100 MPH LAMBRETTA CLUB100 MPH LAMBRETTA CLUB

History

Stuart first started ¼ mile sprinting in the early 1990’s at various run what you brung meetings around the country. In 1996 he joined the national sprint association (N.S.A) and started full time sprinting in 1998. Initially he sprinted in the scooter class using a light weight frame and the original 250 cc engine concept by MB Developments. That year he was achieving times of around 14 seconds with a terminal speed of 90 mph.


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During 1999 and 2000 development continued both with the frame and engine and by the end of 2000 had won the N.S.A scooter class with times around 13.3 seconds with a terminal of 97 mph. Also that year Stuart, along with Eden Bakewell, formed 100-mph-lambretta.com with the hopes of becoming a sponsored team.

In early 2001 Stuart changed his engine tuner to scooter racer Ralph Saxilby. With the team now attracting sponsorship it was possible to put more resources in to engine development. The results were astounding and by the end of 2001 times were down to 12.85 with a terminal of 102 mph. This helped Stuart to win the N.S.A scooter class and the overall N.S.A championship.

In 2002 with the bike now running at its best Stuart moved up in to the 250 cc motorcycle class. Development was constant to try and keep up and despite the disadvantage against motorcycles came away winning the class that year. Times had reached an all time best of 12.71 and the terminal speed was now 105 mph. That year Stuart also tried a flying ¼ mile resulting in a new British record time of 7.96 seconds with a terminal of 117.3 mph which still stands as the fastest official speed by a Lambretta on British soil.

Ralph Saxilby left as tuner in late 2002 to be replaced the following year by 2-stroke tuner John Floyd. With a radical change in engine development the bike was more powerful but reliability suffered and times were very inconsistent, despite this Stuart still managed to win the classic bike magazine 250 cc championship.

In 2004 it became apparent that the only way forward would be with a completely new bike as the engine and chassis of the old bike had reached the peak of their development. Combined with tireless travelling and the fact that deals with the major sponsors with the team were at the end it was decided to call it a day and 100-mph-lambretta.com was disbanded.

Stuart still did one or two meetings a year and continued demonstration work for Santa Pod raceway but the pressure of championships and constant development was relaxed. Now a new era has dawned with the start of the 100 mph Lambretta Club. Stuart is now working with Jason Frost who helped on the original frame design. A new lighter frame is being built along with engine development starting again. While 2007 will be a test year the plan is to run at several meetings in preparation for a new speed record attempt in the hope of pushing the boundaries of the Lambretta even further than ever before!




100 MPH LAMBRETTA CLUB

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