Loads of top racers are spending their we ekends racing in the British Mini Bike Championship these days, so to find out what all the fuss is about we sent Ben to get the lowdown.

WORDS:BENMILLER IMAGES: ANDY WALKER

It was a tough decision to make but when the opportunity arose to go pull some skids, have a laugh, get my elbows out and go racing again, I hastily rejected my invite to the royal wedding – sorry Harry and Megs, your prezzie is in the post.

My weekend’s playground was nestled in the Northamptonshire countryside with Whilton Mill hosting round three of the British Mini Bike Championship and I was chompin’ at the bit to see what all the fuss was about. With all 860m of this sweet little kart track linked together with a varied medley of tight hairpin turns and flat-stick, close your eyes and hope for the best shenanigans, if in doubt, flat out! Upon arrival at the circuit I was greeted by a somewhat energetic loon, leaping and bounding about like an over-excited puppy. Said chap was Matt Pierce, BMB marketing manager and racer. If the rest of the paddock was this friendly and welcoming then was clearly going to be a good place to spend a weekend.

Heading over to sign on for the weekends frolics, the first thing that stuck me was the surprising ratio of adults outweighing nippers by what seemed like a hefty number. Secondly, as my peepers panned the crammed room, I spotted a few familiar faces from the BSB paddock. It was at that point I knew I was in for a proper whuppin’! With the likes of Richard Cooper, Kyle Ryde, Lee Jackson, Brad Ray, Dan Linfoot and Storm Stacey to name drop a few, it’s fair to say that was clear from the off how popular and highly respected this championship is.

BMB has been continuously gaining traction since it was established, and with a couple of hundred regular riders rocking up for the 10 rounds the championship has to offer, it got me wondering what the appeal is. From my previous experience and time in various big-bike racing paddocks, there are usually two words that don’t bode well together when they are in the same sentence – ‘affordable’ and ‘racing’. Simply put, big bike racing is an absolute dosh pit and unless you have uber deep pockets, that financial barrier is more often than not for most a bridge too far. Thankfully, BMB does offer affordability, there are no licence requirements and a full race weekend entry fee that sets you back £95 provides you with five 10-minute practice sessions on the Saturday, one quali to determine your grid position and two races on the Sunday. For those that are a bit whipped (not that any of us will swallow our pride and admit it) and have to spend their Saturdays playing personal shopping assistant for their other halves then you can opt to skip day one and partake in just the race day carnage, which weighs in at a meagre £55, with the option to throw in an additional class entry (if your bike meets the regs) for £25 – a no-brainier! The class I was entered into was the South Coast Honda Superminis Ultimate/SM Open, which allows any Supermoto-style mini bike under 88cm seat height, running either a Honda CRF 150 engine with a maximum displacement of 180cc or a single cylinder two-stroke with a maximum capacity of 110cc and on 12in wheels. Other than that, you can do as you please or as you can rightly afford!