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If you have never been to a minimoto race meeting then you have been missing out on the grass roots of British two-wheeled road racing, with riders as young as 6 scrapping elbow to elbow to prove they have what it takes to become the next Valentino Rossi. It is a sight that you will never forget and it will instil confidence in you that we undoubtedly have some future stars passionately honing their skills on small capacity 2-strokes. It’s not all about kids though, the grids are filled with a mix of ages from 6 to 50’s, every person enjoying the thrill of the competition, wherever their battles on the track. Forget the media sensationalism regarding minimoto’s, these race machines bear little resemblance to the cheap imports tearing illegally around your local estate. These are mini gp bikes, from 39 to70cc of pure adrenalin rush propelling the slick-shod bikes to speeds of 50mph and more and are prepared with as much care and precision as any works gp team.
For 2007 the MiniMoto Racing Association, the UK’s premiere minimoto race series organiser, modified their class structure within their 8 round championship to develop greater competition in the classes and for the first meeting of the season at the South Wales Karting Centre at Llandow on the 31st March/1st April the competitors came in their droves. Over 160 competitors filled the paddock with a buzz of anticipation and excitement as the winter of preparation was finally over and the new season got under way to the sweet smell of 2-stroke oil hanging in the air and the rasp of small capacity engines.
The format closely follows the set up of the big bike races in that Saturday is practice and qualifying and Sunday is warm up and race day with 2 races for the bigger wheel Metrakits – the stepping stone between minimoto’s and pukka grand prix race bikes and 4 races for the minimoto classes and sidecars. Yes you read correctly, there are also minimoto sidecar outfits – smaller scaled hand built versions of the full on kneelers and they are just as crazy as their bigger relations. Seeing truly is believing!
Saturday morning gave the racers the chance to bed themselves in, get used to new machinery, learn the track for the new competitors to ‘The British’ Championship or just blow away the winter cobwebs before the serious business of qualifying began. Even from the practice sessions it was apparent that the level of competition was going to be fiercer than ever this year with a strong local presence and as usual, practice pace picked up very quickly on a slowly warming track from the last rays of March sunshine. Competition between the Team Racetech, Havoc Racing and Minimoto Racing race teams was rekindled and familiar battles between old rivals across all classes could be seen to be stoked as qualifying arrived and riders set their mark with some very close times set before rain set in and the day drew to a close.
Fortunately Sunday saw the sunshine up before the paddock and take the chill off the cool air and after a brief warm up for each class we were into the days racing. And what racing it turned out to be.
In the Junior Production A class (Production spec machine, riders 9 - 13yrs old and <36Kg) Fraser Rogers took the overall honours closely followed home by Bradley Ray and Arran Climpsom with all riders providing some fantastic entertainment. Junior Production B (9 - 13yrs and 36Kg and over) saw some more exceptional racing with Luke Helm taking the first placed trophy from Harry Coomber and Sam Cherry in third. The Junior classes are always entertaining and the Junior Lights class (4.2hp standard machines – riders 6 > 13yrs and up to 36Kgs) proved no exception, bringing together some old rivalry with Bradley Ray taking a well deserved clean sweep of all 4 races from Wayne Ryan taking second overall and Ben Bailey a creditable third spot. Junior Cadets (4.2hp machines – riders 6 > 13yrs old and 36kgs and over) saw a dominating display by Josh Daley, romping away from the field to take a maximum 100 points with Sam Cherry consolidating a great weekend with second overall and George Powell third.
The Seniors Classes are often bruising but always entertaining closely fought battles with full grids and the first round of the Senior Production B class (Production spec machine – riders 14yrs plus and 75Kgs and over) brought the crowds edge of the seat action from start to finish with places swapping most corners and some do or die moves being attempted, not always successfully into the last corner.
After 4 frantic races Dave Perry on the Team Racetech RT2 took the honours with 3 wins and a third from last years champion Chris Martin racing for Havoc Racing in second and team mate Lee Sweetland in third. Senior Production A (Production spec machine – riders 14yrs plus and 60k to 75Kgs) again produced a strong field with talent in depth and breathtaking racing with Racetech’s Phil Scott taking a well deserved clean sweep of wins with some mature, controlled race craft followed home by Karl Raper with a hard fought overall second, with Steven Cook taking third by a point from Alex Olsen, so close was the racing. The Senior Production Lights class saw a dominant display by Danny Kent who again over the weekend showed why he is tipped for big things. In the Production Lights class he took 4 straight wins ahead of Mike Corderoy with a consistent 4 second places and Matthew Stainer and Phil Canessa sharing third place points. In the new to The British Aircooled A class he took another 4 straight wins from an on form Luke Shelley in second and Gary Hopewell in third proving that consistency brings silverware. The Aircooled B class was a Fast Forward Racing 1 – 2 with Neil Harrison picking up where he left off over the winter with 3 wins and a second from team mate John Pattison and Darren Norton picking up third overall. The Senior 4.2 A class saw a clean sweep for Greg James from Richard Ogilvie in second and Joe Stevenson in third overall. In the Senior 4.2 B Ian Develin took off like he had forgotten which bike he was on to take first overall, from Bernie Hook and Stuart Latham tied on points for second and third.
