British Scooter Endurance: The TSide8 | SPORT

If you’re into racing, don’t expect to have a lie-in at the weekend! We left the house at 4:30 am and I was taking my friend Charlee along.

He was certainly not accustomed to this racing lark and didn’t quite catch the memo when I said he had to wake up at 4:30! A steady journey up to Middlesbrough went pretty hassle-free, arriving at Teesside Autodrome at around 10 am. The pit bikes were on the track, but they were also off-roading, which took my attention for the rest of the afternoon.

Friday scrutineering

With the rest of the team not yet at the track, I had my suit checked out, along with my Vespa PK, and so did my dad, as he was racing for Team Solid Air.

Friday practice

On Friday, I wasn’t too confident with the track. The layout was new to me, and so were the bumps. It was my first time racing here and my first ever time riding the SRP 275 Targa Twin. To ensure I didn’t crash the Targa, I decided to bring my Production Class PK along to take out in the practice session. This really helped me learn the track. Also, I couldn’t crash the PK as I had Cadwell Park BSSO the following weekend.

At 16 years old, I was happy to ride my 50 Special on the road. Young George gets an SRP Targa Twin to race!

Twin symphony

Now that I’ve explained the track and learnt it myself, it’s time for me to actually ride the Targa around it! After getting permission from Paul to give it a try, I got suited up and got out there. Just hearing the sound of the scooter’s full first gear hit me right in the face and made my day.

Whoever thought, strangely enough, that a twin would sound so bloody lovely?

Doing a few consistent laps, I got to grips with the Targa very quickly. It has a very nice bottom end in the sense that it just keeps on giving and giving. Picking up the pace, I heard a ‘missing’ sound, not quite sure what it was, I came in for the crew to have a look over it, and another person to take it out. It turns out it was just low on fuel.

Saturday, race day!

Standing behind the man himself, Iggy! The one behind all this writing and publishing of ScooterLab.UK. Seeing he was all geared up, I realised I was out for the same practice stint as him. Following him for the majority of the practice until he flew away… yeah, he has skills, not being able to keep up with him (he was on the London Lambretta Club machine). I was then left alone for the rest of my practice stint.

8-hour endurance race

The race started with Jon Holt  doing the Le Mans-style start for us (SRP), then Paul, then Birdie, and then me. It seems they saved the best for last in this scenario…

All jokes aside, I was the last one out and felt kind of nervous. Besides getting a couple of hours on track the day before, Teesside was still incredibly new to me and really bumpy! I decided to take a calm approach for the first couple of laps. That was until I got behind some faster riders and decided I was gonna chase them!

Through the chicane, I came across Sharkey. He’s a BSSO racer that has had a few massive incidents in the past couple of years, which have put his racing to a halt. Still flying though, I followed for a lap or two until going round the outside of him into the back section. Weaving in and out of traffic, I enjoyed my first stint, then handed the scooter over to Jon.

Topless George gets stuck in after a clutch issue forced SRP into the pits

Second stint

Before the handover, I was advised that rather than dropping it down into second on the sweeping right-hander, I could get a better drive and outcome by keeping it in third! Getting ready in my suit as my friend Charlee ran the scooter over to me… and off we are for the second stint of Teesside.

Being the peak time of day, I pushed a little harder as the weather suited. In the meantime, I was taking the sweeping right-hander a lot smoother and actually using it as my overtaking point, thanks to the tip I had been given beforehand. This time I found myself behind Ben “Roy” Holt, who was riding for Holt Tune, a rapid scooter with a great bunch of lads. Me and him went head-to-head for countless laps. I got in front for the first few laps, just for him to throw it up the inside every now and then sneakily!

Battling to keep our spot, I didn’t have the time to think about what I was doing and missed the pit board being waved to get me in for a rider change. What a rookie moment! I had just caught sight of the team waving me in from the corner of my eye, so I calmly rode in.

I realised I’d done what I think was a 1:15 for my best lap so far and I was averaging 1:17. Amazing compared to the night before, I was well chuffed.

In between a few of the teams’ stints, the clutch nut had come loose, and I had been asked to do a longer stint at the end, rather than taking my third session after the repair.

Brook Northey on the Team Valley Scooters Vespa

The last stint!

The finale. The Big Boss, Paul Baker, told me it was time for me to go out, but this time, instead of 40 minutes like we were used to, I was gonna try to attempt the hour. My stint was till the checkered flag, so I had nothing to worry about and just raced on.

Getting in the groove, I was weaving in and out of traffic. We were into the final hour, and as people get tired and tyres start to go off, there tends to be more falls. Team Valley Scooter Club, in second place, were absolutely flying until an unfortunate crash on the last five laps, which made them get out the spare scooter. No worries for them, as they still got second place overall and first in class. Outstanding achievement to them.

Now, back to me, increasing pace every lap. I tried to get our team back on track to possibly secure a third place in our class, despite our clutch failing earlier and having to substitute a load of laps.

No worries, as my pace kept the team in third place in class for the overall championship. On the final lap, I pushed harder and harder. I found myself stressing out too much, so I took a calm approach to get treated to the chequered flag from the one and only Keith Terry!

Dave Delaney celebrates after taking the chequered flag for Team Vespa

Race winner

Team Vespa took the chequered flag after a very impressive race. They also took second place in the 2025 championships, with Rushden Lambretta B Team taking the top spot and GRR taking third overall. The championship is decided by whichever team completes the most laps during the season.

Fundraising for the Air Ambulance

During 2025, Lee Hollick has been raising money for the Air Ambulance by selling his race photos from BSSO and BSEC events. His total currently stands at over £3300. If you’d like to purchase any of your favourite race photos from him, or simply make a donation, you can do so by visiting this link.

Words: George Fielder

Main race photos: Lee Hollick, additional shots, Iggy and Col

Let’s see some more rookies out on track next year…

Endurance racing needs you!

Due to several factors, Teesside had fewer teams at this event (27 teams, compared to 37 last September), and the organisers lost money on the event, which is not good. Next season, they need the support of past and present teams, as well as some new ones.

Scooter Endurance Racing is so much fun and works out much cheaper than most other forms of motorsport. If you have a group of mates and can build a reliable geared scooter, you can go racing. You can find out more details on how to get involved by checking out the BSEC website or their Facebook page.

Iggy

Overall 2025 Championship winners – Rushden Lambretta Club B Team