MEET THE COACHES - DAVE 'WAVEY' HEWSON
Resident racer and TT competitor Dave Hewson is one of our on-track coaches, and boasts an impressive CV, from club racing to BSB. Dave is also part of our R&D team, riding regularly on the road with a select group of coaches, focussed on the continued development of our courses to maintain their position as industry-leading.
At 16 I was on a moped and at 17 I passed my test on an Aprilia RS125, which I soon learned to get my knee down on. It also ended up teaching me a few mechanical skills in the process.
Two years later I bought a Honda RVF400, and after tearing up the local roads for a while (and some of the verges, too), I took it on my first track day. I don’t think the tyres had even cooled down before I’d got my novice licence and was heading for the supersport 400 class with Bemsee. I was hooked.
My first race was on April Fool’s Day in 2000. Say what you will about that…
I loved racing but I was not a natural front-runner and so I found, I was quite analytical with my riding, studying and learning and evolving it and in 2002 I was racing for the title on a ZX-R400. I missed out by a tyre’s width in the end.
After a couple of years on 600s - which taught me more about suspension setup and throttle control - I moved onto a ZX-10R and superstock in the British Superbike paddock, trying hard, crashing a bit, and overall spending more money than I earned. But all the time the TT was there in the back of my mind. I popped over to the Manx GP to help a friend a couple of times and decided to give it a shot.
As I’d been racing in the British Championship I was deemed fast enough to go straight to the TT and in 2007, its centenary year, I lined up behind the likes of John McGuinness.
I started with a steady 113mph lap (nothing steady about that - Ed), and after doing a handful of BSB Superstock rounds before going to Scarborough for the Gold Cup - and winning the superbike B final - I decided road racing was my future.
I’ve now raced at the TT on a variety of kit, from litre bikes to TZ250s and Ducati 888s, with a best lap of 123mph. I’ve also been lucky enough to race at the likes of the North West 200, the Ulster Grand Prix, Cookstown, Tandragee and Armoy.
I’ve ridden road bikes throughout the years, too, and think riding on tracks and racing has honed my skills when it comes to road riding. I believe you can’t underestimate the importance and benefits of getting some tuition and learning to control your bike on track.