http://www.british50ccracing.com/

The main organisation for scooter circuit racing in the UK is the BSSO who are responsible for organising and coordinating race meetings across the country. So what do you actually need to do to get started then? Well, apart having a scooter to race with in the first place of course, what you need to do to begin with is sort out all the paperwork. Membership to the BSSO will cost you £10 per year and for that you’ll be sent a membership pack containing all the rules and regulations and entry forms for the forthcoming race meetings. Next up, you’ll need an ACU racing licence. The ACU (Auto Cycle Union) are the governing body for two-wheeled motorsport in the UK. To get an ACU licence you’ll need to pay £35 (plus the cost of an eye test) and send off a couple of passport-sized photos. In return you’ll get a year’s membership to the ACU and receive regular newsletters, results and entry forms when they become available.

Once you’ve sorted that little lot out there’s the cost of the entry fee itself. Each race meeting costs a different amount depending on the track and how many races are being run. Generally though one can assume that the cost for solo’s ranges between £75 and £100. The cost of entry for sidecars can range from £85 to £100. Unfortunately if you’ve never raced before it’s a case of diving in at the deep end and racing against the experienced riders, don’t worry though you can start at the back of the grid and take your time (until you’re lapped that is)! At the moment in the UK there’s currently no other way to get into scooter racing and there are no introductory courses for newbies at the moment. Piaggio putting up a load of bikes for people to have a go on would be a dream come true but, one can only dream. Riders as young as 13 years old can race with the BSSO in the 70cc automatic class in which case the budding Leon Haslam’s out there are catered for.

Safety first – rider protection

As ever, rider protection is paramount so you’ll need to get kitted out with the appropriate attire so within your budget get the best protection you can buy. Two piece leathers aren’t allowed, it’s one piece leathers or nothing (and that doesn’t mean riding naked either)! The reason why two piece leathers aren’t allowed is because any exposed skin could quite easily become subjected to some very nasty cuts and grazes, not nice. There are some good deals out there at the moment though and one piece leathers can be picked up quite cheaply nowadays (like at the annual bike show at the Birmingham NEC). Crash helmets must be ACU approved and have a visible ACU gold sticker on them. You’ll also need some leather gloves and a pair of good quality boots with ankle protection.

Choosing a bike and a class to enter

There are numerous classes you can enter with the BSSO, in this article though we will concentrate on the automatics. If you want to enter as a solo rider the classes you can enter are as follows:

Group 10 – up to 70cc

This class is undoubtedly the most popular automatic class at BSSO meetings. High-revving Piaggio Zip’s rule the roost with riders like Mark Caldecutt and Martin Pitman usually leading the pack. There are some very experienced riders in this class so be warned if you are new to racing. If you’re still wondering about what bike to race with or want to race something other than a Piaggio Zip, well how’s about a tuned Italjet Formula or a tuned Runner perhaps? Tuned Gilera Ice’s are popular in parts of Europe yet it’s quite surprising that there aren’t any to be seen on the track here in the UK. A Gilera Ice would be a good choice (in my humble opinion) for its robust chassis, good handling and angle of turn aswell as the availability of go-faster parts to get you up to speed. There are so many scooters of this capacity to consider though; Runner, Dragster, Formula, Velocifero? How’s about a Benelli 491, Pug Speedfight, Yam Aerox, Neos, Slider… The list goes on.

Group 11 – up to 125cc

At the last meeting I went to at Cadwell Park there wasn’t any scooters on the track in this class so at the moment it’s all there for the taking. There are loads of 125cc scoots on the market too giving you plenty of options and second-hand or crash damaged 125s can be picked up fairly cheaply nowadays from scooter breakers and classified ad’s e.g. a 125cc Runners or Dragster, a Piaggio Hexagon or how about a 100cc Speedfight?

