If you have competed in any type of motorcycle sport, the urge to join in again never quite goes away. Many amateur competitors “retire” as a result of other commitments such as family and career. However, many return to see if they still have that old magic...Adam Jamison of AJ Racing tells us how it can be achieved.
Walking into my local motorcycle shop, at the time, in 1991, “Littlehampton Motorcycles” (now Worthing Motorcycles), there stood in the corner of the shop an old race bike, a concoction of a thing, a Honda CR250 two stroke motocross engine bolted into a Hejira frame. Spindly and narrow spoked wheels and an old fashioned fairing loosely bolted on, not the prettiest of bikes but for 400 quid it was mine to have some fun on.
My friend had been racing 125’s and I had often gone with him to lend a helping hand so it seemed a good idea to have a go myself. My only other experience of competition was watching the very exciting “road racing” when growing up as a boy in Northern Ireland.
After some success with wins in my class, as a novice, it wasn’t until ‘95 that I returned to have a go in the Supermono series in the larger single cylinder class. A great learning experience, I was fortunate enough to get several excellent rides on the machine Jim Moodie won the inaugural TT Supermono race on in 1994. In 1996 my claim to fame was qualifying on the front row of the grid alongside Alan Cathcart for one of the rounds of the National Supermono series on an elderly Tigcraft Rotax.
My return to racing had been originally planned for earlier than 2009 but going back to college, becoming a dad and renovating our house in East Preston meant the racing had to be put on hold for a couple of years. Although not participating, my interest in racing never diminished and I started looking at the “Minitwins” class which had originated back in 2003 with Bemsee. The series is open to any water cooled, four stroke, twin cylinder machine of up to 650cc, or air cooled, four stroke machine of up to 820cc. Tuning is limited to adding a race exhaust system and altering the jetting, or fuel injection mapping for the more modern bikes. Suspension may be modified and race bodywork can be added.
The modifications are limited to keep development and running costs to a minimum.
The most popular bike is the Suzuki SV650, from the early 1999 carburetted bikes to the latest fuel injected machines with a class limit of 72 BHP.
Race ready machines can be purchased for as little as £1000 but the more you can afford the better the bike will be in its standard of preparation and spec. £3000 buys you a more modern machine that should be capable of a top ten finish. Spares are also plentiful on internet auction sites such as ebay and there are a number of motorcycle shops providing excellent back up, race parts, spares and advice, a good example being fellow competitor Steve Jordan of Steve Jordan Motorcycles in Surrey.
For 2010 the Minitwins class at BMCRC (Bemsee) is represented in the MRO format, Rookies and Juniors so really catering for all abilities and ages. The first race of the season saw 34 MRO riders on the grid not including the separate “Rookie” class that ran earlier in the day. The highlight this year will be the MRO Minitwins BSB support race at Cadwell Park in May (21st, 22nd, 23rd)
Other clubs catering for the Minitwins class include North Gloucester and Thundersport UK.
Those looking to get started in racing would do well to consider this class as an option - competitive, exciting, relatively inexpensive and most importantly, fun!
Thank you to Worthing Motorcycles for their continued support.
Photography copyright Racing Line Photography
Adam of AJ Racing is looking for sponsorship. To contact him, call 07733 368380, 01903 771008 or
adamjamison@hotmail.com
I want to go faster, I want to go faster..
