Pedstop Race Team action at Donington Park

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...

BSSO 2011 Championship - Round 3: Pembrey

Here's a couple of racing vids from day two at Pembrey which was Round 3 of the 2011 BSSO scooter racing championship.

Race 1: A change in weather conditions meant going back to dry tyres for the team. Josh put in a belting performance leading the whole ten lap race to finish first. Damon Tunnicliffe came second, seven seconds behind. Sam did well finishing fifth but things didn't go too well for young gun Joe. On the last race of day one Joe's engine case split clean in half so this meant an engine swap before day two. Joe got a taste of the action but his Zip was down on power after fitting the spare engine. Coupled with battling against strong headwinds he finished seventh, things can only get better!

Race 2: All the scooters lined up on the grid for one last time and away they went tearing into the first corner. Josh Brown went on to take yet another win with Joe in fourth and Sam in sixth. We didn't stick around long after our final race and was soon packed up ready for the long four hour journey back to Yorkshire. All in all it was a great weekend at Pembrey. Josh got quite a few wins and set another lap record, Sam managed to get a proper feel for his Zip after using different front tyres and Joe, despite having a few technical difficulties, picked up some all important championship points.



Next stop: Donington Park on June 19.

BSSO 2011 Championship - Round 2: Pembrey

Round 2 of this year's BSSO Championship took place at Pembrey in South Wales last weekend. The Pedstop Race Team were there of course competing in some less than favourable conditions on the track. Despite this the rain didn't stop Josh Brown from winning four races during the weekend as well as setting another new lap record. Young gun Joe Ravenscroft's Zip succumb to engine problems but despite this he put in another fine performance too. At just 14 years of age we feel the best is yet to come from Joe, watch this space. Meanwhile, Pedstop Sam put in a strong performance coming in mid-pack giving some of the more experienced riders a run for their money. Sit back and watch the 10 lap ordeal in our video from race three.

A full race report can be found on the PETROL Scooter Magazine website.

Introducing Pedstop Race Team member: Joe Ravenscroft

STOP PRESS: Joe Ravenscroft joins the Adrenalin Pedstop Race Team.

Last year Joe really impressed us with his racing skills out on the track so we're delighted that he now joins the Adrenalin Pedstop Race Team in 2011. Joe's fellow team members include BSSO champion Josh Brown who you should all know by now and Pedstop's very own Sam Schofield. Sam admits to being a complete novice, but with balls of steel and an aggressive riding style it'll be interesting to see how he gets on during the coming season.

On 10 March Joe headed out to sunny Spain for a week of practice at the Finestrat circuit in Benidorm. Here's his account of how it went:

"The week got off to a good start with temperatures of 20 degrees plus. The first session got underway (the first time I’d ridden anything in six months). I went out testing a jack up kit and to cut a long story short I didn’t really get on with it due to it changing the geometry of the bike too much not to my liking. With that session out of the way I took off the jack up kit and re-fuelled. By the end of the first day we (me and my Dad) had solved a few minor problems. Day two came with an unpleasant downpour that lasted for hours. Unfortunately I had to stand out at the sideline and help to marshall, I couldn't race because the wheels for my wet tyres were being powder coated back in the UK. But with many tea and coffee breaks dinner time (siesta) came around fast, this gave chance for the clouds to break and for the sun to break through and dry up the track. After lunch we returned to a lovely 22 degrees and a dry track. With the big change in weather conditions it was time to get out the Adrenalin Pedstop Zip SP for the first time that day. The last three days was basically the same lovely weather and a superb track to top it all off! A good week was had by all with good riding all throughout the week and with the hotel being all inclusive there was plenty of food and beer! I hope I can persuade the rest of the Pedstop crew to come with us and have a mega week’s testing in Spain next time!" - Joe Ravenscroft

The sun was shining in Spain and so were Joe's riding skills, sit back and watch the onboard footage:



We wish Joe and his fellow team members the best of luck for the coming season. As usual we'll keep you all posted with their progress throughout the course of the year.