Getting Started…
How do I start Scooter Racing?
First join the BSSO.
BSSO membership currently costs £42 a year (£32 to new members in 1st year) and entitles you to enter scooter race meetings. Note – you’ll need to be a member of the BSSO to apply for your ACU scooter race licence.
Read the BSSO machine construction regulations.
The ACU Handbook contains ‘Scooter General Regulations’, applicable to all riders and machine. The BSSO website contains all our ‘Class Regulations’ and can be downloaded in our ‘Documents’ page. Familiarise yourself with the regulations to ensure you are building an eligible machine. These tell you what you can and can’t do to your scooter.
Decide which group you want to compete in.
No matter what scooter you use we have a group to suit you, whether it is a Gilera Runner, Piaggio Zip, Suzuki Burgman, Lambretta, Vespa or a Moto Rumi Bol d’Or. Our classes cater for everything from sidecars to liquid cooled, as well as specially constructed solos, and for all capacities of scooter from 50cc to 650cc.
The latest ACU Handbook can be located by clicking this link:
Build a bike to the spec for that group.
Now match your choice of machine with the regulations for that group. Other members of the BSSO are always happy to help out with advice and don’t forget our sponsors, many of whom supply everything you need to get your bike on the track. Many dealers are also either racers or are involved with certain riders. Links to dealers websites are found on the BSSO Store menu Option
Get an ACU racing licence.
This is an essential requirement, without an ACU licence you cannot race. Everyone who races a two or three wheeled vehicle needs a race licence from the ACU the organisation that controls motorcycle sport in the UK. Please go to the homepage and click the bsso membership/acu licence button. A scooter race licence will cost you (prices vary depending on what type of licence you want) £45 per year and every three years you will need to supply the ACU with an optician’s report on your eyesight. For competitors over 55 it is required yearly (Note – you cannot get an ACU licence for scooter racing without being a member of the BSSO). Please contact the ACU direct for all further information.
Get the right protective equipment.
When you race a Scooter you will need to protect yourself in case you take a tumble. ACU regulations require you to wear a one piece leather or Kevlar suit, a current ACU gold standard crash helmet, leather gloves, leather boots that cover the ankle and a dog tag around your neck that carries your name and date of birth.
Go along to a couple of track testing days.
Practice makes perfect. Racing on a track is very different from hammering along the A1 or the M6 so it’s useful to have a bit of practice before you race for real. Many race circuits around the country hold track testing days, where you can go round and round the circuit as many times as you like. This gets you used to the bike, and you’ll develop a smooth riding style, making you safer when you race against other riders. Alternatively our fixtures ran by BHR have PR5 parades for road legal scooters and PR6 parades if you have a race scooter prepared. See www.britishhistoricracingclub.co.uk to obtain all requirements about these parades
Enter one of our races.
When you feel you and your machine are ready to compete, fill in one of the entry forms downloadable from this website, send it off along with the entry fee and then wait for confirmation that you have been accepted as a starter.
Get your adrenaline pumping.
Turn up on the right day, listen for when the race is called, go to the start line with the other scooter racers, open the throttle and drop the clutch when the lights go out, unless you are on an Auto now you’re racing!
ACU Track Day needed for newcomers wishing to apply for an ACU licence for the first time
When taking your ACU test book your place at a venue of your choice (info on their site). On the day of your test, the first thing you are required to do is register at the office and take your bike for noise testing.
The decibel limit can vary from track to track so check what that is before you go. Average is 105db for a RACE DAY but only 103db for a TRACK DAY as in this instance. A legal road exhaust should be no problem. You will need a safe road going bike to use on track to show that you are not a danger to others and that you can go at a reasonable pace. A scooter or a motorbike can be used as its you on the track test not your machine. If using a scooter, a fixed kickstart pedal is allowed for the track but not your stand. Your bike is not normally scrutinised beyond noise testing.
Once your bike has passed the noise test, you will go into a room for testing on your track knowledge – flags etc. Don’t panic, they will spend a long time going through everything before sitting everyone down with a test paper. Questions are multiple choice answers and you have just finished being told what those answers are so you’d have to be brain dead to fail.
After testing, it’s everyone onto the track with the instructor for , in my experience, 10 laps. You need to complete 3 laps before the first bike completes 10 laps. The office at track will process the paperwork for you if you don’t want to do it yourself. Then wait for the postman – orange bib plus your ACU licence! Thank you very much!