us into action since 2004. Click on the pic for more info about them
Date: July 5-6, 2008
Whilton Mill, Northamptonshire
Verdict: Anyone for war?
Thank god for Bumbag, Rucksack’s younger brother. The nippy mumbler took two fifth places finishes on the only two occasions where the bike ran properly right to the end of the race. He also crashed five times over the weekend. That’s more spills than Weeble’s career tally. Rucksack rode well but was hampered by the mechanical gremlins and Weeble continued his good progress, but was also let down by the bike’s reliability.
Highs: Bumbag, Amaretto, working mill, fire extinguishers, BMX jumps and barbecues. Lows: Gout, ignition, carbs.
Riders: Rucksack, Weeble, Bumbag.
Date: June 6-7, 2008
Llandow kart circuit, South Wales
Verdict: We're lovin' it (sorry Billy!)
Top weather, great track, good mates, copious amounts of alcohol, fast bike, moonies, steins, hats, hooks, hiya and brilliant racing. WR408 got kinda reliable, Weeble got committed, Rucksack got into the top 3 (and crashed out of it), then got so pissed on Saturday night that he couldn't race Sunday, so Tony stepped in and added two more crashes and some "committed" riding to the club account. Comfortably the best weekend we've had on our travels.
Highs: Weeble's highside recovery, some great racing and a proper good atmosphere. Lows: Missing most of qualifying and only getting 17th on the grid.
Riders: Rucksack, Weeble, Tony. Vital assistance: Manic, Rob Smith, Squealer, Ape, Don't Do Donkeys (it's been three years, they definitely protest too much).
Date: May 10, 2008.
RAF Wittering, Cambs
Result: 15th/26th
Much to Weeble's chagrin, Tony repeated his trick of recruiting fast guests to a hastily-assembled second team. Just 24 hours before the race he wasn't even competing and bike 166 hadn't been touched for nine months. Then he lined up in a team with around 500 club racing points to its name in 2008. His team was reliable and fast, if a little scary, while Weeble and Rucksack's team was fast in places but less reliable. TH got his comeuppance when the lap scorers placed Weeble's team higher than the "ringers" as Weeble labelled them.
Highs: A good team spirit, JHB, Keith and Rucksack's battle on track, Phill travelling from Bournemouth at the drop of a hat to help out. Lows: Blind lap scorers.
Riders: Rucksack, Weeble, Gary Hartshorne, Adam from Bike Tyrestore (199), Tony, Keith Roissetter, Tyler Bacon, Ross Barnes. Vital assistance: Phill.
Date: May 3-5, 2008.
Rowrah, Cumbria
Verdict: Premature
The new WR408 was strapped to Weeble's Previa at 9.30pm the night before the event annd we hauled our £100 team caravan to Rowrah, arriving in the Lake District at 3am. The bike was ready, sort of, for the last qualifying session and it was actually quite good. Rucksack was on for some good results, especially in the wet, but the power delivery kept disintegrating towards the middle of races. Still, there was potential there.
Highs: The speed of the new bike, the arrival of a team caravan. Lows: The engine problems causing an early finish.
Riders: Weeble, Rucksack. Vital assistance: Manic, Aaron, Andy Gower, Rob Smith.
Date: September 9, 2007.
Rowrah, Cumbria
Result: Terminal
The last hurrah for endurance racing as small entries meant organisers gambled on attracting old teams back with a six-hour race. Weeble Racing were among the low turnout of 23 teams on a day that provided a sad contrast to our Rowrah debut in 2005 (54 teams). It was a dismal race and it felt like the end of an era in two senses. We were riding OK and getting some good laps in when the engine made a whooshing sound with Weeble on it. That was the sound of the piston melting. We immediately started thinking of other avenues for future Weeble Racing bikes and it was also Tony H's farewell as a moped regular as he'd just bought a TZR250.
Highs: Few. Lows: Many.
Riders: Weeble, Rucksack, Tony.
Date: August 4, 2007.
