Racing with the gods…

It was 30 years ago but that hat track still holds a special place in my memory…

Back in those days EMSA was one of the main organisers of scooter racing and had organised some racing in Scotland at the fabulous Knockhill circuit. Of course anyone who has spent any time in Scotland knows that regardless of time of year you could get any of the four seasons, even all four in one day. In those days searching for a bed and breakfast meant getting magazines or books from WH Smith and I got the UK Bed and Breakfast Guide. I pored over it, found Bowleys Farm and set off with my dad to do the long journey up to Scotland with a trailer and race scooter. Speed cameras were not really a thing back then and the trailer would sit quite happily at 90mph. Waking up early I remember one of the most amazing breakfasts that only Scottish hospitality could provide. Bacon and eggs from the farm, flat sausage square, home-made bread toasted and a bowl of the most amazing Scots porridge, yes with butter and salt! We set off for the circuit in thick fog; upon arrival you couldn’t see across the straight from the paddock. We signed in, scrutineered, then waited… and waited. In early afternoon there was talk of abandoning, the fog just hadn’t eased, but as everyone had travelled so far we figured we may as well hang on. Then it started to clear, a bit, so at least we would get some track time. Game on, well… sort of. We got some track time but finally abandoned the event, as we just couldn’t see. Despite that, the whole experience still had the enjoyment of scooters, new friends and camaraderie, a happy day.

I’d had a new Group 4 barrel the previous year and it was (according to Dave Webster) the last full Group 4 barrel he tuned. But it just didn’t really work for me and after struggling along I’d taken the barrel to Martin Cook at Chiselspeed and he reworked it, which was somewhat controversial at the time. Webbo wasn’t aware of this initially but Knockhill had allowed me to ‘stretch the legs’ of the motor and I’d got the gearing and jetting spot on and it was now quick like I had expected. Of course Webbo was a far better rider than me and naturally towards the end of the race through the left/right flick he came by me… so I tucked in behind him through the right and stayed with him through the left kink then it was head down in his slipstream, and on straight-line speed I edged alongside him on the straight, up to the ultra-tight hairpin and as we braked he let me up the inside as he just looked at me. He then flicked back under me and accelerated away down to the start line, I was buzzing. I’d stayed with him for almost half a lap and actually got back at him into the hairpin after he lapped me, though that sort of action from a back marker is really not the ‘done thing’. But yes, I did it; my dad had seen it and was beaming as I came back to the paddock. I went for a pee and as I stood there who should come in but Webbo, he was definitely not happy. He scornfully said that I was “going very well” and asked what I had done to the bike. Well, what else could I say as I zipped up and went to walk out the toilet block? “Took it to Chiselspeed!” was my reply, that was most definitely a happy day. I was never going to threaten either of the MSC riders over a race but just that 15 seconds of fame with them made my day (year) and also I suspect brought a wry smile to Martin Cook’s face.

One of the things with racing is that confidence can bring you a good few seconds a lap of speed and that incident boosted my confidence so I don’t feel I ever had a bad day at Knockhill. The following year we went up again in September but fortunately no fog. It was the height of Group 4 and names like West, Merchant, Miller, Braithwaite, Anderson, Bristow and the like were all my competitors. They all would beat me but I never cared. Those were happy days and happiness is not always about winning. It was just the buzz, the adrenaline, the competition. It was a few years before I retired and then ‘unretired’ from racing and Webbo and I had a really long chat about it. He was absolutely brilliant and remembered every detail as we spoke for well over an hour, just the two of us talking about the old days like I was a long-lost friend. We laughed about it and chatted about the character around racing over the years. He is someone who often divided opinion, but to me he was a genius and a super-talented tuner and stylishly smooth rider. He is sadly missed today but you can’t help but think of being in the same race as him in any way other than they were happy days. We need to keep those happy days in our hearts and minds.

I went for a pee and as I stood there who should come in but Webbo, he was definitely not happy. He scornfully said that I was “going very well” and asked what I had done to the bike.