PROFILE
Name: Lee Sweetland
Nickname: Sweets
D.O.B: 04/04/1980
Age: 30
Hometown: Swansea, South Wales
Height: 5'10
Weight: 76kg
Bike: 2006 GRC RR, Super
First Race: Kinsham, 2004, MMRA British Championship
First Win: Whilton Mill, 2005, Phoenix Winter Series
Best Racing Moment: Beating Dave Perry (multiple British Champion) for the first time at Ellough Park
Favourite Circuit: Llandow, South Wales
Most Respected Rider: Chris Martin
Ambition: To win British, and National Championships
Hobbies: Mountain Biking, Basketball
Likes: Anything on two wheels
Dislikes: Highsides
Favourite Food: Fried Chicken
What CD's in your car: Redman, Muddy Waters
Favourite Movie: Snatch
Helmet: Shoei
Leathers: SK Team Havoc
Boots: Stylmartin
Gloves: Tuzo
Career Highlights
2005: 5th MMRA British Championship
2005/06: 2nd Phoenix Winter Series
2006/07: 2nd MMRA British Championship, 3rd in the SERMC Southern Championship. 1st Stretton Winter Series
2007: 3rd MMRA British Championship
2008: 3rd MMRA British Championship, 1st NPS National Pocketbike Series
2009: 4th NPS National Pocketbike Series
MY SCRIPT
Lee was introduced to Minimoto when a friend invited him to go ride a Chinese replica around some local derelict land. It seemed like a good idea as Lee had always been into bikes in general, so he jumped at the chance of having a go on a minibike! He enjoyed his first outing so much that he went out and bought his own Chinese bike, and continued to race around derelict areas with his friends who had also got them. With time, Lee became bored with the lack of power and speed the Chinese bikes had to offer, so researched a little further on the internet and found that there were competitive race minibikes available for purchase!
He visited Minimoto Racing, a company based in Hullavington, and firstly rode their 4.2HP hirebikes which surprised him with their speed, then later on plucked up the courage to try a production bike (8.5HP plus), which frightened the life out of him! Therefore, he had to have one! To start with, Lee just wanted to do it for fun, but couldn't use it on the same land as he had been riding the Chinese bikes, so he found his closest karting track at Llandow in Cowbridge which was only an hour away from his home. Here he continued to race new friends with the same bikes, and enjoyed it so much, that he decided to start racing.
Lee's first race meeting was at Kinsham, Mid Wales for the last round of the 2004 British Championship, and he quickly came to the realisation that there was a lot of work to be done if he was to become competitive in this world of racing!
In 2005, Lee entered the MMRA British Championship as part of the Light Weight Production class, and spent most of the year at the back of the grid, but towards the end of the season started to get some encouraging results, but never getting that illustrious win! Over the Winter of 2005/06, Lee managed to put some much needed weight on and got promoted to the heavies class in which he competed in the Phoenix Winter Series, and started to get the results he had been looking for.
Lee started the 2006 season well, getting some good results at the sharp end of a competitive grid, amongst some of the countries best riders including 5 times British Champion Dave Perry, and 2006 British Champion Chris Martin. This attracted the attention of Lee's current sponsor, Team Havoc Racing. Since then, Trevor Mair of Havoc Racing has been a big influence in Lee's success in both British and National rounds, ranging from consistent podium finishes, to overall series wins. In 2007, Lee competed in the British Championship again as part of a very competitive production class, consisting of riders such as Matt Cox and Danny Hedger. Lee was able to achieve various race wins, and managed an overall 3rd in the championship, which wasn't bad considering the competition he was up against.
2008 and Lee decided it was time for a fresh start in a new class. A step up in to the Open Supers class seemed like the right direction to go, and Lee wasn't disappointed. The added power and speed of the open class bikes acted as a new motivation to Lee. Racing in the British Championship against names such as Grant Villette and Luke Holness, Lee was competitive from the start taking multiple race wins at his home round in Llandow, South Wales. After the first round success, things unfortunately went downhill due to some technical issues with the bike, but Lee still managed to keep picking up vital points to stay in contention, and ended the season with an overall 3rd. Midway through the 2008 season, Lee decided to take part in a round of the National Pocketbike Series, and came away with an overall 3rd behind current club racer Rob Shaw, and British Superstock racer Martin Glossop. After a successful introduction to the series, Lee decided to compete in the rest of the championship, and ended up becoming the National Pocketbike Champion of 2008!
For 2009, Lee wanted to defend his number one spot in the National Pocketbike Series amongst some young up and coming riders, but it was not to be, as the first half of the season was plagued with mechanical failures, and the second half, unsuccessful due to a number of crashes trying to make up time on the leading riders. The season did however end on a good note, with an overall win at the last round, consisting of two race wins and a second. Lee currently lies 2nd in the 2010 FAB British Championship standings, trailing 2009 National Champion Ben Prati by only 4 points. With only 2 rounds to go in the championship, it should be a very exciting end, and Lee feels relatively optimistic about his chances!
Check back soon for Lee's latest results.
So far this season, Lee has been extremely happy with the performance of his Havoc Racing powered GRC RR, and would like to thank Trevor & Ben Mair of Havoc Racing for their continued help and support.
