Miniature heroes
By TMX Archives on 12th Jan 04
WHAT ARE an ex-GP motocross racer, a bunch of Britain's best freestyle riders, a multi-time Weston Beach Race winner and a downhill mountainbike world champion all doing in a draughty shed in December?All these people and many more are WHAT ARE an ex-GP motocross racer, a bunch of Britain's best freestyle riders, a multi-time Weston Beach Race winner and a downhill mountainbike world champion all doing in a draughty shed in December?All these people and many more are here at Sheffield's indoor motocross facility - SIMX - for the Small Torque minibike races.The event is being run and sponsored by Steve Peat (mountainbike racer, boss of Royal Racing and legendary beer drinker) and Tristan Tunstall (the guy who owns/runs minibikepro). They've attracted minibike riders of all ages from all around the country to race on the purpose-built indoor dirt circuit."Taking part with a smile on your face is the only qualification you need to ride here," says Tristan. "It's all about having fun - pure and simple." The format's simple too - four groups (kids, 50s, Zs and unlimited) battle it out over as many six-lap races as you can fit into a single action-packed afternoon.First group to the line are the keen-as-mustard kids who take to the track like ducks to water. The fastest and most stylish of the young 'uns is Ty Kellet who's travelled all the way from Somerset with kid brother Todd and his dad Nibs. Another pair of brothers racing in this class are Nathan and Ben Meek, sons of 40-year-old grizzly MX and enduro veteran Rob who's as enthusiastic about the sport as his nippers."Minibike racing has definitely got to be the next big thing," reckons Rob. "There's very little danger involved but it does take a lot of skill - the main thing is that it's fun. Every time my boys go into the garage they walk straight past their race bikes and go straight to their minibikes - they always want to go out riding them."As well as keeping a watchful eye on his lads, Rob's also riding in the 50s class which is open to anyone riding a XR or CRF50 (no other manufacturer makes a mono-shock four-stroke 50cc minibike). These are the most popular minibikes on the market and there's plenty of hop-up parts available from handlebar kits and stiffer fork springs to full-on, factory-style tuned-up engines and bigger, beefed-up frames.So it figures that this is the biggest and hardest-fought group on the day with ultra-competitive freestyle glamour-boy Gary Taylor going up against the Swanson bros (ex-GP racer Kelly and freestyler Frazer), Peaty, mountainbike world bunny-hop record holder Steve Geall and a fair few previously unheard of (to me at least) 50 specialists.Even though the startgate is packed full of talent from the two-wheeled world, there's no stopping Taylor on his minibikepro-sponsored XR50 - even after race organiser Peat makes him start from the back of the pack. "Steve blocked me at the start and let 'em all go," says Gary. "But I still managed to catch them up and win - cos I'm fast as ***k!"Not quite as fast are the twin-shock bikes of the minibike scene - the Zs. The balloon-tyred Honda Z50s have been around since the early '70s and were still in production until the XR took over in '99. Chinese manufacturer Jincheng also produce a Z50 copy and these along with a mixture of original and highly-modified Honda Zs take to the track for their series of six-lap dashes.The first Z race produces one of the funniest moments of the day when part-time dbr contributor Eddie Holmes tries to seat bounce the whoop section, managing to break both of his rear shocks in one hit. "I heard a noise, looked down and thought ***t," says Eddie from the sidelines. "If there's ever been a sign that I need to lose a bit of weight then this is it."After the Zs have cleared the track the unlimited group takes over. This class is for any size four-stroke bike with 10 inch wheels so over-bored Hondas and the all-new X Sport 110cc minibike seem to be the weapon of choice.The X Sport basically has the same wheels, frame and plastics as a XR50 but that's pretty much where the similarity ends. The bike has a four-speed gearbox with manual clutch, electric starter and front disc-brake and it sits much higher than a standard minibike making it a ready-to-race bike straight-from-the-crate at a cheap-as-chips 999.The minibike purists may not like them and the build quality might not be as good as on the Honda but as part of a growing sport the arrival of the X Sport can't be a bad thing. Surprisingly, despite running less than half the amount of ccs, Taylor outruns the Modified group in a sneaky outing on his 50 - proving that power is indeed no substitute for superior riding skill.But most of the riders here today aren't as worried about winning races as young master Taylor is - they're just happy getting around the track, having fun, battling with their buddies and styling it up for the dbr camera. And that's what minibike racing is all about - it's got to be, why else would grown men race around on bikes made for youngsters?So how does the future of minibike racing in the UK look? "It's definitely on the up," reckons Tristan. "We're getting a bit of mainstream coverage and the scene's getting bigger all the time, the only problem we have is new riders to minibike racing struggling to get new CRF50s - they are rare as rocking-horse ***t."Sutty