You have joined the club, been practicing on your BMX and now it’s time to have some fun and go racing.  We have put this together to create a helpful guide to what racing is, what to expect and hopefully some helpful tips.  Please also remember that BMX racing can be a minefield so don’t be afraid to ask anyone from the club /committee for help if you’re unsure.

 

 

WHAT IS A BMX RACE?

 

A BMX race is a flat-out sprint which lasts around 50 seconds. An individual race (known as a moto) has eight riders at a time.  This will be against riders of the same age group but it worth bearing in mind that these classes are sometimes subject to change. For instance, if only four riders turn up for the eight year old boys’ class, and four turn up for the nine year old boys’ class, the two classes will often be merged to provide a full gate of eight riders.

 

 

RIDER LEVELS - ‘NOVICE’ OR ‘EXPERT’?

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A Novice rider is defined as any rider who has not competed in a full Regional series as a novice, or has ever competed as an expert in previous years.  If you're new to the sport, whether as a beginner at riding or ride a bit but have never competed before, Novice is the class for you. It's a chance to experience racing and learn how it all works as well as perfecting skills and having fun.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Novice racing should be about the PROCESS not the RESULT so race to gain experience, not because you think you'll win easily!

 

You don't have to be winning races to move up to Expert, it's more a matter of having some race experience and being ready to test yourself. The best way to improve and ultimately have more fun is to step up to Expert and get stuck in!  Some regions restrict the number of Novice races you can participate but in Scotland, you can ride a full season as novice or move up to expert when you feel ready. Moving up to expert without completing a full series is at the discretion of the event organisers.  The Club committee and coaches are always available for advice regarding when it is time for a rider to move up to expert. Experts require a full BC membership and a provisional or full race licence (free until the rider is 16 but must still be applied for) and require a bike transponder/active mylaps subscription for lap timing and finish line positions. A full race licence is required for National events.

 

 

Event Levels: Regional (Novice and Expert Classes), National, The Brits and International

The UK is split into 6 regions by British Cycling. We are in the Scottish region and each year, along with the other Clubs in Scotland, we run a Scottish regional series and a Centurions winter series.  We have about 100 regular competitors in the Scottish series.

 

Many of our club riders regularly travel to compete in the much larger North regional series (usually about 400 riders) but you are entitled to enter regional races in any region as either a novice or expert but as mentioned earlier, some regions restrict how long you can compete as a Novice for. The North region restricts Novice riders to 5 races before having to move up to Expert. 

 

National Level racing is for expert riders only and British Cycling require riders to have competed as an expert in 5 Regional racing (Some regions only count summer series races for this not winter so it’s worth checking with each region).  These races are hosted by clubs all over the UK and the series locations are announced by British Cycling early in the year and the club will also publish these on socials.  About 1000 riders compete at these events. Riders compete for the National series title and the national number 1 plate for each age group and use that national number for regional and national racing the following season.

 

The Brits is a National level race where you compete for your region, and as such have to qualify to race by competing in Scottish regional summer series. Riders must enter and compete a required number of regional races (noted in the series regulations published alongside the race dates early in the year).  About 1800 riders compete to be British Champion in each age group.

 

Entry to events is via the British Cycling online event entry system and the age groups for the event will be listed.  A rider competes in the age they will be that year (runs jan 1st to Dec 31st) eg: if you will be 9 on your next birthday which is in December, you will compete in 9‘s for the whole year. This can be confusing for winter series racing as the series runs into the next year (October -March) so you would therefore race 10’s from the first race in the winter series, even if you may not even be 9 yet!

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​For all events, information on riders and races can be found on www.our.sqorz.com.  This shows who has registered for each category and on race day will list your moto’s once registration has closed.  You will have a race number and a gate number listed under a moto 1, 2 and 3.  If there are 8 riders or less in your age category, you will also have a moto 4 column with a race and gate number.  Once you have your moto numbers and racing begins give yourself plenty of time to get to the pens which is where racers wait and file through to the gates for racing.  Bigger races such as Nationals and the Brits go fast.  Usually 2 races are on the track at the one time.

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• Scottish Regional Races

Scottish regional races usually take place at either Clydebank or Cumbernauld and last a few hours.  Practice and registration normally starts at 11am and closes at 12.30pm, moto’s are drawn at about 12.45pm, Racing starts at 1pm and finishes around 4pm.