RAF Wittering, Cambs
Result: 3rd (166), 5th (199)
Almost certainly the best weekend since Weeble Racing came into existence, with two teams in the top five out of 46 teams. Tony started the whole thing by choosing three fast guest riders to join him on his team. Weeble then matched him by signing up two ludicrously fast guests to join him and Rucksack on the second bike. The two teams were neck and neck throughout, including a titanic on-track battle between Tony and Rucksack that caught attention throughout the paddock. In the final half-hour either team could have finished ahead of the other, with them lying third and fourth. A crash for one of Weeble's crew knocked them back and Tony's team took Weeble Racing's second Wittering top three, with the 5th for 199 proving we could build reliable bikes and finish consistently well. Awesome party too.
Highs: The whole thing. Lows: None.
Riders: Weeble, Rucksack, Kev Smith, Bruce Dunn (199), Tony, Jimmy Chach, Keith Roissetter, Jim Moore (166).
Date: June 22-24, 2007.
Lydd International Raceway, Kent
Result: Memorably forgettable
Once again we were better prepared than ever. New wheel bearings and everything. And our fastest-ever guest rider, team friend Neevesy coming fresh from racing in the GSX-R750 Cup at Misano to a windy kart track in Kent. A Friday test worked particularly well for Weeble, who took lumps out of his lap times. A strong Saturday practice suggested good times ahead when the engine started making hideous noises just as Neevesy headed for the startline. It had stripped a gear and was unusable, ending day one before it began. We had no spare, so Billy took one out of WR104 and Rucksack made a night-time mission to transport it from Peterborough to Kent. It threw it down with rain overnight, turning Lydd into a skidpan and the spare engine had a slipping clutch. Tempers were frayed and the whole weekend was a total nightmare.
Highs: Everything before the first race. The creation of the now legendary 'hiya'. Lows: Everything after that.
Riders: Weeble, Tony, Neevesy. Vital assistance: Rucksack, Rookie, Aaron, Billy, Manic, PrepH Nick, Porker.
Date: June 9, 2007.
RAF Wittering, Cambs
Result: We'll add it when we find it
Only one bike for this one, with the withdrawal of Billy and Tony trying to ease his 2006 guilt by helping run the event. Weeble and Rucksack filled up with guest riders. They enjoyed a scorching weekend weather-wise and Rucksack decorated his tent with his stomach contents after a night's partying. We think some racing went on, but we can't really remember. Sorry.
Highs: Ermmm. Lows: Errrrr.
Riders: Weeble, Rucksack, Bridgestone Andy, Ian Jubb (199).
Date: May 5-7, 2007.
Rowrah, Cumbria
Verdict: Mechanical misery
Fresh from a remarkable pre-season that involved taking WR306 for a test session, news which caught our four-stroke rivals by surprise, we headed to Rowrah in our best-ever shape. Or so we thought. Had we known our wheel bearings were about to collapse we might have replaced them before we had to swap to our spare wheel. Then we wouldn't have had to do up the rear sprocket with Phill's patented chocolate spanner and it wouldn't have come adrift and locked the wheel solid. And we wouldn't have had to borrow a wheel from a friendly competitor team to get us to the end of a frustrating, but enjoyable weekend with some fast laps but iffy results.
Highs: Some quick laps and an epic battle between TonyH and Nick from PrepH. Lows: All the mechanical troubles.
Riders: Weeble, Tony, Rucksack. Vital assistance: Manic, Simon Clowes, Don't Do Donkeys (surely they protest too much).
Date: September 30-October 1, 2006.
Lydd International Raceway, Kent
Result: Mediocre
For the first time ever, Weeble Racing finished a meeting with an intact bike that didn't need major structural work. We were involved in some close racing on a bike that was only marginally faster than a standard C90 and survived virtually unscathed. Weeble and Tony both get another notch on their crash count and the team get a winter of working out how the hell to set up a carburettor.
