Full Name:    

Richard Smith

KLM GM Short Stroke

KLM

Biography

Richard began has Grasstrack racing back in 1988 as a 15 year old on a 250cc Red Rocket. He quickly became one of the best riders in the Eastern Area and over the next few years developed to be one of the best riders in the country.

Richard made a decision at the end of the 2001 season to move up to the 350cc class, again he quickly progressed to become on of the countries top riders.

Due to his rapid progression on the 350cc machine he was asked by the governing body (the ACU) if he would like a place in the British Masters Qualifier. This would mean that the team would need to invest in a 500cc engine but Richard knew that he would have to learn to compete with the top riders so he accepted the invite and begun riding in the top class halfway through the 2004 season.

Podium finishes at all 3 British Championship events and qualification for the European Final were highlights of an eventful 2006 season. The broken shoulder Richard suffered and the two bad accidents at the British Masters the only negatives. Overall Richard and the team were exceptionally pleased with how the 2006 season progressed with excellent results against the world’s best riders and 11 podium finishes.   

The investment made in new engines from KLM Tuning and belt drive clutch set up from GG Kupplungen paid dividends with the team having to do very little adjustments to get the best from the machine whilst maximizing the reliability of the engines.   

2007 Goals

Following on from our success in 2006 our 2007 goals are

• Win the British Championship
• Top 6 Finish in European Championship
• Retain British Best Pairs Title
• Win the British Masters
• Obtain podium finishes in top European meetings

With additional sponsorship to enable us to further develop our machinery as detailed below and a little bit of luck we feel that we can achieve our goals and exceed our expectations for 2007.