The Biker Place

As part of a new series here at The Biker Place we will be interviewing the young motorcycle racers listed on this site to get their views and hopes ahead of the 2008 season.

The first in this series is young Bradley Ray.

We would like to thank Bradley and his Dad for doing this interview, and urge any of the other racers to Contact Us if they would like to do an interview.

On behalf of The Biker Place, we would like to welcome you to the list of riders who are using our website to connect with potential fans and sponsors. What first got you interested in motorcycle racing and who inspired you to get involved?

The first bike i can remember was my dads, he had an old honda, i loved to sit on it while my dad used to start it. The first racing i watched was a minimoto meeting at my local track, Lydd International Raceway which my mum took me to watch, we thought it looked fun especially the adults riding them.

You started racing minimotos in 2005, what advice would you give to anyone out there who would like to get involved in racing but doesn’t know where to start or who to get in touch with?

Well i would suggest going to your nearest track first of all and ask them, most of them will know about minimoto racing if not do a search on the web about minimotos you will find something there then come along and have a watch.

How did you find moving up from a minimoto bike to a geared Metrakit 50cc bike, was it an easy change or did it take some getting used to?

I didn’t find the move up to the geared Metrakit bike very difficult, it was just a new and exciting challenge and something i had wanted to do.

How much time do you put into training/practicing to be a competitive racer?

I am very lucky as i only live 5 minutes away from a very good track at Lydd who let me practice as often as i like, usually once a week in the winter(until it gets dark) and a couple of times a week in the summer for about 4 hours a time, i also run in a winter series at Wilton Mill Northampton which is monthly.

2007 saw you travelling to the Valencia Metrakit World Festival, how did you enjoy the trip? Can you give us a little information on how things went?

Valencia was brilliant what a buzz being on the same track that Rossi races on i loved it. Practice went well and as i got more used to riding a full size track and on a new bike the Metrakit 70cc, i got faster with every lap. First qualifier went well and second even better and managed to quallify 20th out of 106. Race day came and with a few quiet words of confidence building from dad, i was well up for the racing, got a good start and was 12th into first corner managing to work my way up to finish 6th overall,i also managed to knock 4 seconds of my quallifying time, bring on this year.

To date what has been your most memorable moment/acheivement in racing?

My most memorable moment to date has to be meeting James Toseland at the NEC bike show. Best achievement winning Metrakit minigp British championship and defending all 4 minimoto championships.

And, what has been your worst/most disappointing moment in racing?

My worst moment must be crashing my Conti 50 big wheel bike in my first race when i was about 10 seconds in the lead.

Give us a little run down on where you will be competing and on what bike(s) for 2008?

2008 will be a very exciting year i will be moving up to the Metrakit 70cc in the British Championship also defending my production class for the second year, i will as be racing in the Conti cup UK on the big wheel 50ccc and defending my production class for the second year, we have decided to drop out of the 4.2 class but could be a test rider for the new 4 stroke minimoto. Also hope to do 3 or 4 rounds in the spanish championship on the Metrakit.

What are your aims or what do you think you can acheive in 2008?

Main aims for 2008 are to retain my minibike championships, win the British Metrakit 70 championship and if i can do enough rounds win the Conti UK championship but i want to do well in Spain maybe win a race or two.

What would be your ideal career path in motorcycle racing from where you are now?

would love to go on and race the Metrakit in Spain moving onto the 80cc then 125cc and into moto gp that is my goal and what i want.

Any people in particular you would like to thank or mention for getting to where you are so far?

The 2 most important are mum and dad, dad even sold his bike a lovely red ducati 996 to buy my conti, thanks dad,also Julian and Scotty at minimoto racing for the mini bikes Lydd international raceway for the track time,Roger and Robert at FAB racing for all their help with the Metrakit, Andy Weedon for all the tuition, Colin for the wicked paint job on my helmet,also all the other people who have helped thanks i won’t forget.

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