August Bank Holiday weekend sees a unique event coming to the Hi-Edge Raceway in Buxton as Britain’s highest-positioned motor-sports oval plays host to Round Four of this year’s Silkolene Short Track UK championship!
Short Track derives from the USA's most popular form of motor cycle racing, Flattrack; and as a discipline across the States, Europe and down-under, it's been the breeding ground over the years for motor sports legends like Kenny Roberts, Nicky Hayden and this year’s British motorcycling Grand Prix winner and reigning world champ, Australia's Casey Stoner.
The event on Saturday August 23rd. will see the largest bikes ever to take to the dirt track circuit just outside Buxton, more used to staging Speedway racing: with the Thunderbikes event seeing multi-cylindered monster machines as large as 1200cc, with just a back brake, ridden at full pelt around the incredibly tight confines of the 240 metres track in no-holds barred combat! It promises to be a spectacle not to be missed by motorbike afficianos and thrill-seekers this coming holiday weekend!
The STUK format sees riders from numerous motorcycling disciplines taking to adapted Moto-cross, Supermoto, Dirttrack and other off-road racing machines (ranging incredibly from 125cc all the way to 1200cc!) and adapted so that the front brake is removed, power-sliding in races of 12 riders over six to 12 laps. And with this unique brand of dirt track racing now officially the fastest growing motorcycle sport in Europe, it’s an opportunity to join in the revolution sweeping across the continent!
The programme comprises four events (all accredited ACU-national championships), with the main Short Track event and the Thunderbikes for those larger multi-cylindered bikes joined by the CCM Junior Shorttrack championship for teenagers; and there’s thrilling four-wheeled action courtesy of the harum-scarum Welbourns Short Track Quads.
Leading the way in the STUK title race is reigning champion, the Italian Stallion of European dirt track racing: Marco Belli. And funny enough, Marco won’t feel out of place racing so high up in the Derbyshire peaks, as the incredibly versatile racer from Varese has recently returned from the USA where he finished a hugely creditable third place in the legendary Hill Climb race: The Pikes Peak!
Talking about scaling the heights in the States, the star guest for the Buxton meeting certainly did that…: back in the early 1980s! Making his Short Track UK debut and returning to a British racing track after an absence of three years is the one and only Les Collins: runner-up in the World Speedway Final on the only occasion that legendary championship was staged on the other side of the Atlantic in 1982.
It’ll be a case of like son, like father as Les’ son Aidan - who has ridden for the Conference League Speedway club based in Buxton – on his trusty 450cc Honda, is one of the leading English pretenders to Belli’s throne – lying fourth currently in the STUK title race. Another one-time Buxton Hitman making a suitably big hit in the championship this term is locally-based, former GB Under 21 Speedway international, Honda-mounted Adam Allott. Meanwhile, the Thunderbikes title race is currently led by one-time Isle of Man TT racer and third-placed man in the World Indoor Ice Racing championship back in 2002, Lincolnshire’s Suzuki Works team number one, Peter Boast. Rotax mounted Kevin Armstrong from Boston is currently Boast’s nearest challenger in the Thunderbikes’ title race.
The Welbourns Short Track Quads adds considerable spice to proceedings – uniquely, in the world of this off-road four-wheeled discipline, seeing six riders a race, face-off in a grid-style start which provides a huge amount of passing and breathtaking excitement. All the country's top Quads stars will be in action including reigning national champion, Alan Hooker from Lincolnshire.
The admission is £10.00 for adults, £8.00 for pensioners and other concessions; with children aged 12 to 15 years of age, £3 and younger than 12 (provided accompanied by an adult) having free admission.
Money-off vouchers will be available at a range of motorcycle shops and dealers across the region.
The gates open at 3pm and early-comers will be entertained (from 4pm) by the qualifying races for the Quads, the main STUK event, the Thunderbikes and also the CCM Junior Shorttrack Cup - for racers aged between 12 and 15 years of age. All the finals and the superbly exciting 18 heat knock-out style format for the Short Track UK championship will start at 6pm. In all, that’s potentially over four-and-a-half hours of motor sport action - making this a must-see event for the whole family.
Hi-Edge Raceway is situated about three miles out of Buxton in Derbyshire on the A53 Buxton-to-Leek road. It is signposted Dalehead and there are signs indicating where to turn off the main road. The entrance to the track is on the left, about a mile along the side road (just over the 3rd cattle grid) and is situated at the far end of the (entirely separate) stock car stadium car park. For more info. on the venue visit www.hitmen2000.co.uk . For more info. on STUK visit www.shorttrackuk.com