All riders require a front number plate.  The number should be the last 3 of your British Cycling membership unless you have a national or international ranking number from the previous season.  If you are riding at expert level you will require a transponder which you can either purchase or hire from the club for the day.  There are usually 8 rounds of races held over the season and points accumulate over all rounds.  Final positions are calculated from 7 out of 8 rounds and the racer with the most points wins then second third and so on.  This will also determine your number plate if you go on to race for Scotland at the Brits.

 

• Scottish Open

A one day race which runs the same as a regional day race.  The only difference being it’s a stand alone and whoever wins on the day is Scottish open winner for their category.

 

 

• North Regional Races

The North region races run the same as the Scottish region and are over 1 day although a bit further away.  However, most club members travel there and back on the day.  It’s an early start in pj’s but you get used to it 😊. You get free practice in the morning to get used to the track (separated into age groups), which usually starts at 9am. Racing starts at about 12 and finishes around 5.  At this level the competition hots up a little. North regional races are generally much bigger than Scottish Regionals with a lot more competitors therefore this is a good next step if you want to move on from Scottish regional racing.  If you are riding at expert level, you will require a transponder.  You will also need a front and side number plate with your race number.

 

• National Series Races

The British BMX Series is the highest domestic series in the UK and attracts the very best riders from around the country.  These can also be held anywhere in the country from Peckham London, Manchester, Cardiff and even at our own track in Cumbernauld.  Riders must have competed at 5 regional races as an expert to enter National races.  National races run over the whole weekend, although the Saturday and Sunday count as separate race days so if you wish, you can just do one day.  You get practice on the Friday night.  This requires a paid ticket. Then a full Saturday and Sunday of racing.  Both days start early and practice can start at 8am (depending on your age/group) with racing usually commencing at 11am.  Race days usually finish around 6pm depending on race delays.  Sunday racing starts earlier as they allow less time for practice. Racing usually starting at 10am so hopefully a slightly earlier finish.  If you are riding at Nationals, you will again require a transponder.  You will also need a front number plate and side plate with your race number. If you have a national or international ranking number, you have to use this at national level. 

 

• Brits 

Brits is a weekend event held every year with racing split into age groups and some race on Saturday and the others on Sunday. Friday practice for everyone split into age groups. Under 13 and cruiser race Saturday and 14 and over race Sunday.Tickets for parking, practice and camping all require purchased so keep an eye on host club social media/website for info on when these go on sale.Riders are given a number plate and side plate by the Region (ours being Scotland) and riders will have to wear a Scottish region race top which is purchased from your club.The cost is usually part subsidised by the region.The club will keep you informed of all this.

 

• Worlds

Held every year somewhere in the world.  2023 was a home event in Glasgow.  2024 USA,  2025 Denmark, 2026 Australia, 2027 France.  This a week-long event with riders from all over the world competing in their age groups.  To qualify to ride for Great Britain you must  finish in the top 14 overall in your category of the National series.   

 

 

WHAT HAPPENS ON RACE DAY?

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The basic principles of BMX racing are simple, but even at a small club race, there’s a lot to get through in one day. So here is all you’ll need to know to get the most from your day at the races.

​A BMX race can have eight riders at a time riding one lap of the track. At any race meeting, all riders compete in three heats known as ‘motos’.  Their finishing positions are converted to points – one point for first, two points for second etc., down to eight points for last place. Those with the lowest number of points from all three motos progress to the next stage.

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As a general rule, a rider will need to average fourth place or better to transfer beyond the motos, but this isn’t guaranteed as some combinations of different results from different riders can skew the outcome. Also, if two riders are tied on points, the rider with the better result in the third moto will be the one to qualify.

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After the motos come the sudden-death elimination rounds. In these races, riders have only one chance to qualify to the next round and they must finish fourth or better to do so.

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The number of riders in each class determines how many knockout stages there are. The numbers are as follows:

 

8 riders or less-4 motos (grand prix format and 4th moto run when rest of final take place), combined scores of the 4 motos decide ranking, if points tie then position on moto 4 decides result

9-16 riders - 3 motos, top 8 to ‘A’ final

17-32 riders - 3 motos, top 16 to semi-finals, top 4 from each to ‘A’ final, 5th-8th to ‘B’ final, final ranking from 17-62 based on moto points

33-64 riders - 3 motos, top 32 to quarter finals, top 16 to semi-finals, top 4 from each to ‘A’ final, 5th-8th to B final, final ranking from 33-64 based on moto points

65-128 riders, top 64 qualify then top 4 from 1/8th proceed to quarters. Rest of ranking then same as above. A and B final for semi-finalist only.​​

You will notice in the list on the previous page that the finals are pre-fixed with the letter ‘A’. These finals are pre-fixed with the next letter in the alphabet. For instance, in a class that has, say, 14 riders, the top eight from the motos will go through to the ‘A’ final, while the six non-qualifying riders will race their own ‘B’ final.

