. There were also numerous slip-ups there, but all of them were harmless. The mileage of MotoRacers bikes per season is well and often over 15 thousand kilometers (over 9300 miles) per year, by the way.