THE REDDITCH-based Bee Design team have just returned from a thrilling penultimate race meeting in the North Gloucester Road Racing Club MiniTwins Championship, having secured a superb second place in the overall championship.
The team, based on the Enfield Industrial Estate, were in action over the weekend at Pembrey in South Wales where they fought a nail-biting battle for the championship lead, only to be beaten by an electrical fault on their race bike.
“To win the championship I needed to win all of the remaining three races, but it wasn’t to be.” said Bee Design rider Paul Wardell.
“The morning practice session had gone well and we were posting similar lap times to the current leader Simon Low. We knew we had good race pace and, sure enough, in race one I found myself at the head of the field, but Simon just managed to nudge ahead and take the win.”
With the title out of reach, the team still had the opportunity to secure a championship second place but it would not come easily.
“We just needed to finish race two in fourth place or higher but on Sunday morning we found the charging system on the bike had broken and it wouldn’t start.” said Wardell.
With time running out, the team only had one option. They would race the wet weather bike in the dry.
“It’s just a bog-standard bike but the soft suspension and lower power make it ideal for wet races. It was hard work in the dry though.” added Wardell.
“From the start of the race the difference in power showed and I dropped to sixth place. I couldn’t keep anything in reserve and had to take some big risks to get back up to fourth.
“The bike was bucking and bouncing its way round the track and by the end the tyres were torn to shreds but we did it. We clinched fourth place and are now guaranteed second place in the championship.”
Paul Crees, Director of Bee Design, said: “This is a fantastic result for us. It’s a shame not to take the title but at the beginning of the year we were the underdogs and we’ve turned things around to fight for the lead in some superb battles at some of the best circuits in the UK.”
Although the top two places are sealed, there is still one more round left in the series which will be held at Thruxton on October 11. You can find out more about the racing at www.ngroadracing.org.
