Having competed in every BSEC endurance event so far it seemed a bit strange for SLUK Racing to be sitting this meeting out but with half of our riders already committed to the Whitby National Rally, we had no choice really.
Instead of our usual look at the racing, here’s Whilton Mill, 6-hour Endurance Racing – a pitlane view from Ellis, scooter rider, part-time commentator, internet-based radio show host (you can listen to his previous shows here) and all-round good guy (in his opinion!). Here’s what he had to say…
Sub-sub culture
Vintage scooters, Lambrettas and Vespas in particular, have become a mainstay of TV and movie advertising in recent years as they conjure up an image of culture and coolness that immediately grab the viewer’s attention. However, there is a well-established sub-culture that we all know has existed for many years. One that these advertising executives will never understand and are frankly surprised exists at all when you tell them about it. It’s our little secret.
And then there is scooter racing – an even smaller community of dedicated riders and amongst them, there are the endurance racers! Try explaining that to a marketing executive and their gast would be well and truly flabbered!
What became apparent quite quickly was that there was a buzz to get racing underway as people had waited a long time for this first event. Most of the usual teams were milling about including Hornet Racing, The Real Taffspeed, IDK Endurance, New2TwigArd, London Lambretta Club, Rushden Lambretta Club, The Dukes of Essex, United Colours of Bemberton, and Team Escargot (to name but a few!) and a few new ones notably team TD-Customs Targa Twin from Germany and Tuatha De Danann from over the Irish Sea. And it was these two new teams that came to epitomise all aspects of the sport of Scooter Endurance Racing.
Bavarian Twin
Team TD Customs (read more about Timo’s scooters here) had travelled over from deepest darkest Bavaria to take part in their first Whilton Mill 6-hour endurance race. Their team: Timo Drack/ Markus Beranek/ Harald Hirsch and Julia Spitznaz, are all experienced in scooter racing, taking part in multiple races across Germany – generally riding extremely fast smallframes with the latest in tuning technology available in Europe. Smallframes are far more prevalent in German racing as the shorter wheelbase and relatively lightweight makes them perfect for the tracks they use. Combine that with the multiple tuning options (the Quattrini M20 seems to be quite popular) and you get very close racing amongst teams that are extremely well funded and professional in nature. However, Timo decided he wanted to build something to compete in the UK endurance series and put together the 682 Lambretta featuring one of Tino Sacchi’s ‘exotic’ engines – the Targa Twin along with top rated braking and suspension components. They put a team together, packed the van and made the long journey to the UK and instantly became welcomed into the sub-sub-culture of UK scooter racers!
Julia was the only female racer present at the weekend and I caught up with her in-between racing stints to get her unique perspective of the BSEC experience. Julia, it turns out, is an extremely experienced and consummate racer – but most of her racing has been on the aforementioned smallframes. However, as with all racers, the promise of taking a new series overseas on a well set up piece of scootering exotica proved too much to resist and boom! She was in.
Live on TV!
Julia’s first observation was how well set up the event was and how friendly the teams were with each other. Credit goes to Keith Terry and team for the first point and the teams themselves for the latter! She also made an interesting observation about the apparent average age of the riders taking part compared to those in her homeland – it would appear UK scooter racers are about 20 years older on average than their German counterparts! She really enjoyed the track and was impressed with the Targa Twin’s smooth power delivery and excellent handling capability. Bearing in mind this was the first time she had raced a Lambretta in anger it was impressive to watch her take on, and more than compete with, some of the more experienced (older!) UK racers.
