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A brief bit of history of Barry Simpson & Simpson Racing UK.
I started Grass Track Racing at Fifteen years old (lied on my licence application form as I should have been 16) riding in the 250cc class. First meeting was a British Championship round, it was raining all afternoon but I managed 9th overall, so I was pretty pleased with that. Progressed to 500cc the following year, riding an ex Frank Auffret Jawa engine in a Comet Frame. I rode until I got the Speedway bug when I was 18. Had my first Speedway practice at Crewe along with John Wallinger, we virtually wrecked both bikes that we hired from the track. I went to the Carl Glover training School at Boston and gained some good tuition. Then in 1978 attended the Teesside Tigers Official Practice day and was offered a ride in the Tiger Cubs team. Rode in the Scottish Junior League in 1978 for the Tiger Cubs and rode for the SJL select at Kings Lynn against the Anglia Junior Select team. Finished 3rd in the Stars of Tomorrow at Berwick and 4th in the Northern Riders Junior Championship at Teesside. Quite a reasonable first season with high hopes for the following year.
Unfortunately a fall out with the Promotion at the start of 1979 lead to a season of very little with just a few meetings for non league Castleford. 1980 saw me get the chance of a second half ride at Newcastle which I won. From there I raced for the Felton Flyers at Brough Park, managed to top the league averages before a broken wrist pretty much ended the season. The following season I rode for the Felton Flyers again at Newcastle, we won the league and I Captained the SJL Select Team against the AJL Select at Swindon. I signed for the Newcastle/Hull promotion and had a few outings for the Diamonds and also a few Division One outings for the Hull Vikings riding with the likes of Ivan Mauger, Billy Saunders, Bobby Beaton, Joe Owen, Frank Auffret and John Eskildsen. I also had an outing for Canterbury Crusaders before taking a break from the sport midway through the season. A break from which I never returned. If I knew then what I know now, it would have been a different story.
I was in the Wilderness, racing wise for four years until I attended a Grass Track meeting at Ponteland in which my best friend Jon Lappin was competing. That meeting fuelled my fire and the following year returned to Grass Track racing. I had two DOHC Jawas, one was a new Ivan Mauger motor which I bought from Ivan just after I left Speedway, which was very quick indeed. I stuck with Jawas throughout my Grass Tracking career but also had an ex Mikael Karlsson Godden Engine which was a very smooth and quick motor. I used Antig and Hagon frames through out and even when Antig bought Hagon frames I continued with Antig until I retired. I had very good service from the Perry family at Antig and along with Alan Bellham who provided and tuned my engines, I found a great combination which gave me a lot of success.
During the late Eighties I was lucky enough to gain sponsorship from various companies, people & Oil manufacturers and suppliers. This is when Simpson Racing UK was born. The idea was to promote my racing and use it as a “vehicle” to promote myself and my various sponsors. Through the Oil Sponsorship and access to supplies of Methanol I started to sell both Oil and Methanol to riders and spares suppliers alike. I would make sure that the price was competitive, just as I do today and sales were very good. There were other products I used to sell, one in particular was the Ball Valve Fuel Tank Tap, I must have sold over a thousand of those, not a bad little money earner too.