Highs: Close racing. reliability, great track. Lows: Two crashes and a wonky footpeg.
Riders: Billy, Weeble, Tony. Vital assistance: Phill, Alsion, Ma and Pa Silcox.
Date: July 30, 2006.
Wittering, Cambs
Result: 3rd/16th
Fast guest riders Ben Wah and Jimmy Chach, plus ex-Manx GP racer David Hackshall, teamed up with Weeble to create our strongest-ever team on WR106. Plus our most reliable showing ever helped the team to a third place finish. A new, flowing track layout suited C90s and the Weeble bike was only beaten by two teams from the British Superbike paddock. A proud Weeble collected the trophy and guest rider David said afterwards: "It's just like doing the Isle of Man." We think the sun must have gone to his head a bit.
The highs of 106 were contrasted by the lows of the 104 team. Billy and guest rider Mookie rode well all day and saw home an ailing, frequently crashed machine pretty much alone. They were down to two because Phill had to withdraw with a broken arm and Tony was thrown out of the meeting for trying to attack a rider Tony claimed had deliberately knocked him off. The less said about this race the better.
Highs: The trophy, 106's reliability and Phill's pre-crash riding. Lows: You can probably work these out.
Riders: Weeble, James Doherty, Ben Wilkins and David Hackshall (106), Andrew Mook, Billy, Phill and Tony (104). Vital assistance: Vicki Seaton, Kim Weeble, Charlie Weeble, Alison Silcox, Roger Hoare, Fubar, Rob Smith, Andy Burke.
Date: May 6, 2006.
Wittering, Cambs
Result: 9th/16th
The Weeble Racing empire expands further with a second Wittering bike, WR106. It's an almost exact replica of WR104, allowing our four regulars to invite a guest rider each and still get plenty of track time. It's back to endurance format at Wittering and that's the major falling-down. WR104 was fast, but suffered a jammed mudguard (5.9, 5.8, 6.0, Arthur), broken exhaust and a knackered wheel bearing. WR106 also had problems, with loose sprocket bolts, but it finished several laps ahead of the original 104 for our first top 10 Wittering finish. And both bikes were in reasonable nick by the end. Which was nice.
Highs: Most of it. Lows: An injured thumb for guest rider Gary, Rucksack strombies and Phill's headache.
Riders: Arthur MacDonald, Tony, Phill, Weeble (104), Billy, Rucksack, Gary Hartshorne, Mookie (106)
Vital assistance: John Milbank, Nicola Hartshorne, Vicky Bell, Alison Silcox, Steve Rose.
Date: Apr 30-May 1, 2006.
Rowrah, Cumbria
Result: 13th/8th
A couple of major changes to WR306, with a new shock and revised chassis geometry, made it handle a dream in time for race one. Billy, the team member who can ride, was in a full-on ding-dong for the four-stroke win when the carb came adrift (someone show Rucksack what to do with a jubilee clip). A footpeg fell off in race two and ignition problems hampered Weeble's efforts in race three. Things came together for the final series of races and we hauled ourselves up to 13th place of 18 teams in our class. Day two was probably our best-ever day in moped racing as we were regularly doing battle at the front of the field. Weeble scored a seventh place in the wet, while Billy and Tony chipped in with sixths and sevenths to help us to eighth in class. It seemed like hard work as we (well, Billy) were constantly trying to quell an oil leak as our engine casings were splitting themselves to pieces. Back to the drawing board, we think.
Highs: Weeble's titanic battle for 11th place with Fubar's Ali. Lows: Having to fit a nappy to our bike.
Riders: Weeble, Billy, Tony. Vital assistance: Alison Silcox, Phillip Hoare, Mark Gatward.
Date: April 22, 2006.
Rye House, Hertfordshire
Result: God knows. Doubts he cares, though
A new circuit for Weeble Racing as we entered a FAB Racing event to get some track time in before the season started proper. There were few teams for us to race and we were regularly lapped by faster 70cc two-strokes. Billy crashed on the second lap ever completed by WR306, Tony lobbed it in the wet and we learnt a few lessons on crash protection. Rye's a good location and watching minimotos was great, but it's too tight for us and it's slipperier than a Teflon eel when it rains.