Group 12 – up to 250cc

With all the tuned Aprilia SR’s, Dragsters and Runners out there you’d have thought this would be one of the more crowded classes at BSSO race meetings. Far from it actually, riders in this class are in the minority at BSSO meetings so if you really wanna have a go at scooter racing then may I suggest you enter this class? A Malossi 172cc kitted Runner would be the obvious choice but it would be interesting to see a Dragster out there on the track as a rival or a Gilera DNA 180.

There are classes for maxi-scooters but from what I’ve been told they may be being dropped from the championship, for your information though the current big cc classes are as follows:

Group 13 – up to 500cc

Scooters eligible in this class include for example the Suzuki Burgman 400 or Yamaha Tmax 500 and more..

Group 14 – up to 650cc

You’d probably stick out like a sore thumb on one of these machine purely in terms of scale in comparison to the many lightweight and agile 70cc Piaggio’s that zip around the track. The scooters that are eligible in this include for example the Honda Silverwing 600 or Suzuki Burgman 650.

Now you’ve seen the classes you may well ask “what’s the cheapest class to get started in”? Well generally speaking the larger engine capacity machines are probably going to cost more, you’re more likely to pick up a second-hand 50cc scoot for a cheaper price, but you’re still gonna have to shell out on tuning parts to get the machine up to speed in order to be competitive. So what kind of speed are we talking here? Well the 70cc Zip’s have been now to reach speeds in excess of 80mph in some cases. Obviously the smaller engine capacity scoots will require a higher level of tune to get them up to that level of speed. As many of you will know, the tuning game can get addictive where speed is involved so the costs can start to add up for the speed freaks among you and speed don’t come cheap as they say!

Sidecars

A ‘sidecar’ in race terms comprises of a three wheel unit, a driver of course and a passenger. Getting into sidecar racing is probably trickier than if you were to enter as a solo rider. For a start you need a sidecar outfit (machine) then you need some experience. If you talk to the BSSO nicely then there’s a chance they might be able to arrange for you to try your hand as a passenger. Be warned though those sidecar drivers are renowned for being a bit ‘crazy’ and you could quite literally end up getting the ride of your life!

There are three sidecar classes you can enter with the BSSO as follows:

Group 7 – Specials up to 260cc (manual or automatic)

Sidecars may certainly look different yet they’re scooters at heart or at least they’re scooter-powered. For hidden beneath all that fiberglass you’ll find an automatic or geared engine and either is allowed in this class. The frames are custom-made and the machines are therefore quite unique in themselves. A Group 7 outfit I looked at (tuned by Geoff Stephens) utilises a Malossi-kitted Gilera Runner engine, and with a driver and passenger and given the actual bulk of these things you’d be inclined to think that the old power-to-weight ratio would be seriously reduced. These machines however can and do motor when you see them in action. In this class up to 260cc is allowed which means a variety of engines could be used e.g. a Yamaha Majesty 250 engine perhaps, a Piaggio X9 250, Hexagon 250, Suzuki Burman 250? The list goes on. There are no restrictions with regards how the engine drives the rear wheel in this class either, so the machines can be direct, chain or belt driven.

Group 8 – Classics up to 238cc (manual gear change only)

Not really applicable in this article since we’re dealing with automatics but worth a mention anyway is the Group 8 sidecar class. This is a geared class for classic Lambretta-powered outfits up to 238cc in which the engine must drive the rear wheel and there are no limits to the tuning allowed. Some strong opposition has been seen in this popular sidecar class so look out.

Group 9 – Formula 125s (125cc motorcycle engines)

The title of this Group 9 class is not to be mistaken with the Italjet Formula 125. Though you could, if you were industrious enough, build a sidecar outfit which utilises a Formula 125 engine if you were so inclined. Therefore what this class caters for is any scooter or motorcycle engine up to 125cc be it geared or automatic. There’s not much opposition in this class at present but I have seen an Aprilia RS125 outfit out there on the circuit which may take some beating.

