Racing,it’s
easy... isn't it?
Scooter sport has gone through many changes in
its 50-year history,morphing through several
styles of scooter ‘racing’ to reach where it is today.
R
ightfrom the 1950sthere was
the desireforscooteriststo
competeagainsteachotherin
different ways. At thestartit
was HighSpeed Trials... to see
if riders could keep going ata(relatively)
highspeedovermanyhoursandhundredsof
miles. Those machines werenothugely fast,
but it wa salsoabout consistencyand
reliability. In 1969 those races developed
intotheearlyversionsofcircuitracesaswe
know them today, withthe scoo ters and
rules beingcleverl ydeveloped over the years
by various organising bodies.We’ve now
arrivedatthemodernsetofruleswherethe
machines stilllook like scooters, butare
permitted huge developmentswhich give
bothspeed andreliability,and have
contributedmassivelytothedevelopmentof
fast andpowerfulroad engines.
So, in this50thyear of scooter road
racing,altho ughnumbers have taken a
slightdip(italwaysgoesincycles),it’s
greattosee theinterestint wo types of
event thatboth ha rk back to past timesfor
potentiallychea perwaystopush your
scootertoitslimits.TheWhackyRaces
event held recentlylooked an absolute
hoot...getonatwisty ,and relativelyslower,
kart circuitand getout on track withjust
verysimplecriteria.Fastorslow,therewas
agroup for you, jus ttwo of them... simple.
It’sagreat way to give people that first
potentialtasteofr iding ascooter as fast as
theycan,inasafeenvironment,withvery
littl erules andregs. It is all about having
funand experiencingataste of thetrack.
Therewere only shortstraightsandlotsof
bends,sot op speedswere rela tivel ylow,
andifyou didfalloff your chances ofany
seriousinjury toyoursel forthe scooter were
minimal.Youcouldbeontrack forasl ittle
as £10,whichwas brilliant... just turn up
andride; no need to go through an
expensiveort ime-consumingrace licence
process.Thistype of even tisb rilliant toget
that tasteof sp eed.
In Septemberthere is asix-hour
enduranceracecoming upat anotherkart
circuitin th enortheast. This will costabit
more, but it willstill be relatively easyto
get ascooteroutthere. Simple classesand
rules. It’s abou tgettingtogether with
friends andclub matestoridefastover
severalhours,sharingthecostofthe
scooter.Reliability and consistencywill be
more impo rtantthan bigbhp. Just like
those early days!The challengeand buzz
fromridingwithyourmatesinashared
experienceis somethingyou will remember
always; one of life'sgreat adventures to tell
your grandkids about.Itisbrilliant.
Butwait...whenyou’vehadalittle
taster ,and enjoyed goingrelat ively fast,
what next? Thereis the obviousroute to
BSSO scooter racing,atrue British
championship.Butthisisawholenew
level .Indeed,awhole newworld. Yes, for
sure youwillneed to go throughtraining
andtests to getarace licence.You’ll need
raceleathersandequipment,andalthough
notstrictly necessary ,you arevery likely to
want to buildaspecific race scooter.
Circuitracing isamuchmore professional,
fastanddangerousactivity.Youcannotjust
go anddoitonawhim. Anyone thathas
racedinr ecen tyears ha slikely seen and
experienced atclos ehandsomeverynasty
crashesandlife-changinginjuriesforsome
riders. Itis ablastuntil it goes wrong.The
race licence andtraining aretherefor a
reason. Racingatthe to pnational level is a
wholedifferentballgame.Ihaveracedon
andoff forover 30 years andseen good
friends broken,bentand unconsciouson
thetrack andin hospi tal. Ihave
commentated andtried tokeepthings
entertainingduringradioblackoutfollowing
accidentsinvol ving friends who areinjured.
This side of thingsisalot les sfun.
It’seasytot hinkyou areatalented rider
just because you’veridden downthe bypass
andaroundaroundaboutprettyquick.But
top-level racingin the UKhassome of the
best scooterridersint he world. Conneely,
Edmonds,Day, Geyton, Bamber, O’Brien and
thelikeareonawholedifferentlevel.I
couldgoout with some local clubs andride
offintothe distancethro ugh bends and
roundaboutswithease, thinking I’m
super-quick,butputmeonthetrackand
those namesI’ve justmentioned willbe
lappingmevery quickly.New riders can take
years to build experienceandspeed to
competeand,ofcourse,30yearsaround
racing has shownmethatonce it getsalittle
more serious andthere aresome plastic
trophiesinvolved, allthe fu nofthe Whacky
Racesstartstodissipate.Preciserulesand
regulations are needed, back-biting starts,
everyone wantsalevelplayin gfieldfor all
(except forthe guys at the front who want to
staythere),andeveryonewantstofeellikea
winner or champio n. Eventheguy in third
placewill be posting onFacebook about his
achievementofb eing third in class at the
weekend...obviouslyignoringthefactthat
he's 40 secondsoff the lead andthere are
only actuallythree inhis class! But at
whateverlevel, if youwantanexperience of
scootersportI’drecommendit.Justdon't
expecttobeachampionstraight off!
Credit:KSR Photography
14 |SCOOTE RING|AUGUST