Highs: Slinging it around and finding the new bike handles OK. Lows: Crashes, the rear shock.
Riders: Billy, Tony, Weeble. Vital assistance: Phillip Hoare, Fillis, Barnsley Pete
Date: October 8, 2005.
Wittering, Cambs
Result: 30th
The normally-reliable engine in WR104 went haywire this time, while we were running third. A frustrating day of fixing, including swapping to a spare engine, finally got the bike sorted just as the rain swept in and turned the off-road sections into a mudbath. Them's the breaks.
Highs: Rucksack's Superpole lap on a flat tyre. Lows: Plenty.
Riders: Rucksack, Michael Neeves, Billy, Tony, Weeble
Vital assistance: Mark Gatward, Andy Gower, Suitcase, Alison Silcox.
Date: September 24-25, 2005.
Elvington, Yorkshire
Result: 6th in class (first/last in class Saturday)
With three hours of Sunday's main race gone we were bloody flying. Second in class for a while, one lap behind the class leaders, and really sticking in some laps for the first time. Then things started going all Weeble-shaped on us. Rucksack, in for the newly-swingerless Weeble, lobbed it, a tyre burst apart and then the frame snapped. In four places. It was too dangerous to continue so thoughts now turn to 2006 and a new chassis. Sad for Billy, who flew in from Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning and arrived just before the start of the race. For Saturday's 20th anniversary race we somehow managed to finish first and last in the same race. It's because we were the only four-stroke team whose laps counted towards the result. We spent the afternoon desperately trying to get WR104 working properly and managed only 17 laps. Frustrating, but enough to take the four-stroke trophy.
Highs: Being in the thick of it for the first time. Lows: The sad end to WR205.
Riders: Tony, Rucksack, Billy, Phill
Pit crew: Mark Gatward, Mr Carlsberg-Breakfast, Alison Silcox.
Date: July 22, 2005.
Wittering, Cambs
Result: 12th
Back on WR104, with a lamp post welded between headstock and petrol tank to brace the frame, and a turbo from Thailand, the Weebles got back to enjoying their racing. Phill stepped up from pit crew to race, regular helper Rucksack joined in too and legendary bike snapper Chippy Wood jumped on board to join Weeble and Tony in a five-man team. Billy was on holiday, touring Bangor, Llandudno and Rhyl with wife Alison and watching the Barmouth round of MotoGP while he was there. We qualified eighth from superpole and were in the thick of it for most of the race. A shed chain and a dropped rear sprocket were the only dramas, save for a couple of big crashes from Tony and a stoppage to ditch the turbo, which didn't do anything anyway. We didn't win, but we had a riot.
Highs: All of it. Lows: None.
Riders: Weeble, Phill, Tony, Rucksack, Chippy
Vital assistance: Mark Gatward, Suitcase, Jockass Racing, Becky Cornell and RAF Wittering bike club.
Date: June 12, 2005.
Elvington, Yorkshire
Result: 48th overall (7th in class - last)
Life's not all beer and skittles. After 1 hour 40 minutes and just as we were getting into things, the engine packed up. By the time we swapped to last year's engine, we were last and 60 laps behind the team ahead of us. Motivation went and so did we, skulking out of Elvington just as the chequered flag dropped.
Highs: Erm? Getting our tent packed away before it got soaked. Lows: The loss of Gus Scott on the Friday before the race. Top bloke.
Riders: Billy, Weeble, Tony. Pit crew: Phillip Hoare, Alison Silcox. Yet more vital assistance from Team Orange's Mark Gatward.
Date: May 1-2, 2005.