The Supers Class – up to 50cc anything goes open class – is fast, furious, eye popping racing from start to finish with 6 tyre melting laps of precision control. In the Supers A class Racetech took a clean sweep with Phil Scott rounding off a superb weekend with overall first place from Dan Underwood a strong second and Luke Holness in third. The Supers B was another one not to take your eyes off, with positions constantly changing however after closely fought races it was Danny Hedger that took the overall spoils from Chris Martin second overall and Nick Densley in third. In the Supers Lights class it was Danny Kent who proved that put him on anything and he is capable of winning coming home first from Mike Corderoy second overall and Scott Redding third.
To see two grown people on a hand built smaller scale sidecar outfit hurtle around a kart track alongside a field of likeminded people really is a spectacle it is worth going out of your way to watch. It takes a special breed of person to do this – slightly insane is almost certainly a pre-requisite but meeting after meeting these racers push the boundaries and enjoy every minute in doing so. The F1 Sidecars saw a clean sweep of wins for Mike Mantell and Louise Hutt from Gordon Martlew and Phil Mapplebeck in second and Mick and Daniel Leigh in third (Pic below).
In the F2 Sidecars it was a clean sweep for Mick Williams and Sue Morrell from Jon Carver (Pic below) in second and Geoff Ribchester and young Yanna O’Neil in third on their debut.
The 4T Sidecars was a bit of a lonely outing for Richard Guest and passenger Marc Coyles (Rich n' Marci - Outfit#1 - pic below) but it is points in the bag for the season ahead.
The FAB Racing run Mini GP50 and 70cc British Championships provides a quality springboard between minimotos and the mainstream big wheeled race championships and the standard of riding is incredible. The machinery is top class and looks like a GP bike and some of the youngsters taking part will undoubtedly end up on your television screens in years to come. The racing falls into three classes – Mini GP50, Mini GP70 and Mini GP-Fun 70’s for adults over 3 x 10 lap races for the 50cc class, 12 laps for the 70cc class and 10 laps for the Fun70 class.
The Mini GP50 class saw some dominant racing from Bradley Ray to take all 3 race wins from a consistent and hard charging Kyle Ryde in second and Harry Comber’s two thirds and a fourth just pipping Aaron Climpson to third place overall. The Mini GP70 class saw a monumental battle between Fraser Rogers and James Flitcroft in races 2 and 3 with only 0.179 and 0.039 seconds splitting the two of them in each race. It was really breathtaking to watch these two race so closely lap after lap, always in control but never more than a few feet apart. Sadly, a DNF in race 1 left James Flitcroft in joint third overall with Luke Helm, Jason Douglas picked up a very creditable second overall but the much deserved first place went to Fraser Rogers with 2 wins and a second and a display of future potential that was impressive.
The Mini GP-Fun70 class lived up to its name with thrills and a few spills thrown in for good measure. As the chequered flag dropped it was Robert Keys taking the accolades from Stephan Castille in second overall and Paul Baxter in third.
If you have any doubt about the future of British two-wheeled racing then get yourself along to a round of ‘The British’, the UK’s premiere minimoto racing series and see for yourself the wealth of talent being nurtured in this country. I guarantee you will not be disappointed, you may even be tempted to give it a go and you won’t find a better bunch of people, from organisers to competitors anywhere. The next round is at Larkall in Scotland on the 21st /22nd April then Lydd in Kent on the 26th/27th May. Spectating is free.
Source: Gary Moore (aka cbr6man)
Photos: Neil @ powersportmedia.co.uk
Full Race Results: http://www.blatamad.co.uk/ROUND1FINALRESULTS.htm
More Info: http://www.mmra.org.uk
Also published in issue 1 of TinyBikes - http://www.mmra.org.uk/downloads/TinyBikes07-1.pdf (10Mb - Rightclick, Save Link As)
Permission to reproduce granted. HiRes Imagery - HERE
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Its about set up and pushing like hell with your strongest leg more than once plus another technique.......did anyone spot it
(and it dosen't involve jumping the start.). Riding EFCO powered minimoto moto's from 1991 teaches you something other than just pinning the throttle.
Originally Posted by Marci
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