Race Coaching Program

BN Race Coaching Program

Racing does not live out of wishful thinking, as it exposes every gap in your riding, in your preparation, and in your head.

Most riders grow into MX, SX, Enduro or Rally with family and friends helping in the paddock, some tips at the track, the occasional training with a former racer, and a lot of trial and error. That works until the speed, the risk or the goals move up and the known techniques stop being enough.

The BN Race Coaching Program exists for that exact moment: for when you understand that just riding more is not the answer anymore, and that you need professional help by your side.

From Aviation To Race Pace

In aviation you do not crash because something went wrong. You crash because, under stress, you stopped doing what you were trained to do.

My background in a decade of aircraft maintenance engineering, working in high stress situations grounding or releasing planes to fly, taught me to look at performance in a simple way: limit the error chain, protect the brain and body when tiredness settles, and make decisions that do not destroy the rest of the day, or your life.

With that knowledge, I built this coaching program with the same logic. Different vehicle, same limited human brain and body operating in high stakes situations. The goal of this program is not to hype you up or pat you on the back, I'm not your mother, I'm your coach. The goal here is to keep you thinking and operating clearly when the helmet goes on and the green light turns bright.

Rally Raid and Enduro Racers

Rally and Enduro share almost the same core problems: technique under pressure, riding efficiency, fatigue management, pacing, decision making and emotional stability when the day starts going wrong, or too well.

My work here is the full package you actually need to ride well, not just to survive:

- technical riding that still works when the terrain changes and fatigue sets in
- body position, braking, traction use and line choice built into habits
- pacing rules you can follow even when your brain is tired
- emotional and cognitive tools to avoid compounding mistakes and errors
- clear routines for pre stage, during stage and post stage
- guidance on how to structure training weeks so they match the demands of your event and goals

Important: I do not teach navigation itself. That job belongs to navigation specialists that I can recommend. What I teach is how to stay calm, think clearly and apply the riding techniques we worked on while dealing with the navigation and overall racing workload.

MX and SX Racers

If you race or plan to race MX or SX, I can help you with the technical and structural side of your motos:

- body position that prevents arm pump, releasing you from a world where accepting it is normal
- corner and jump approach built from balance and control techniques, not just blind courage
- how to hold technique together when the moto pace starts to bite
- how to structure your training days so they actually feed into race day

My main focus as a coach is Enduro and Rally. In MX and SX I work on fundamentals, technical stability and race execution. I do not teach discipline-specific race craft, gate battles or elite-level SX/MX trick lines. If you need the underlying technical base and execution discipline that stabilises your motos, I can give you that.

How The Program Works

Step 1: Free call
10 to 20 minutes by phone or video. We will talk about what you ride, if you race or what you want to race, what you have done so far, what went wrong, and what you want to take out of my training program. I will explain how I work and what you can expect from working with me considering your personal goals.

Step 2: Mandatory race coaching day - 275€
All my racing programs start with this day. Racing does not care if you just want to do a one-off race, or if you are committed to take a top 50 at a Dakar, the basics are the same, so everyone needs to learn them. This means one full day of training, starting with theory that includes bike geometry, biomechanics, and neuropsychology. And on the bike, technical and emotional assessment, drills, simple tests, and the creation of a clear game plan based on what you know, and what you do not know how to do.
This day is usually is not necessarily in our Endurocamp.

Step 2B: Second day (Semi-mandatory) - 275€ (total 550€)
Some riders, due to lack of overall experience or more disclosed difficulties, will require a second day in a row of basic training. This is a full technical drill day where we will cover the remaining basics we did not on the first day. If needed, we use this day to lock in the full gamut of basics to start building your race routines from a solid foundation. No stone is left unturned.
This day is usually is not necessarily in our Endurocamp.

After that, you choose the path:
- keep booking technical days when needed
- move into ongoing coaching for continuous support and guidance
- add event packages for specific races for direct support
- or bring me to the race for in person help

The only rule is simple: if you want to join my Race program, you start with the mandatory day.

Ongoing Coaching

Base retainer - 120€ per month
4 x 30 minute phone or video debriefs per month, one per week.
We review your logs, set weekly goals, adjust drills and keep you moving in the right direction.
No race support included.
No rollovers.
3 month minimum, monthly payments.

Racing retainer - 150€ per month
Everything in the base retainer plus phone or video support on one race weekend per month.
Includes a 30 minute pre race brief and a 30 minute post race debrief.
Not physical presence at the race.
No rollovers.
3 month minimum, monthly payments.

Single sessions
- 30 minute phone or video session: 40€
- Race weekend support (2 calls, one before and one after the race): 70€
- Stage support (2 calls per stage, one before, and one after): 80€ per stage

Race weekend equals 2 calls. Stage support equals 2 calls per stage.

Event Packages By Number Of Stages

Each package includes a 30 minute pre event planning call, a 30 minute pre stage brief and a 30 minute post stage debrief for every timed stage, plus message support during the event. The prologue counts as one stage.

Short event - up to 2 stages: 150€

Medium event - 3 to 4 stages: 260€

Rally - 5 to 6 stages: 360€

Long rally - 7 to 10 stages: 550€

Marathon rally - 11 to 15 stages: 750€

The structure is the same for all events: clear plan before the race, clear head during, and honest debrief after.

In Person Support At Races

250€ per day, plus food, lodging, and travel expenses for any event more than 150 km from our headquarters in Cascais.

My role on site is the same as in training: keep your technique honest, your head clear, and your decisions aligned with the plan.

Team Days And Race Camps

Competition coaching is built one rider at a time, over individual trainings.

At certain points it can be useful to put several racers together to work specific problems or to simulate race pressure.

When that happens, I may invite riders for group training days:
275€ per rider and per day.

These days are not open classes. They are a training tool for athletes.

About Your Coach

My name is Zé. I have been teaching off road riding professionally since 2012, I am certified by 2x World Champion Bernd Hiemer and the Enduro Action Team school.

Before living on the dirt, airplanes were my life. I studied to be a fighter pilot, passed all the selection tests at Maastricht to be an air traffic controller, and spent a decade working in the maintenance and engineering department of a major airline. That world aggressively shaped how I think: procedures, checklists, error chains, and a tremendous respect for what happens when we make bad decisions, especially under stress.

That love for precision and physics made me the technical coach I am today.

Body position, control, line choice, and understanding what the bike is doing under you is the ABC of any motorcycle sport. With that in mind, I bring the aviation way of thinking into racing, with a special focus on Enduro and Rally where technical riding, fatigue and decision making stack up quickly. MX and SX fit into this system when the work is about fundamentals and race execution, not discipline-specific race craft.

If you want someone to just tell you that you are doing great when you are not, I am not your guy. If you are committed to improve and want someone who will look at how you ride, how you think and how you fall apart, and then help you rebuild that with method, then I am the coach for you.