We're back and recovering from a long and eventful day of racing at Donington Park yesterday. Round 4 of the 2011 BSSO championship coincided with the Superstars International Race Series which meant there was more to see in between races including the likes of some impressive touring cars and pickup trucks. Donington's 1.95 mile circuit may have been great for the cars but put a strain on the scooters, some more than others. Despite this Pedstop's Sam Schofield appeared to go from strength to strength and put in an admirable performance in all three races.
At Donington, Sam appeared to be getting into a more natural flow on the circuit gaining in confidence with every lap, he even managed to go home with a trophy after coming second in the Auto Class in race one. Everything was going smoothly until the last lap of the last race when the Zip tumbled and hit the gravel. Sam was okay but the resulting damage means there's a load of work to be done to repair and prepare the scoot for next weekend's racing at Cadwell. Scooter racing can be a costly business and at times frustrating, something which the Ravenscrofts can also vouch for...
Young gun Joe Ravenscroft had a tough time at Donington. His Zip had just undergone a full rebuild and was producing good power on the dyno, but technical problems occurred during practice, something went drastically wrong and despite Joe being the third fastest rider he returned to the paddock with a seized engine. A spare engine came into play but this didn't hold out during the first race either, this put an abrupt end to the the day's racing for Joe. When things are going well Joe is among the most skilled up-and-coming riders out there, we hope he'll be able to make a comeback than see racing talent go to waste.
Meanwhile it was pretty much business as usual for BSSO champ Josh Brown. But like Joe, Josh also got a DNF in the first race after the engine exploded towards the end of the race. The second race of the day had to be stopped due to one of the other riders Alex van Dyke taking a fall. And in most races this season (and indeed last season) it seems to be a close battle between Josh and Craig Bewey. But victory came in the final race when Josh just managed to win by a 1000th of a second putting Craig in second.
As well as being easier to spot on the track, our eye-catching new race colours - "teal coloured" as described by one of the commentators, also got a lot of attention from onlookers at Donington, why not come and take a closer look at our scoots in the paddock and in action at Cadwell Park this weekend (25/26 June)? It's a two-day event in conjunction with the VMCC (Vintage Motorcycle Club), so expect to see a few old skool Bantams mixing it once again with the autos.
Video and full report on BSSO Round 4 to follow...
