Rod Susman

Rod Susman has lived a remarkable life in sport. He earned his race competition license in 1960 and has carried a passion for motorsport and teaching ever since, even as he spent more than six years playing professional tennis on the international circuit. His wife, Karen Hantze Susman, is herself a former Wimbledon singles and doubles champion.

It was through racing that Rod found his true calling: teaching. He began instructing track drivers and racers in the early 1980s, has coached professionally for the past three decades, and for nearly ten years has served as Chief Driving Instructor for the Vintage Auto Racing Association (VARA), where he authored the organization’s official Instructor Manual. Along the way he has organized and promoted countless track days, both private and for clubs.

Rod is driven by giving back to the sport that has given him so much, including developing the next generation of instructors through his work with the Motorsport Safety Foundation. In coaching at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, he brings more than six decades of racing perspective and a lifetime of teaching craft to every driver he works with.