Preparing your machine

Before you can go out on the track, your machine must meet certain safety requirements which is to be expected. So the things you need to have sorted out before a race meeting are as follows:

• Lock-wired drain plugs

• Taped-up or removed indicator lenses (so that glass/plastic doesn’t smash into tiny pieces all over the track in the event of an accident)

• Ball-end brake levers

• A self-closing throttle

• A clearly marked ignition on/off switch

• A clearly marked fuel tap (not applicable on most automatic scooters)

• The cylinder bore and stroke should be marked on every machine

• Exhausts, it’s worth noting that the furthest extremity of any exhaust must not project beyond any part of the machine or its bodywork

• Tyres, when conditions permit, slick (untreaded) tyres may be used. As for moulded tyres they must have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm across the entire original tread area

• Space on the bike to put your race numbers

The venues

BSSO race meetings take place at venues such as Cadwell Park in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds, Ty Croes in Angelsey, Carnaby in North Yorkshire, Darley Moor in Derbyshire and this year the Isle of Man. Cadwell Park is one of the UK’s most popular and demanding tracks and a top venue for competitors and spectators alike. The circuit at Cadwell has lots to offer the rider and entertain the spectator; long straights, hills, challenging corners like the Gooseneck and a hairpin in the middle which seems to be the focal point for those watching if only because it’s within easy walking distance of the paddock and a great place to see the action close-up.

For more information on Cadwell Park and for directions, you can phone the circuit office on 01507 343248. Or on the web log-on to: www.octagonmotorsports.com

The points system

What do points make? Yep, prizes. At the end of the racing season (or what seems to be the start of the following year) the BSSO hold an annual awards bash where, apart from being a good reason for a booze up, the winners in their various classes receive trophies and prizes for their efforts throughout the year and from what I’ve seen myself I don’t think anyone leaves empty handed.

The points system is quite complicated though and has been developed over a number of years. Basically it works like this for each race and each individual class:

1st place: 30 points; 2nd place:27 points; 3rd place: 25 points

4th 24; 5th 23; 6th 22; 7th 21; 8th 20; 9th 19; 10th 18 and so on.

In addition to the above, the top five riders then get extra points for the number of people they beat in their class up to a maximum of five extra places. So, if there are seven finishers in a particular class the points would work out like this:

1st 35; 2nd 31; 3rd 28; 4th 26; 5th 24; 6th 22; 7th 21; 8th 20

If it’s a small class, say just three finishers then the points would be:

1st 32; 2nd 28; 3rd 25

Geoff Mason summed up the points system pretty well; “if this makes sense to you then you are a better man than I as it took me about two years to get the hang of it and I’m the championship controller!”

The people (behind the scenes)

There are various people you can contact with regards racing with the BSSO and it’s worth mentioning too that it’s thanks to these people that scooter road racing itself is being kept alive. Take Pete Hinsley the BSSO’s Technical Officer for instance who’s been actively involved in scooter racing since the late sixties. Pete is present at every BSSO race meeting ensuring that everything goes smoothly, he’s the man to talk to about preparing a scooter for racing and is particularly keen on seeing new sidecar entries which is an area of scooter racing that’s currently showing great potential perhaps because of the automatic engine. Pete has seen a lot of people racing over the years and is therefore interested in seeing new faces on the track and new talent and the Group 12 class (automatics up to 250cc) in particular is crying out for new riders. It could be you eh?

Geoff Mason (as I’ve already mentioned) is the BSSO’s Chairman and Championship Controller who’s job it is to try and find diplomatic and equitable solutions to any problems raised by members of the club at the BSSO’s AGM. Geoff also collates all of the results from the race meetings held during the season and distills these into the championship table (once he’s goe his head around out the points system)!

Norrie Kerr is the BSSO’s President and another arbiter of good sense when it comes to disputes within the club. Norrie also does a lot work finding and liaising with sponsors.

Roland Davis can usually be found out there on the track, he’s also the Treasurer of the BSSO, though you probably won’t need to contact Roland it’s his job to keep the club’s finances in good order and tell the club what they can and can’t do with the cash.

Sylvia Caldecutt is the BSSO’s General Secretary, Sylvia co-ordinates many of the day to day queries that they receive at the club either answering them herself or ensuring they get passed on to someone who can help.