Racing news

A GRAND DAY OUT

Scooter racing happens all over the country and sometimes riders get to experience top circuits, like Oulton and Donington Park with great facilities, as well as the bottom end of the market at circuits such as Elvington or Three Sisters. It has, however, been a long time since race scooters last graced the tarmac at Brands Hatch as it costs a fortune to run a meeting there and is out of the BSSO’s reach.

So for many riders, the chance to ride such a famous circuit, even in demonstration laps was too good an offer to turn down. On a weekend which would ordinarily see riders prepping their machines for the next BSSO race, 10 riders instead made the trip to Brands Hatch, to take part in the MSV Festival Italia along with a good few road riders on classic Lambretta and Vespas.

The event is a family motorsports day with a focus on all things Italian and draws huge crowds, featuring vehicles as diverse as classic Formula One cars and, well, racing scooters! As well as the sports vehicles, many other interesting vehicles were on display. Lamborghinis, Fiat 500s, a Simca Abarth! On the scooter side it was fantastic to see Andy Barnes’ original Rallymaster on show and running around the circuit in the parade, likewise a stunning Supertune Low Line in original condition.

Given the amount of exotic machinery that was on show during the event – between the Italian food market, funfair, live music and wood-fired pizza oven, the race scooters enjoyed a great deal of attention. Riders played their part chatting with the visitors, and letting kids have pictures on their scooters.

The race scooters were set to do a race demonstration alongside exotic Italian motorcycles including Ducati, Bimota and a 1000cc Laverda. Plenty of smiles at the riders briefing, and the scooter racers were told: yes, it was okay to overtake on the outside and to go out and have fun. Far fewer motorbikes took to the track than were in the paddock but all the race scooters went out. Perhaps the bikers knew what to expect? All of the race scooters overtook race bikes, David Bristow and Justin Price passed all of them – with Stuart Day not far behind on his production class Lambretta! That was exhilarating and the riders had a ball. The day was made perfect by the great weather, and the reception the scooterists received, both from other motorsports enthusiasts and the public. It was a great day out for the scooterists and racers and the organisers were very pleased with our presence.

Thanks to Andy Barnes, Andy Walker, Hodge, Justin Price, Stuart Day, Dan Loder, David Bristow, Stephen Graves, and Jon & Sharon Woods, who made the trip all the way down from Lancashire despite only arriving home from holiday in the early hours of Saturday morning. Words & Images: Paul Green