JPA Racing

Jamie Ashby is a talented young motorcycle racer from Nuneaton in Warwickshire. He loves what he does and wants to make a career of it. Here is the short story of how he got started….

Jamie got his first motorbike for Christmas 2004 the week before his 7th birthday. It was a KTM 50cc motocross bike. He only used it on a kids track for fun and then moved up to a 65cc KTM which again he only used on a kids track and did not get out on it very much.

He joined the Piston Ring Youth Motorcycle Club in 2006 when he was 9 and the same year became a member of their display team – his sister Stephanie who is now 15 also joined the Club later. By now it was obvious that Jamie had a real affinity for all things motorcycle.

Jamie began road racing with a small club when he was 11 and competed in 6 races that year on a Jawa 70cc bike – he came 2nd in one of those races.

In 2009 when he was 12 he completed his first full season and was now doing really well. This was still on his Jawa 70cc and as with the year before – on kart circuits. He had two identical bikes in case of problems with either one. In December of that year he competed on his Jawa 70cc in the Plumb Pudding Race on Boxing Day at Mallory Park and was in his element.

This year he will be competing on the big circuits and he is now riding an Aprilla RS125. Apart from Mallory Park every circuit has been new to him but he is comfortably leading the newcomers championship in his class and is a close second in point to the leader of the overall F125 Championship.

Jamie is following in the footsteps of his Grandad, Pete Ashby who raced as a one man team in the 1950′s.

Pete Ashby’s bike bore the emblem of Sylvester the Cat and he raced on many circuits including the Isle of Man TT with racing greats such as Mike Hailwood, Geoff Duke and Agostini.

He retired from racing in 1971 and became a Liberal Democrat Councilor until he passed away in 2007. Unfortunately he never saw Jamie race but he would have been very proud and Jamie hopes to have Sylvester the Cat back on an Ashby racing bike in tribute to his Grandad.