Tony O'Brien Vespa 90 SS : Vespa Tuning: Vespa Racing

Well here we go.. the season is about to start. Its cold… the wind is blowing strong and looks like will hit you side-on, right around the very fast Gerrards corner. But at least its not raining though the track is very wet.

I collect my bike from Graham at Kegra who kindly transported it for me and begin the process of scrutineering and sigining on. Scrutineering is basically a safety check on the bike with a slight look at legality also. This year due to rule changes every machine and rider has to be weighed. The minimum weight is 140kg… luckily I come in at 150 so all is well…phew.

Practise comes and goes.. it is wet but fairly grippy. The bike is trying to spit me off at low rpm when the power kicks in. Some carburation adjustments are made and its all set for the race. Its great to see so many faces from the Vespa smallframe forum, Jim,Hank,Ben,Marcus,Daz, and of course Coll who helped me with some of the pics. The call comes from the tannoy for Event 23 to assemble.. you hear race scooters bark into life here , there, and everywhere.. slowly I ride down to the dummy grid and begin 5 minutes of breathing two stroke fumes.

Before every race you ride a warm up lap..today its so cold I need about 3! The bike seems much easier to ride and the track is now dry so all systems go..

I’m starting from back row… position 21 on the grid..its going to be very hard to try to get up the front on this one. There are so many fast riders ahead of me mainly on group 4 Lambrettas and they dont hang about. The lights go red….. then off.. its time to go… but no.. my vespa wont pull away..still got the carburation issues…the bike has some changes made for this year but with no time to dyno at Performance Tuning its my own fault.. eventually I clear the bogged down motor and try to catch thequickly dissapearing pack. Rounding Gerrards I take a few and then a few more down the straight towards Edwinas.. left then right the bike is trying to spit me off in first gear…. its just too lary in this gear, but second is going to be too tall. mmm… I dont want to start hammering the new clutch just yet so I put up with the evil slides through this complex for this race.. However the next worry is I’m running out of gears.. I’m looking for a 5th gear all the time.. not good. The little Vespa is touching 91mph a third of the way down the straight as the rpm light is on telling me… oh dear.. I think I could of geared up really. But all is going well and now I have Guy Topper to head for..he is riding his very quick grp6 250cc ‘cooler’ , a legendary race scooter that has won many times. Slowly , slowly I catch him up but no where near to get his second place.. never mind…there is always race 2! Charlie takes the win.

It takes a while to focus again after a race.. well it does me…I need a moment to stop reliving the mistakes made and get my mind looking forward instead of back. But soon its re fuel… check the bike over.. all ok? Suspension is tweaked for race two..slightly stiffer this time.. all looks ok with it otherwise.

Time rolls on and the clouds continue to roll in… the wind feels stronger too.. during race 1 it was scary as it was trying to push the bike right over on the fastest corner of the track. But now its even worse.. usually its flat out at full lean but you have to allow for the gusts so its more of a ‘almost flat’ .. however the little red shift indicator is on right round the corner telling me the bike is pulling a minimum of 10,500 rpm so maybe that is fast enough for today. 😉

This time I’m determined to get a better start.. photographer Kieran Doherty tells me I have to because he wants a certain shot.. no pressure then 😉

The lights change and again the bike bogs… definately needs some dyno time..but its away so I blip the clutch and hello sky.. this is such a lary little beast..mad thing.. Its ok for Charlie to say “here you go… go race that then” but its me who has to try stay on it! 😉 Up the gears.. 1,2,3 almost that quick.. into top.. back to third Gerrards and traffic..I go wide, then inside trying to avoid a few people mid turn.. all is well..’GO’ someone shouts in my ear… down the back straight I see a machine ahead pull over… I think I’m up to third.. this is much better..Ahead is a group6 watercooled machine. Its ‘that’ Guy again( 😉 ).. the way his scoot launches out of corners is impressive.. this is the hard bit on the Vespa.. big power, short wheelbase and little bloke on top is not ideal..every time its trying to launch you upwards or the rear wheel spins.. its insane.  Slowly I catch Guy and by lap 2 I’m ahead and into second ..Charlie is ahead..if only I can get on the tail I’ll get him to tow me round… but the dreaded clutch slip has started.. I dont believe it..this cant be happening again.. Guy catches me and passes me on the brakes into the hairpin… as I exit the bike wont even accelerate.. it sounds like it only has one gear now… ok..damage limitation time and I try to nurse the bike round and keep the third place.. where is the last lap flag? I’m trying a jedi mind trick on the starter steward.. it doesnt work tho either that or she is from the dark side… hell… it doesnt really matter what gear I’m in now… it just goes one speed and thats not very fast..ah the last lap flag…phew.. I sit up check behind-all clear.. almost coasting the bike round I’m just relieved to keep the place. Charlie takes the win on his 204cc Group4 Lambretta.. so not a bad day for the Performance Tuning team!

I’m still awaiting the onboard footage from race two.. hopefully its all ok with sound as you’ll hear the clutch give up.

My thanks go out to Kieran Doherty and Adam Collier for use of the pictures. Cheers guys!