Lee is in his early 20's and hails from the North East of England with a Motocross and Road Racing background. 2022 was his first season in Supermoto and he started off the season on a 2014 KTM SX 450 F, converted to Supermoto spec. Below we review his first full season in the Nora British Supermoto Championships, racing in the Novice Class.

2022 Norasport British Supermoto Championship

Round 1 - 15th-17th Apr - Three Sisters Wigan

Lee missed this round due to being on holiday.

Round 2 - 30th April - 1st May - Teeside

The weekend saw clear skies and bright sunshine so track conditions were dry - the dirt section was very dusty. After having a bike fault blowing the spark plug out of the head in practice on day 1, Lee sadly lost a full day’s racing. He managed to get the bike fixed for Sunday and after trying to get into the swing of things with a reversed track layout, he came away with a respectable 7th, 5th & 5th from 3 races.

Lee’s comments on the weekend: “I felt okay but nowhere near competitive enough - I can only put this down to being stressed the previous day and night trying to get the bike working. Overall, the event was managed great, track was positively interesting, and weather was very pleasing. Asides from bike difficulties, it was a good weekend”.

Lee at Rd 2 Norasport British Supermoto Championship 2022.

Round 3 - 20th-21st May - Pembery

Track conditions on Saturday were nice and dry, allowing Lee to run slicks. However, with rain over night, Sunday was a different story, being soggy and damp all day. However, Lee was only able to race on the Saturday anyway due to bike problems for him again on the Sunday. Saturday results were very positive, being 1st overall before Sunday's problems set in.

Lee’s comments on the weekend: “On Saturday I felt very connected with the bike on track and received multiple complements from spectators regarding my speed through the dirt section - These are nice things to hear but I feel like due to lack of performance parts i.e brakes, my bike was still holding me back from what I could have done. On Sunday morning I spent approximately 2 hours trying to get my bike to run, eventually getting out on track it managed about 10 minutes then gave up the ghost - I think it’s time for a new bike.

All in all I really enjoy Pembery race track and would really like to be back there again next year. I know it’s not to everyone’s taste but I personally like the fast flow. As you would expect The Norasport team managed the event perfectly".

Round 4 - 25th - 26th June - Rowrah

Due to all of his previous bike problems, Lee bought a new 2022 KTM SMR 450 before this round. Rowrah is notoriously quite a slippy circuit due to the rubber from the go karts that use it, but it was even slipper this weekend due to the rain! Lee came away with a 4th, 3rd & 3rd in his class. 

Lee's comments on the weekend: "All I have to say is there is a lot to learn on this new bit of kit but even with poor results I felt so comfortable and wanted to use this round to keep it safe and right side up. Sunday had us dealing with 45mph winds and blizzard like rain so keeping it safe was difficult. The event was managed great as usual ".

Lee at Rd 4 Norasport British Supermoto Championship 2022

Round 5 - 16th-17th Jul - Three Sisters Wigan

This weekend saw the UK hit with some of the hottest weather ever. Track conditions were therefore hot and bone dry, the tarmac was grippy and there was a mixture of tarmac jumps in addition to dirt jumps. Lee had a great weekend's racing, going 3rd, 1st & 3rd!

Lee's comments on the weekend: "I think this round was the most comfortable I have felt on a bike, the grip levels were incredible but the heat was hard to deal with when stopping after the race. The event was incredible as usual, Three Sisters is my favourite track and Norasport always run it perfectly without any hiccups".

Lee at Rd 5 Norasport British Supermoto Championship 2022

Round 6 - 13th-14th Aug - Crail

This was another extremely hot weekend, weather-wise, causing the dirt sections to be incredibly dusty and slippy. Lee went 3rd then 2nd but missed Race 3 due to a big high-side in Race 2 causing too much damage to the bike.

Lee's comments on the weekend: "After missing Race 3 on Saturday, Sunday we were back up and running with a sore ankle and thumb that perhaps should have been checked out. The day was consistent but was not the front runner. The track was extremely coarse and ate the tyres, but pushed on to capture the points required, we made it home in one piece".

Round 7 - 17th-18th Sep - Teeside

Lee went 6th, 4th & 3rd on the Saturday then 2nd, 5th & 2nd on the Sunday. He said in his own words, "Teeside is going from strength to strength as they continue to work on the dirt section, always trying to improve with the limited land available". 

"I felt good on both days. Overall, I was pretty happy with my performance. Gained mixed results but not holding them to close to my heart as I managed to beat my rival and focus on my next goal. All in all, pretty good weekend discounting my spill on the last lap of race 2 on Sunday".

Lee at Rd 7 Norasport British Supermoto Championship 2022

Round 8 - 22nd-23rd Oct - Three Sisters Wigan

Track conditions on the Saturday morning were damp but in the afternoon it dried up and was time for slicks. The Sunday on the other hand was extremely wet, with the dirt sections being really slippy. Lee went 3rd, 4th & 3rd on the Saturday, then 7th, 4th & 1st on the Sunday, ending the weekend with a win!

Lee's comments on the weekend: "On Saturday I felt okay and got on alright with the track. On Sunday I ran some wet Dunlop’s and wasn’t sure how I would get on with them, but as the day went on I felt more comfortable with them and would run them going forward as they really proved to hook into the ground and limit slip when everyone else was struggling. These were the hardest conditions that me and many other riders have ever faced, but with that said it was probably also my favourite to date, as well as learning loads".

Round 9 - 5th & 6th Nov - Cadwell Park

On Saturday the weather stayed dry resulting in dry, relatively warm track conditions. Sunday, however, was a totally different story. With heavy fog all day and torrential rain later on in the afternoon, it created an extremely wet track. Results for this round are still TBC.

Lee's comments on the weekend: "I feel as though my confidence and flow with the bike has drastically improved. Saturday was a dry day so I felt as though I could concentrate more on corner speed and improving my race position. Sunday was a lot harder to ride due to bad weather and regular oil spills on track. But I found that I enjoyed this day a lot more than Saturday and with my improved confidence on track, I was able to have more fun on the bike and surprised myself with how well I did. I am really looking forward to the 2023 season!".

Lee at Rd 9 Norasport British Supermoto Championship 2022

Lee's thoughts on the AS3 Performance parts he used throughout the season: 

"When shopping for bike parts I like to stay with one brand and thankfully AS3 Performance cover all parts, from protection and performance upgrades, to bling bits. This year I ran various parts across two bikes, including: Slider foot pegs, oil pump cover, silicone coolant hoses, top nut, front, rear and clutch master cylinder covers, bar clamps and snap back levers".

Lee had a good first season in the British Supermoto Championship. He learnt a lot and we look forward to supporting him in 2023 for his 2nd season!