Always wanted to be a ‘factory racer’? Well here’s your chance...
The Suzuki Bandit Challenge offers the ultimate club racing prize
All bike racing fans aspire to be like their heroes – competing for the best manufacturers on a top-spec bike, without a second thought for tyres, spares or setup. It’s a dream that can only be achieved by the elite, those who begin a path to racing success before they even left junior school. For the rest of us, that factory ride remains an idle fantasy, played out in our heads on Sunday mornings as we watch on from the comfort of the sofa.
But there is another way. The Formula Prostocks Suzuki Bandit Challenge is one of the fastestgrowing club racing series in Britain, attracting full grids of GSF600 riders of all abilities for a weekend of AMAstyle straightbar action. And what’s more, the championship winner receives a fully supported Team Classic Suzuki-prepared race bike for the following season – bagging you that factory ride you’ve always wanted.
An incentive first devised for 2019, the ‘factory-spec’ Bandit is handed over to the reigning champion ahead of round one, complete with a spares package and tyres for the season. Shod with quality components and draped in gorgeous, glossy plastics, it’s the ultimate club racing prize and one that certainly turns heads. And the price for getting involved? Well, that’s down to you… The series is all about making racing more affordable so only the bike’s shock and exhaust system can be replaced, as well as limited changes to the fork internals. The engine must remain standard and you must install a bellypan to adhere to ACU rules. Outside of that, you are free to spend as much or as little money as you see fit.
To experience it for myself, I packed up my leathers and travelled to Cadwell Park on the August bank holiday weekend for the opening round of the 2020 season. Every space on the Bandit grid is occupied and despite the howling winds and sideways rain when I arrive, I’m greeted by a sea of smiles from my fellow competitors, all telling of their excitement to be finally riding in anger after the lockdown.
One of the beaming faces is 57-year-old Bob Southgate, Bandit racer and member of Team Fat Blokes Racing, who’s prepared the bike I’ll be riding for the weekend. Inviting me under the team awning, he introduces me to my Bandit and it’s far better than I could’ve imagined.
A former 5000-mile road bike bought for £950, it’s been transformed with a glorious blend of silver and purple across the plastics, frame and wheels, converting what was an ordinarylooking carbed commuter into a sleek little racer – growling like a 1990s World Superbike through its open Black Widow exhaust. It’s a package that was a further £2000 to prepare and will comfortably run inside the top 10 with the right rider onboard.
At around £400 for entries, membership and test day fee, it’s
‘I’m greeted by a sea of smiles from my fellow competitors’
a pricey weekend on the face of it (and that’s before you factor in the bike and sundry costs), but it buys some of the closest club racing action I have ever experienced and with 35 riders on the grid all riding equal machinery, you’re guaranteed to enjoy a great scrap regardless of your pace.
The Bandit itself also feels astoundingly capable – dispersing all preconceived ideas of gentle commuting, wallowy suspension and wafty performance. Barking its way out of corners and onto the straights with an intoxicating yowl from its open pipe, the 599cc inline four revs its heart out without hesitation – snatching momentary breaks as you throttle off for snappy clutchless gear changes.
With the Bandit dropping effortlessly onto your knee with a gentle push on the flat bars, you can carry 100mph★ speeds into Cadwell’s fifth-gear Coppice corner and make full use of a set of grippy track rubber without the chassis getting into any kind of trouble. Despite Friday and Saturday being a washout weather-wise, we are treated to three excellent days of riding. As my time on track increases, so does my confidence in the bike beneath me and every time I brake later, accelerate harder and tip in more aggressively, my fondness for my number 65 machine grows.
By the end of the weekend, the bike and I are fighting for pointsscoring positions and consistently lapping within the top half of the field - enjoying some closely contended battles throughout. It’s addictively exciting and I don’t want to give up the keys, especially when there’s also that tantalising prize in sight – being a championship winner and factorysupported racer – it’s the ultimate club racing accolade.