Well as I am on the Mugello trip, only seemed wise that I book the Imola part of the Italian GP Tour that was announced this weekend, see you all there. :sunglasses::italy:
Do you have a link? Track days at Imola for bikes have been non-existent for a few years, since a fatality during an amateur day. The local authorities declared the track as only suitable for pro or semi-pro pilots as far as bikes were concerned. It was unfortunate since we were due to ride there with Bikers Days (the Belgian outfit that run the Spa days) two days after the fatality. It's a long way to go for a non-event!
It's advertised on Focused Events website and Facebook page, either as a single event, or as part of the Italian GP Tour including Mugello, dates are August 12-13 2017.
Saw the email and Mugello and Imola is a pretty epic trip. We couldn't bring ourselves to book with Focused but I must admit I'm still thinking it would save a lot of hassle as we're looking at doing our own trip to Mugello and one other track and booking with the local companies.
Yeah, every time we've been with them their admin and attitude to customers on the UK side has been a complete cluster f*ck. I'm fairly laid back with these things compared to the missus but after dealing with the same attitude on the third trip and being messed around on pickup I'll no longer use them unless it's a particularly good reason. Plus I hate the way they transport the bikes all piled into a lorry without stillages. It wouldn't be so bad if the employees were treated better but they don't seem to be happy so I don't trust them to look after the bikes. I guess their strategy is that they do things like this so they can keep the costs low but I'd rather pay more for better service. There's no doubt their prices are the best but by the time you've payed their extra charges for tyres and extra boxes then they don't end up that much cheaper than other places.
I'm going to stick up for Kevin, yes he can be a very disagreeable fellow, yes the admin organisation in the UK could be a lot better and yes the bike transport is not the best. But I have enjoyed a fair number of UK and Spanish track days with him without any problems at all. He has a lot of repeat business so he can't be that bad although when you hear from individuals who are unlucky to be on the receiving end, Kevin is not the easiest person to deal with on every occasion. In his defence, I have seen him slagged off for poor weather and doing nothing for a numpty who left his bike key in the UK. When you are on the receiving end of critsism, some of it unbelievably petty, you do tend to react aggressively defensive which is how Kevin comes across. I probably won't use FE as often (or at all) now we have found BBS. Andy
My opinion is that you pay these companies for logistics so they should be good at it, and at least humble, if not apologetic when they mess up or when things don't go as planned. It's the nature of logistics that things never go quite as planned but my personal experience is that they don't give a sh*t when this happens and they think it is not their responsibility. My hunch after briefly meeting Kevin and going by all the users stories and off the cuff comments from various employees is that the general atmosphere and bad attitude is like this because of the way the boss man operates. We did three Almeria trips and had an awesome time on all of them, but I see no reason why we should put up with poor quality organisation, other than the fact they seem to have a monopoly on Almeria. Sorry to bring the thread I down, I purposely didn't elaborate on my earlier post as it's not fair that FE related posts always go this way on forums and Facebook, but you did ask the (loaded) question and I have had personal problems
I agree, their UK admin side of things is quite poor, however it's never stopped me from enjoying numerous days on track in the UK and Euro events over nearly ten years with Focused Events, and I shall continue to use them. Always see the same customers on these events, so FE must be doing something right, roll on 2017, and Jerez, Imola, and Mugello.
They're alright if things are alright. Want something when things are not alright, well, then it's no so alright....
I don't know why their web site has't been updated although I suspect it's because recent close family ill health and Gary's motorcycle workshop business have been taking up their time. Almeria in May I'm pretty sure is fully booked and the only other confirmed date that I know of is Cartagena in early October which regulars (including us) are already putting deposits down on. BBS is a husband and wife team who offer a small number of open pit lane, limited rider number track days a year. As Carole and I can only do 1 or 2 days abroad together, this suits us. The other benefit for us is that they are about 12 miles down the road. Andy
+1 for not using FE. A number of my friends have had their bikes damaged and FE haven't given a single fuck. I've always used no limits and found them to be pretty good
