Former 250cc World Championship GP racer Jeff Perrett and specialist performance health and fitness coach Yannis Konstantinomanolakis from Olympus Pro Performance Coaching have teamed up to form ‘Racer Evolution’, a new motocross coaching centre to develop youth U.K motocross riders with their riding technique, fitness, mentality and media skills.
The ‘Racer Evolution’ program will consist of 15 young racers only, selected by Jeff and Yannis based on what they feel is a good balance of riders across all U.K youth classes and championships and their assessment from the ‘Racer Evolution’ ride day they will lay on at a U.K venue sometime in October.
“We’re excited to get this project started, as Yannis and I have been talking about it for a while” says Jeff. “Obviously I’ve been in this game a long time now and have been fortunate enough to call it a job on both sides of the fence as a professional racer, team manager, magazine editor and event promoter so if I don’t know the in’s and out’s of the sport by now I guess I never will. Over the years I’ve helped coached and mentored a lot of riders either privately or those who rode for Team Green like Todd Kellett, Dylan Woodcock, Lewis Hall, Joel Rizzi and Bobby Bruce, and now the time feels right for me to coach riders on a more regular, professional basis which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time but a lot of my other commitments have stood in the way. Teaming up with Yannis was a no brainer for me, he’ll bring a high level of expertise on the physical performance side while I’ll concentrate and work with the riders on their riding technique and race craft, but we’ll pull our experience and knowledge together to work with the riders on their mental fortitude. I’ve gained a lot of experience, there’s no point letting it go to waste, so now is the time start passing it on. I was a kid just like them a long time ago who wanted to be a professional racer and have experienced the ups and downs and the pitfalls to look out for as a racer and by being so engrossed in the industry so I’m well equipped in understanding the journey that lies ahead for them. We want to make this a comprehensive program where we also educate the kids on media presence and work with their parents on realistic long term targets. We’ll also be offering up discounted support on top brand motocross products to further help with their racing should they need it. I’m really looking forward to it and being trackside watching their evolution.”
Yannis also brings a lot of experience to the table as he too is a former professional, not in motocross, but gymnastics and is a former national champion in trampoline and floor exercises which has set him in good stead to become a performance coach specialising in strength and conditioning, as well as injury rehabilitation for motocross riders. Something he’ll bringing to the table with ‘Racer Evolution’.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do since I started working in U.K motocross. I used to ride motocross in my youth and knew I wanted to work in action sports and more specifically in motocross but as a teenager I didn’t know how to enter the industry until later in my adulthood when I moved in the UK. This is where I realised that as a coach I could potentially work with this amazing breed of people.
After the opportunity to coach Red Bull’s world-class Action Sports Athletes for nearly 2 years I learned a lot and wanted to start a professional program for aspiring British youth mx riders, but I knew I couldn’t do it on my own because I was never a highly skilled motocross rider but as a qualified strength and conditioning coach I have a great understanding of biomechanics on the sport and I deeply understand what it takes to build a world class athlete. So I’m really pleased to be teaming up with Jeff who has a wealth of experience and has raced at world championship level, travelled the world and is engrained in British motocross. I 100% believe that between the two of us we can develop riders to a high level and prepare them for EMX competition, beyond that who knows, maybe some will go on to be accomplished MXGP racers.
“I work with the likes of Carlton Husband, Bobby Bruce, Ivo Monticelli and John Adamson and other top level British championship riders and I’m looking forward to unearthing more British talent and hopefully helping them onto the world stage. We both decided we want to work with a relatively small group and go for ‘quality over quantity’ so we can work closer with each rider’s each individual needs, so we’ve decided on 15 riders to make up the program. We feel we have some good long term plans for the program which we’ll be rolling out over the next few months and we’re both looking forward to selecting the 15 racers and getting started with them.”
To apply for potential selection to join the ‘Racer Evolution’ motocross training program simply click the link, fill out the form and submit.
As the program builds you can follow ‘Racer Evolution’ on their social media channels;
Instagram: @racer.evolution
Facebook: Racer Evolution
More information on the ‘Racer Evolution’ motocross training program such as cost and regularity will be obtained after applications have been submitted and accepted.
Words: Press Release