Building Racing Skills
Big dreams don’t start under bright lights. They start in the paddock, surrounded by family, mentors, and opportunity. And behind every rising racer is a grassroots program building skills, confidence and community long before the spotlight.
In this episode, host Heather Wilson Schiltz chats with Mike Correa, founder and operator of South Florida MiniGP (SFLminiGP), a youth road racing series that’s now heading into its 11th season. Mike shares how the organization grew from a simple goal — getting his son into the sport — into one of the largest mini organizations in the United States, with dozens of alumni racing in MotoAmerica and competing overseas.
They also talk about how SFLminiGP removes barriers for new families with rental bikes and gear, what the paddock culture looks like on a typical weekend, and why insurance is the toughest challenge event organizers face in today’s motorsports world.
🎧 What You’ll Hear:
• How Mike launched SFLminiGP in 2015
• How rentals and gear make it easier for families to try road racing
• What makes SFLminiGP’s paddock feel like a big family
• How teen coaches help younger riders learn in a way that actually clicks
• The 2026 season structure
• The basics of the bike progression for kids
• What it took to earn FIM MotoMini Cup approval
• Why Florida venue options have shrunk post-COVID and how insurance impacts where they can race
• Mike’s advice for new families
• What’s next: growing the nonprofit MiniSBK USA to support riders financially
📲 Connect with SFLminiGP on Instagram or Facebook
🌐 Get more info about the series: sflminigp.com
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“It takes a lot of work to prepare for these weekends — all the contracts, the tracks, getting the bikes prepared. Cause we’ve got everything. I mean, essentially a new family just has to show up to the event and they’re in. We’ve got rental bikes. We’ve got every piece of gear you can think of, from the smallest three-year-old to the tallest seven-foot rider. We’ve got gear for in our trailer.
In these past 11 years, my main motto has been to remove the excuse. I don’t want anybody to tell me, ‘Hey, I’m not going to your event because I don’t know what I’m doing.’ Well, great. We’re going to show you what to do. ‘Well, I don’t have a bike.’ Fantastic. I’ve got 20 of them. ‘I don’t got gear.’ That’s fine. I got thousands of gear back here also.
So all the excuses I’ve heard throughout the years, I’ve removed. I wish I could remove the financial aspect of it. I wish I could run it for free and people can show it for free, but unfortunately that isn’t gonna happen and it can’t happen. There’s just there’s not enough support there for that. But any other excuse out there, we’ve removed it. We make it extremely simple.”
-Mike Correa, SFLminiGP Founder & Operator
