Mid-Ohio School begins 18th season of operation

DUBLIN, OH - The Mid-Ohio School, owned and operated by TrueSports, Inc., will host the first class of its 18th season on Saturday, March 13 with the Honda Teen Defensive Driving Program. The school, located at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, will offer almost 150 driving days and 25 Performance Track Riding programs for sportbikes in 2010.  Since the last class of 2009, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has provided The Mid-Ohio School with three dozen new 2010 Acura TSXs.  These sporty, luxury sedans are driven by school participants in the on-track driving programs.

The driving programs at The Mid-Ohio School are contributing to safer roadways across the country.  On the local level, through the Knox County Juvenile Court’s partnership with the school, over 1,000 juvenile offenders have been sent through the Honda Teen Defensive Driving Program since the two entities began collaborating in 2003.  Over the last six years, the County’s Juvenile Court System has reported a 75% reduction in second time offenses since the inception of the partnership.

Also new to the school in 2010, Open Track Time now stands alone as its own class under the High Performance umbrella.  Formerly a subset of the Open Testing & Tuning course, this new stand-alone format allows anyone to drive their car on track in a limited speed lead/follow format.  Veteran drivers of The Mid-Ohio School can also take this course to push their street-legal rides to speeds over 100 mph, in the max speed lead/follow or open lapping formats.  Open Track Time is the most cost effective way for drivers to get on the racetrack at Mid-Ohio.

In the motorcycling arena, Performance Track Riding is in its fifth year of operation and will be run exclusively by The Mid-Ohio School staff for the first time in the history of the program.  After moving the instruction of these classes in-house late last summer, the school decided to make that move a permanent one.  The first Performance Track Riding programs are slated for the weekend of April 24-25.

“With Performance Track Riding program complementing our driving courses, we are truly one of the most diverse schools.  The Mid-Ohio School was the first organization in the country to offer both two- and four-wheel courses all at one site,” said The Mid-Ohio School Director Steve Bidlack. “Through our 18-year history, we’ve had a great partner in American Honda for 17 of those seasons providing a great fleet of vehicles and making the continued success and ongoing growth of the school possible.”

Additionally, the KTM Race_Orange Track Day Experience, as a part of the Performance Track Riding offerings, has been expanded from two to four dates in the 2010 season (April 26 and 27, July 7 and 19).  This group of track days affords riders the opportunity to try a KTM in session for a full day, and lets curious enthusiasts without a bike of their own to get a taste of track riding.

The 2009 season was one of the most successful in the history of the school.  It boasted over 2,600 driving program graduates, more than 900 of which were teens.  The almost 1,700 motorcyclists that participated in Performance Track Riding set a new record figure for total enrollments. 

“We had a strong year in 2009 in a very tough economic climate, so our entire team knows we need to work just as hard, if not more, this season to match that,” Bidlack added.

The Mid-Ohio School is supported by its official partners and suppliers: Acura, Comfort Inn & Suites Honda, JEGS, KTM, Kumho Tires, Performance Friction Brakes, Presta, Quality Inn & Suites, Sunoco, and Westfield Insurance.

The Mid-Ohio School provides professional driving and riding instruction to drivers and motorcyclists of all skill levels.  The school’s 16 automobile courses include Defensive Driving, High Performance and Racing programs.  The motorcycle side features three Performance Track Riding formats.  Students enjoy classroom sessions, skill drills, expert private instruction and lapping on the same track that challenges the world’s top racers.  In 17 seasons, The Mid-Ohio School has 34,000 graduates, including 11,400 teenagers.  For more information, visit www.midohioschool.com.