1997 Results

1998 Results

1999 Results

2000 Results

2001 Results

Well 2002 is with us now and another year of Moped Racing. In customary form, Team ACME WARRIORS RACING have gone off in tangents. Keith and Martin have managed to source a Derbi engine and it is now proudly sitting in their RS chassis, according to Martin it went in OK. It's a little low at the back end and the chain run is not ideal. The top end was sent away to some geezer whose son was racing them in the Junior Road Race series last year, apparently he has done some minor work on matching the head and barrel, smoothing out the inlet port and setting the top end up properly. A genuine Derbi race exhaust system has been fitted.

As for the WARRIORS, Andy, (after finding out that watercooling the KX crosser was illegal, well more about that later) found a NSR50 over in Holland. The barrel has been left there for tuning, leaving us with a bottom end only a few weeks before the off in Rowrah. There is nothing else for it but to run last years engine. Most of the work getting the bike ready is again carried out the week before the race, but amazingly it starts first time.

ROUND 1 Rowrah

ACME travel up on the Friday night and stay in B&B in Cumbria and the WARRIORS do the red eye on Saturday morning, getting to Rowrah at about 0800 only to be met by 'no water' at the top cos the contractors have cut the pipe. Work is underway on a new club room, which looks good, see the official website for a snap.

After meeting up with Keith, Martin and Jason, the WARRIOS bike is sent out for practice with Dean on board, only to see him crash 3 times, along with about half the field. The Rowrah surface is like glass with light rain not helping. Just before a long bout of heavy rain, the ACME bike goes out. From the lap times, the WARRIORS bike is about 2 seconds a lap quicker but the ACME bike has an enormous powerband and is much easier to ride. The riders vote and decide to use the Derbi engine. There is clearly much more power to come.

Sunday's race gets off to a good start with Jason putting in consistent 1min 3-4 sec laps from the off for the first three quarters of an hour, the bike was running at around7/8th place. Then things get interesting. After putting in good lap times, Martin bins the bike on the right-hander after the back straight. He lands heavily, causing severe bruising to his ribs and forearm putting him out for the rest of the meeting. Luckily we don't loose any time as the race is red flagged and Dean gets on only having to deal with a bent handlebar tube and gear change. A few of the faster bikes drop out over the first few hours and we slowly climb to 3rd overall and in class.

This is a position we hold for 4 hours of the race. However it was not to last. Jason and Keith fill the middle of the race and then Dean gets on at hour 5. After a half hour stint, Keith does the math and it is clear that following and earlier crash TEAM TESS TICKLES on a very quick RS NSR were gonna get very close to catching us and taking our third. A rider change would definitely seal our fate so Dean stays out till the end. Minutes tick by like hours as we are slowly caught. In the last 5 minutes both bikes are in sight of each other and on the last lap Dean is overtaken. The race finishes and TESS TICKLES beat us by 0.8 seconds. Gutted just doesn't do it justice. We have lost the silverware but in terms of overall placing, 4th is our best ever finish.

We also find out that water-cooled competition motors are being run in the championship. Discussions with the organizers including showing the rule sheet given out at the gate the day before get us nowhere as apparently the rules have been drafted in error and they are allowed. According to Simon we should have spoken to him about eligibility and not Dan. We are not happy as we have bought a complete NSR when only a water-cooled KX barrel would have necessary.

ROUND 2 Rowrah

Race 2 Bit of a disaster this one. Jason bins the bike early on when trying to pass a very big TWIST AND CRASH team and breaks the just replaced handlebar tube. When the bike is back in the pits, the replacement takes ages and we loose nine laps which puts us back into 50th place. The rest of the race is spent trying to recover the damage. Eventually the team gets back to 11th overall and 7th in class. A quicker pitstop would have easily put us into the top 5. Still, the weekend was our best ever points tally for the start of a season. Things can only get better!!!!

Click here for race pics of rounds 1 and 2 at Rowrah

ROUND 3 Elvington

The Klingons again turned up with a nearly ready bike, however the vital bits such as a clutch gasket for the NSR were still missing. Addtionally the new HPI ignition was still to be fitted, with Andy having already made a backplate on the second engine as a template.