Apart from a broken Tibia and Fibula in 1991 I had a good career Grass Track racing, having made 3 British Finals, 3 British Masters, managed the North East and Yorks Inter Centre Grass Track teams and had some great times riding in the John Jennings organised Grass Track trips to the Isle of Man. Winning the Paul Cross trophy at Pickering was a good experience and I was lucky enough to win six 500cc Solo Centre Championships, the last in 1998 upon which I retired from motorcycle sport, or that’s what I thought! I also did the odd Moto X, Super Moto and quite a bit of Trials Riding during the early Nineties, this was good winter training for the Grass Track racing. In 1990 I became the Time Keeper & Incident Recorder at Middlesbrough Speedway and continued to do so until its closure in 1996. I was Mechanic for Glenn Doyle at Bradford for two season’s, that was a great experience especially as Bradford had both Simon Wigg and Gary Havelock in the team. I still keep in touch with Glenn now, he is very busy with his Desert Storm tour bus business in Lancelin WA and rarely has a day off. Check his website www.desertstorm.com.au
I have commentated at Grass Tracks and the Odd Moto X as well as taking the mantle of announcer at Cleveland Park in Tony Coupland’s absence on the odd (very odd) occasion. Which reminds me of the Mike Hunt announcement which Tony gave out at one meeting, don’t know who was responsible for that? The story doesn’t end there, my Best Friend Jon Lappin had got into riding Enduro. One day in 2004 he dragged me along to a meeting at Thorpe Perrow near Bedale, then another at Langdale Forest near Scarborough and that was it, I was hooked. That winter I bought a good second hand KTM 200exc which I raced in 2005 and through the good and bad meetings, i thoroughly enjoyed it. Last year I bought a new 06 model KTM 300exc which has yet to see the light of day as such. I had a few outings in the Moto X class at Pickering Grass Tracks on a loaned Honda CRF450 kindly loaned by Graham Charlton Motorcycles of Stockton.
2006 was also a great year for Speedway in the region with the Redcar Bears racing at South Tees Motorsports Park. It was a really enjoyable and exciting season for me, taking the Mantle of Start Marshall and Sponsoring Tomas Suchanek and the Cleveland Bays. I managed to attend a few away meetings with the Bays and spannering for Martin Emerson amongst others is always enjoyable. I had the honour of being Flag Marshall at the British Grass Track Championship finals in 2006, run superbly by the Pickering & District Motor Club, what a great event.
2007 was a year of indifference, starting off with my trip to Brazil in February and having a fantastic time covering over 1000 miles along beaches, through small villages and dirt tracks on an Enduro Bike. I took part in the odd Enduro back home, although all too infrequently.
Once again I continued my role as Start Marshall at South Tees Motorsports Park, a role which I really enjoy and gives you a great “Buzz”. The Redcar Bears had a year of bad luck and injuries which wrecked their chance of a high position in the League. They did however round the year off in superb style by winning the Young Shield Final against Birmingham and once again winning the Tyne Tees Trophy against the Old Enemy for the second year running.
The Cleveland Bays had a season to forget finishing second from bottom in The Conference League although it was not for lack of effort. I enjoyed many of their away meetings and Spannering for Buzz, Martin, Gary and Rusty was always “interesting”. The season did bring a few riders to the fore, Greg Blair, David Wallinger and Martin Emerson all started to get going really well towards the latter stages of the season. It was just so unfortunate that Greg and David suffered some horrible injuries. Luckily both are ready and fit to race in 2008.
I enjoyed helping Matt Tresarrieu and Tomas Suchanek out in the pits whenever I could obviously not at Redcar Home Meetings!
2008 is a year of hope and positivity. Both the Bears and the newly named Redcar Cubs, each look to have lined up riders capable of achieving greater things and improving their averages. So who knows maybe at “The Season’s End” there will be more silverware in the hands of Redcar Speedway?
Simpson Racing UK’s involvement extends this year to initially sponsoring four of The Bears, they being Gary Havelock, James Grieves, Chris Kerr and Josh Auty. Once again Simpson Racing UK will be the team sponsor for the Redcar Cubs as well as individually sponsoring Martin Emerson and David Wallinger. Tomas Suchanek will once again be flying the flag, this year at Reading. Rob Bradley will once again be sponsored on the Grasstrack front where hopefully he will regain his 1000cc Sidecar British Masters Title.
Having been back to Brazil this January and taking part in the Cerapio Enduro Rally there, hopefully it will kickstart my own season back here and I can fit in a few Enduro events during the next few months.
SRM Evo Castor is now regarded as one of the Premier Oils used in Speedway, Grasstrack and Longtrack and is gaining Worldwide recognition and is endorsed by many Engine Tuners. Hopefully 2008 will be successful for all Riders using Simpson Racing UK products and will also be a successful year for Simpson Racing UK.
I hope this gives a bit of an insight into what Simpson Racing UK is all about. Please feel free to look around the rest of the website and leave any messages or queries on the Forum Guestbook.
Thank you for your time and enjoy your season.
Regards & Best Wishes
Barry Simpson.
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