Rowrah, Cumbria
Result: 36th/40th overall (5th/5th in class)
The start of a new era as the new, more powerful engine meant we could race with some of the hares rather than creeping round like tortoises. We spent too much time in the pits and paddock to challenge, though. On day two we could have been on for a first rostrum as we were neck-and-neck with 2004 class champs Hurricane Hicken. Then we got wiped out by a two-stroke and lost half an hour. Highs: Riding the great Rowrah track for the first time and listening to the fantastic sound of the new motor. Lows: A snapped throttle cable taking us off the track for an hour, Weeble taking half a lap to bumpstart because the killswitch was on, Weeble bring T-boned out of race two.
Riders: Billy, Weeble, Tony. Pit crew: Phillip Hoare, Alison Silcox. Vital assistance from Team Orange's Mark Gatward.
Date: October 31, 2004.
Warden Law, Sunderland
Result: 27th (5th in class)
Weeble Racing made an inauspicious debut in the Moped Mayhem series, on a bright sunny day in Sunderland. Consistency brought them a fifth place finish in class 4, for four-strokes, finishing ahead of teams hit by mechanical gremlins.
Highs: The whole experience. Passing faster bikes in the early wet conditions. Lows: Two broken toes for Farrell. Running out of fuel after 1hr 50min, shedding a chain and crashes for Manning and Farrell.
Riders: Faz, Weeble, Tony. Pit crew: Phillip Hoare, Austin Smith. Vital assistance from Team Orange's Mark Gatward and most of Kinda Squirrelly/Dangerous Hippies
Funked-up C90 supermotos.
2004-on
Mark 'Weeble' Manning
The team is named after curly-haired Mark, 72. But Curly Haired Mark, 72, Racing, was too long so we used his nickname, Weeble. He got the tag for his likeness to the toys that wobbled, but didn't fall down. Well, he's halfway there..
Tuned Monkey motor in bendy RD50 frame. Ouch.
2005
Yamaha TZR125 chassis with tuned Monkey motor.
2006-2007
Rucksack
Fresh-faced team helper Rucksack, 92, stepped up from mascot to team rider in 2007. He earnt his nickname because his maternal great grandfather invented the rucksack, in Scotland in the 1890s. He can walk into Millets and take any rucksack/soft luggage he desires.
Honda CG125 flat-track replica.
2008-on
Tony Hoare
Hoare. What is he good for? Absolutely nothing. Bossy team member who always thinks he knows best and has a tendency for shouting at people. Large-arsed Hoare, 71, has all his own teeth and toes. Now races a TZR250. Click here
Mark 'Manic' Gatward
Weeble Racing adopted Mark when he was just two years old. We found him living in a scrapyard in Jalalabad in the 1970s and brought him to the UK to train him as one of the country's foremost experts on hammering, welding, lashing things up and saying 'oh f@£k'. He has since built a shrine to his Jalalabad home. It's his back garden in Eastbourne.
Weeble Racing have never won a British or World Superbike race.
Billy Silcox
Welshman Billy is the fastest rider we've had and was known in the paddock as "the one in your team who can ride". Never mind, the rest of us aren't Welsh. He's now off club racing. Click here for more info
Alsion Silcox
Team catering expert Alison is Billy's number two fan. She's even changed her name by deed poll to share a surname with our star rider. The rest of the team reckon they should try a relationship, but she's not woolly enough for Billy. Alison was the East Anglian vegetable chopping champion in 1978, the youngest-ever winner.
Phill Hoare
Tongue-out Phill, 11, jumped from pit crew to rider for Wittering 2005. Handy with spanners and good on a bike too. But we'll keep mentioning the spanners, then he might not get ideas about riding all the time and stick to pit crew. Did we mention his skill with spanners? Great, he is.
The first meal we ate as a team was tinned chilli and Pot Noodles.
Phill has the all-Rowrah record for teacake consumption and he was awarded 'Bermuda Triangle' status by the English Teacake Appreciation Society.
We used to take a rug to races, but we don't bother these days.
Billy was statistically proven to think more than the rest of us.
Our caravan is very old. And smells.