Usually only ‘A’ and ‘B’ finals are run, even in classes with more than 16 riders, but from 2017 an exception is made for the 16+ Open Cruiser class. In this class, all riders get to race a final, with the qualification for each one being determined by the results of the motos/quarters/semis.

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As mentioned earlier, the organisers will always try to create races with full gates of eight riders. This means that categories with low rider counts can sometimes be merged. If the race is part of a series, then the results may be split back out to the individual class to be included in the overall series rider ranking table, even though the riders from the two categories raced together on that day.

 

Gazebo

Usually, the Club will have a gazebo at all these races for shelter.  Club racers are welcome to use this gazebo however space can be tight therefore there are some rules. 

• All family are welcome in the gazebo however there is only one chair per rider

• No trolleys allowed inside gazebo

• No dogs allowed inside gazebo

We also ask if, where possible, people can help transport the gazebos to events and/or help to put them up/down before and after racing.

 

Food & drink / Stalls / Raffles

Most Regionals will have somewhere you can buy some food/drink but not always.  we would recommend taking a cool bag with you for food/drink for the day.  Nationals there is always a few food/drink stalls so you can always purchase food at these events if required.  At Nationals and some North regionals there will also be bmx clothing/equipment stalls.  At nationals there is usually a raffle for club fundraising.  Some good prizes can be won so bring your pennies

 

Accommodation

For races further afield such as Nationals you may require accommodation.  At some racing events there is the option of camping.  If you wish to do this, you will need to purchase a ticket for the camping space.  We recommend joining the facebook group of the race host to keep up to date when these go on sale to get in quick as they can sell fast.

If camping is not for you then you can review hotels nearby.  Hotels for nationals can book up quickly so if you want to be near the track, you should book as soon as possible once dates are published.

 

Parking

Scottish regionals – There is free parking at the site of both Cumbernauld and Clydebank

North region – All host clubs have designated parking which cost £3.

Nationals – These races are big and parking tickets require to be purchased.  You can buy VIP parking or normal parking.  VIP parking is usually near the track however tickets go quickly so again join the host facebook page to keep on top of ticket sales.  Normal parking can often be 5 plus minutes’ walk from the track and tickets also require to be purchased although you don’t usually need to rush to buy these.

 

If you do decide to start racing in the North regionals or Nationals, we recommend you ask to join the Cumbernauld Centurions facebook page called Cumbernauld Travellers Secret Page Sssh.  This page is used to organise travel, help with gazebos and other communication for these races.

 

 

DON’T WANT TO RIDE? WHY NOT VOLUNTEER!

Although BMX racing events are highly organised, the people running them are volunteers who are giving up their time purely for the love of the sport. Inevitably however, there are never quite enough volunteers to fill all the various roles needed on race day.

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So if you are a parent/carer you’ll soon start to spend your life at the track, or even if you’re a rider who is temporarily laid up due to injury, why not volunteer to help out at the track? Possible roles include social media, baking or making soup for race days, track maintenance, grass cutting the list of things that need doing is almost endless.  There are also race day jobs and many tasks require no more than an on-the-day briefing to get under way.  As the saying goes, many hands make light work, so the more people that volunteer and help, the easier it will be to have an enjoyable and stress-free day.  If you have a business, there is also the opportunity to sponsor the club and advertise your business.  Speak to a Committee member if you wish to do this.

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One other point that is worth making when it comes to race officials is that all race participants – riders, parents and spectators alike – have a duty to conduct themselves appropriately towards officials at all times. Sport can often generate passionate responses in people, but there is NEVER any justification for acting abusively towards the people that are running the event for you. Fortunately, such instances are relatively rare in BMX, but when issues do occasionally arise, the race director will exercise a zero- tolerance approach to deal with it. 

 

 

 

 

Ride your bike and have fun!

 

Handy links

 

Cumbernauld Centurions BMX club

Website - www.cbmxc.com

Facebook – Cumbernauld Centurions / Centurions Travellers Secret Page Sssh

 

Facebook - Scottish Regional BMX Racing

 

British Cycling

Fins out about races & events

Website - www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/home

 

Transponders

www.mylaps.com

 

Buy/Sell used bikes & Parts

Facebook – BMX Trader UK  /  BMX Race Equipment For Sale UK