Rider Update: Justin Sangster UK Experience 2014
28 May 2014

Published with Permission.

We hand picked 3 races to race in over in the UK in March / April this year - these were:
1) The GT Cup at Wilden Lane MX Track (National)
2) The Off Road Motocross Series Sherwood Park (ORMS) UK National series
3) The British Youth National at Fat Cat MX Park

There are at least 4 MX federations in the UK - this besides the private series that run. At almost all events, the entire race administration is out -sourced to a company - RHL Events. At many events you are able to buy a one day licence which is cheaper and less forms to fill in - can be cumbersome if done on- line. Medical cover is the main consideration.

Justin did 17 heats in 3 weeks! Both the GT Cup and the British Youth National had full gates of 40, as well as a few riders waiting for a wild card !! Interestingly, he mentioned to us that he doesn’t get as nervous when riding overseas, despite the large gates, because he doesn’t really know the riders and who he’s up against!

We were very fortunate to be able to do some training with a UK Motocross coach whilst we were there – Justin rode at 2 other tracks, so got loads of experience with different surfaces and track conditions.

So, he had a blast.

Wilden lane is a very difficult track with massive up and down jumps. We could not even walk up one or two of them they were so steep. Justin finished 10th out of 40 and consistently ran the 7th fastest time.

Next was the ORMS UK National - here Justin ended 4th overall with a best result of a 3rd in heat 4. This was a technical track with tight turns and late braking. He liked this track and beat some big names in this one.

At the BYN we linked up with Matthew Phelps (Marcus and Nicholas also raced). Damon Strydom also rode and we all pitted together. In this one Justin blew a piston in Heat 1 - Team Green assisted us and had Justin on the line within 45 minutes, with a damaged barrel. The bike lost a bit of power as the exhaust port was damaged. He got a 14th overall.

From left ‘ Justin Sangster (85SW) Rossi Beard (85SW), Jack Bintcliff (85BW) and (Joel Rizz1 65cc)

What we learnt:
- 50cc (autos) only run in certain events - they advocate development of 50cc at club level
- They run a minimum of 5 heats but many run 7. This excludes practice and qualification
- The junior riders in the UK are MUCH fitter than our bunch.
- The 85cc small wheel race for 14 minutes plus a lap and the Pro-mini race for 14 minutes plus 2 laps
- The 125 guys are as mad as our bunch - just very fast
- Their tracks are very challenging and VERY technical
- Racing is hugely expensive – despite this however, they usually have full gates (40 riders per class)
- Very strict with the application of rules
- Tracks are rough and develop unreal braking bumps - even Melkbos and PE are easy in comparison.
- Tracks are prepared regularly, but then again, they may have up to 150 riders on practice days (split into 3 groups for safety) so the track gets rough very quickly.

We once again established great contacts who we communicate with regularly. One or two will come over to race in the North Vs South so watch this space !!
Good to measure our standard of race planning with those overseas – apart from the number of riders, we compare extremely well.

Regards
Mark, Karen and Justin.

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