On arriving a the track, frantic efforts were made to get it up and running. But thats where the problems started. We tried to get the old clutch gasket off the second engine but it had gone dry and broke up. Local dealers of course didnt have one. Then the biggest gaff. The NSR crank had been machined to accept a Honda RS 125 ignition so the HPI just would'nt fit. Back to the old trusty MT engine again then.

Engines were swapped with practice fast running our. During testing it was obvious that the ACME bike was quicker and that was run during the 6 hr race.

Racing was uneventful for the first few hours with the ACME bike running near the top of the leader board until a collision with Glia broke the gearchange. When the bike got back to the pits the linkage decided to give up the ghost completely and fall into hundreds of bits. This lost about half an hour to get it all back together and our lead dwindled. We joined down in the 50's. Further work pushed us back up to the 30's until the exhaust decided to fracture. No amount of repairing with coke cans and lock wire would do the trick and many black flags and repairs later the decision was taken to retire early with about 30 minutes to go.

RAF Wittering Charity Event, Peterborough

Klingon Warriors had a great time at this event which allowed a few Moped Mayhem teams to enter. Well done to all involved in running the event. Considering it was their first time they put on a brilliant show and raised more than £4000 for the charities involved. Hopefully there will be more next year. The Klingon bike with the MT engine and the ACME bikes both entered and completed both three hour sessions of the race without major problems. We were fairly shure that we would be well up the rankings but that would be in the hands of the lap scorers.

Refreshments were laid on. Beers only 1.10 in the mess, burgers and hotdogs outside for a pound, tea and coffee 50p. I think I'm dreaming. Also the bribes of ice creams all round for the air cadet lap scorers meant the Klingon Bike scoring a 2nd place overall. All the praise must go to 'wee man' Dean who sat on the bike for most of the afternoon with some help from Steve the Gimp, Sideshow from APE, Jason and myself. Si, how about next year running the track on the tarmac rather than the concrete, wow that was scary. Back and Front end going all over the place.

The Klingons will definitely be there next year if run again.

Click here for pics of the Wittering Charity Event

Round 5- Elvington

To bring you all up to speed on developments before the last race of the season. Basically the Klingon bike with the new watercooled Honda engine had never got off the ground for many reasons normally associated with not getting the right parts at the right time etc. etc. This time it really looked like just being able to make it. With a week to go, the last bits arrived, including the cylinder and carb from Holland (I'll have to square it with the team to give a detailed parts list in a future update).

Most nights that week were in garage getting the bike together including the radiator fitting and plumbing. The finishing touches were completed on Friday, just before the car was loaded.

Saturday practice Arrived at the airfield to meet Dean Jason, Keith and Martin who had gone up the night before to get ratted. Dean takes the bike out to run it in. Potential is there from the start.

After half and hour of gentle running, the bike is opened up. It pulls cleanly through the powerband giving plenty of power but will not over rev suggesting a rich setting. Smaller jet is inserted and bike is off again. Giving more power the engine out drags the ACME Derbi. However on the track the RS is handling like crap partly due to old front tyre and poor front settings, and we have now noticed a leak from the water cooling just where the exhaust outlet work has been carried out, not terminal though.

The bike is still not over running and a plug chop indicates a slightly rich mixture. The decision is taken to go leaner still. At jet too far and on the second run, weird noises. Engine is cut and plug removed. Aluminium everywhere, signs of a melted piston, confirmed by a strip down. We have no replacement and in addition to the water leak decide to call it a day. We will run the Derbi again on Sunday.

Ran almost the perfect race. For most of the first couple of hours, Jason, Dean and Martin kept the bike in the top 5 overall with a few laps separating them. The odd incident involving other teams and broken rear brake and we managed to hold 5th. Mid race and the team were edging up the positions first 4 and then with Dean on board, catching Richard Head for 3rd. Just as third was about to be clinched, a rider goes down in front of Richard Head, takes him out and Dean just behind had nowhere to go but over the top, breaking a brake lever. Pitting to change the lever drops us to 10th. The steady climb back up the rankings begins and with the spectator incident loosing 45 minutes, the best we could achieve was 4th. Giving us 17 points and 5th in the Championship overall.

Championship Class One Results

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