Our initial chat – being broadcast live on Youtube Interview at (3h:30 mins on the live feed) – was rudely interrupted however by one of her teammates demanding her presence as they needed to do an unplanned changeover and there was no hesitation – she was off! I was left standing with a microphone and live Youtube audience with nowhere to go which amused those nearby in the pit lane. Having had that effect on women in the past though I was unperturbed and found something else to talk about! Julia re-joined us a few minutes later as the unplanned change turned out to be an error in communication from rider to pit wall (they had a complex set of hand signals – the one for “I’m tired, I’m coming in next lap” being a bit too similar to what you do to shake off a bit of vibration fatigue in your hand from 30 minutes flat out on a Lambretta, even one as smooth as the Targa). We managed to conclude our discussion, with Julia enthusiastically describing riding styles, her new appreciation for the UK racing scene and trying hard to be humble about her ambitions for the race (they went on to win!).
Tuatha De Danann
Not long after chatting with Julia and getting the Bavarian experienced racers’ perspective, I came across Brendan from the Irish Team – Tuatha De Danann (pronounced Too Ha Day Danan I have on good authority) which translates as “Tribe of the Mystic Gods”! Now Brendan had been involved in two previous events as a member of the team’s pit crew but had been talked into donning some shiny new leathers and helmet and having a go at piloting the team’s Lambretta LI150 based RB 20. His preparation for the event involved riding his road bike (which, by the way, is currently being prepared for a ride to Belgium in the coming months!) around the streets and industrial estates of Naas in County Kildare as fast as he could, much to the bemusement of the locals. Luckily he didn’t attract the attention of the local constabulary…
Anyway, having arrived on the Friday morning he got in some laps during the practice sessions and found himself building in confidence after a nervous start so when it came to his stint in the actual race he felt certain he could do a good job for his team. Brendan was putting some good laps, in the 1m 10s range and was finding his lines consistently, and getting more and more confident and then it happened – overcooking it in one of the faster parts of the track he lost control and crashed spectacularly. We waited with baited breath for him to get up which he did after getting his own breath back and, with the race paused with a red flag, he returned to paddock with a broken bike and battered body.
Whilst the team turned their attention to fixing the headset and a broken clutch lever, Brendan licked his wounds and considered his next move – could he get back on and overcome the disappointment (and the pain!) of coming a cropper, or was that it – his racing career is over? Now, having seen what happened I would not have been surprised if he chucked in the towel and said “Sod it, that’s me done” but no, he’d decided that these things happen and if he didn’t get back on the bike now, he never would. So, after a couple of Ibuprofen and giving himself a good talking to, he got back on board and did more than a respectable job of clocking up a few more laps for the team. His infectious enthusiasm for the whole event and his own involvement did not go unnoticed and I was smiling for a good 30 minutes after chatting with him (5:40 47 seconds to see the interview) it was obvious that he had thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will back with a vengeance (and huge smile on his face) at Teesside! It must be said though that I think he was most excited at the prospect of his son, Evan, seeing him being interviewed live on Youtube!
At the end of the day there was the silverware to be given out (results table below) but for me it is the spirit and commitment that people involved in racing like Julia and Brendan epitomise. These are events for anyone with an interest in racing scooters irrespective of their ability or experience. And if you put the effort in that these guys do then the community will welcome you aboard no matter what stage you are at in your racing career. With the racing and awards ceremony ended many people retired to the on-site bar and restaurant to relax and wax lyrical about their own performances before scurrying back to the campsite for a few more beers (or wine in my case!). And, of course, the night ended with a sing-song around a barbecue with three young ladies belting out erm, unique, versions of songs from the charts that none of the 50+ years old racers had ever heard of. Their version of “Stick in a 5 and go” will stay with me forever…
Words: Ellis (you can tune in to his radio show at 8pm-10pm on Thursdays here)
Photos: Lee Hollick Photography
Results and YouTube link
After six hours and 304 laps, TD Customs came first in the ScooterNova Magazine sponsored Race Class and first overall. They were followed over the line by the ScooterLab sponsored London Lambretta Club (Road Class winners) and the Real Taffspeed in third as AME Sponsored Pro Race Class winners. IDK Endurance Racing Team took home the Vespa Club of Great Britain members trophy in Club Class.
Of course, you can still watch the full six hours of racing on the Alpha Timing YouTube channel by clicking this link.
Bember speed on a Vega!!!