Superlite championship

Meet the drivers

Dad and lad team, Ivan Taylor and Josh Taylor have competed in the British Superlite Championship for the last 2 seasons and cannot stress how much fun they have had so far.

In Ivan’s own words:

“Whilst the racing on track is as competitive as you would care to find, behind the scenes things are run with military precision. Off track it is a place where if you require help it will be there in abundance from all in the pit lane. These things combined with a fantastic social side to the sport make this is a no brainer for anyone thinking of breaking into the Motorsport scene… look forward to seeing you in 2021.”

Tony has been involved with Norasport for well over 20 years, starting out as a Marshall, Time keeper and then back in 2009 he purchased a 600 Superlite. For 10 years he competed in the S6 class, recording numerous podium positions and class wins. Tony is one of our longest serving competitors, hear why Tony still loves to race his Superlite:

“In 2018 I managed to become the S6 British Champion and followed that up by winning the S6 Masters Cup for the 4th time. At the end of 2019 I decided to upgrade to the S10 class with the new fuel injected fireblade engine. This season I have had a solid start to the season with a couple of podium finishes and find myself getting quicker and quicker at each meeting.

The Superlite ‘family’ is awesome and nothing compares to the banter and family atmosphere we all have. From having a BBQ and beers the night before to battling it out on the track, racing hard and acknowledging a fellow competitor when you have had a close battle.

Massive thanks go to my step dad, Nick, who supports me at every event keeping the car on circuit and set up ready for me to race.

Here’s looking forward to 2021 and hoping to keep pushing forward and working hard.”

New to the Superlite Championship in 2020 Ben became the youngest ever racer in the series at the age of just 13 years, 10 months and 19 days when he made his debut at the Warm-Up round in March.

Ben had previously started riding a quad bike at the age of 3 and then moved into karting at the age of 5, but couldn’t start competing until he’d reached the age of 7. The following year in the September of 2014 he took his first karting win and went on to become the Winter Series Champion at Stretton. Ben continued in karting at Club, MSA and NKF level, moving up from Cadet, to Pro-kart, to Mini Max and finally to Junior where he finished as Red Lodge Champion before moving up to Superlite Racing.

Ben also became the youngest ever Superlite Race Winner in his rookie season when at the 2020 Teesside double header meeting he claimed 2 race victories and a second place on Day 2 to take the top honours of the Day, having previously picked up the Third Place Trophy and the Driver of the Day Award on Day 1. The Teesside results were also to play a big part of his first season as combined with a Second place at Cadwell and a Fourth Place at Three Sisters he went on to secure 2nd Place in the Overall S6 Championship.

Having now made the transition from Karting to Superlites and having also enjoyed the new challenges of much larger tracks such as Cadwell Park, (which he described as “The best experience of my life, ever.”) Ben has no regrets on leaving karting and is eagerly looking forward to the 2021 Superlite Championship.

Mark’s average driving speed during the normal working day reaches a maximum of 56mph. Mark joined the series in 2020 after a 15 year break. His results in the early rounds had him thinking he would get faster lap times if he took the motorhome on track in place of the car.

But he stuck with it and with a lot of help and advice from the Superlite community, and a new set of tyres things started to come together for him on track with the pinnacle of his season being a 3rd place at Cadwell.

This result would not have been possible without the help and support of the Superlite community of drivers who won’t give their rivals an inch on track but are happy to help rebuild their rivals cars and assist with parts supply between races. Mark is lucky to have the help of a pit crew, AKA his lovely wife who also seems to love the whole thing.

Mark has been a petrol head for almost as long as he can remember. At twelve he thought all his dreams had come true when he got his first ever motorbike. This started his lifelong love of all things 2-stroke. Mark started racing Superlite cars back in 2013 and found that he loved it so much when opportunity came calling he bought the rights to manufacture cars for the series.

As well as supplying all trackside support, on race days Mark can be seen racing car No.24 in the 600 championship.

Mark Rushton is your go to man for all things Superlite. Please call Mark for help / advice if you are interested in joining the community.

This page is dedicated to Joe who sadly passed in 2020.

Joe is a legend that will never be forgotten by all those in the Superlite community that had the pleasure of racing with him.

He was already over 80 when he began Superlite racing following the passing of his wife and he continued to take part right up to reaching the ripe old age of 91.

​Superlite Racing gave him a new zest for life as he proved to the rest of us that you are never too old to do anything.

Joe loved the sport so much that he asked for his ashes to be scattered over Three Sisters Race Track. It was here in July 2020 that our community came together to help Joe remain forever part of starting line.

Following his passing the S6 British Superlite series was renamed as the Joe Palfrey S6 Championship.

James started racing Superlites with his Dad, Derek Warren in the S900s early in 2018.

In James own words “I was overwhelmed how welcoming the British Superlite community was to me and my family. We are proud to be part of such a great sport and getting to know such great people.”

James had competed in Karting and won different types of championships as a young boy locally, whilst waiting to become old enough to start racing in the sport his family grew up in.

James and Derek Warren had been involved in oval dirt racing sport (Autograss), at a high level. James was vice chairman and chief marshal of their League, racing a high powered front wheel drive space framed car, competing at Nationals and winning a UKAC Round. He wanted a new challenge and knew the British Superlite Championship would be a greater challenge and experience.

James goes on to say “I knew it was not going to be an easy challenge and kept my expectations of taking it one race at a time learning as I went along. With coming from racing so many years on dirt in a front wheel drive car to racing rear wheel drive on tarmac circuits was a difficult challenge and I was looking forward to it. It didn’t disappoint, what a thrill. These Superlite machines are not for the faint of hearted, tremendous speed and acceleration. The other drivers are hard, competitive but fair. Always a pleasure to be racing with such great drivers. Always a laugh and good banter off the track too. Every driver is always supportive and will always be willing to help you which was great to see in such a competitive sport.”

After competing in Superlites for couple years starting off at the back of the field, James learnt more at every round about the cars, setup and experience in the seat. Pretty soon James and Derek started making their way up the grid. Best finish for James was 4th at the Pembrey Circuit in 2019, where he also won driver of the day.

He recently took the Superlite to a Hill Climb called the “Hill Billy Stage” in Wales and got the fastest time, which really shows what these Superlites can do.​​

Hear what Derek has to say:

“I started competing in the British Superlites with my son, James Lewis in the S900’s back at the start of 2018. Myself, my wife and my Son was so relieved how welcoming the British Superlite family was to us when we joined, especially after coming from a sport where we left so many friends behind. We are proud to be part of such a great sport where we are made to feel so welcomed.

I started in motorsport at a very young age as a child competing in Karting and won three championships.

I then built up my own mini at the age of 20 moving into a sport called Autograss racing which is an oval dirt sport. I spent 36yrs in Autograss competing at a high level in most of my years in a single seater rear engine rear wheel drive 2car. Building my own engines and chassis in the sport for myself and my son, we finished the sport in venture of something more challenging.

Getting into the British Superlite is an amazing experience for any person and I was amazed by the speed, acceleration and mostly the reliability of these machines. They are well built and strong but still got to have full concentration while competing. All the drivers have full respect for each other on the track and are always willing to come give you a hand if needed in the pits.

These Superlites are without a doubt competitive against any machinery it would be put up against and that’s what makes them so exciting to watch and drive.”

From our youngest driver who joined us last year, up our veterans, a few of whom have been racing Superlites for over 20 years, the Superlite community offers a warm welcome to all.

If you want to experience the sheer thrill of the speed, acceleration and competition of close racing on track and are likely to want to make friends with a respectful community of other drivers around the paddock, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

We look forward to hearing from you.