Luca Wilkinson and Aleisha Layton are competing in the Team Green Junior Cup championship
Rising motorcycle racing stars, Luca Wilkinson and Aleisha Layton, are both competing their first forays into competitive motorcycle racing, in the form of Bemsee’s Team Green Junior Cup race series.
Both riders are utilising Kawasaki Ninja 400 motorcycles, complete with EBC Brakes’ GPFAX brake pads and X-Series discs (front) and HH pads and Contour discs (rear).
The first 2024 round of this exciting youth race series took place at Kent’s Brands Hatch recently, with both riders showing promise from lights out.
The Team Green Junior Cup – Part of the British Motorcycle Racing Club (‘Bemsee’) – allows riders between 13 and 18 years of age, providing a level playing field to illuminate the quality of the riders, not the investment in, or calibre of the machines they ride. To achieve this, the class is restricted to un-tuned production motorcycles.
You can read both riders’ Brands Hatch race reports below in the team’s own words.
Luca Wilkinson
“The journey begins.
“Qualifying: Saturday morning the weather had turned for the better but the track was still a little damp and we opted to give Luca confidence from the off and ran wets. First ever qualifying and he brought it home in P3 overall and P2 in class
“Race 1: Very nervous but the team did a great job of preparing Luca. The first race start was great and he led Lap 1 (junior class), then the lead changed no less than seven times in the 9-lap race. Unbelievably, Luca crossed the line behind Phil Atkinson to take the Junior Win. Totally blown away.
“Race 2: Starting from P2, Luca had a good start but his teammate Aleisha Layton got out in the lead. Lots of battling saw Luca down in 4th for a time, but took the lead on Lap 3. This didn’t last long and again Luca was shuffled back in the pack. On Lap 7, the back markers worked in his favour, and he took the lead and managed to hold on to finish again, behind Phil to take the TGJC 1st place. Unbelievable.
“Race 3, Sunday: Well, this was a new ballgame. The rain was well and truly falling, and the track was very wet. Again, a bit nervous, but the team again worked their magic, and the race was on. Luca took a little while to settle and was cautiously building his pace, but this let the two class leaders pull a lead. There was a gap to 3rd and Luca was in a little pack of 4. He kept his head down and worked his way up to 4th and set about catching 3rd. He took 3rd on the penultimate lap and kept it to the line so a well-fought 3rd with lots of learning done.
“Race 4: Unfortunately, this is where things went a little bit Pete Tong. Forming up for the race start, the bike suddenly cut out – despite the help of the Marshalls and the awesome Aaron Lilly there was no starting the bike and the ups and downs of racing really hit home, so a DNS.
“If someone had offered us the results we had before the weekend we would have never believed them and would have taken it 100%. So proud of Luca and all he has achieved. Lots of hard work to be done and no doubt the TGJC class is going to be incredible, but we have loved our first experience and can’t wait to see how the season pans out.”
Aleisha Layton
“Race 1: I got a good start, but it took me a couple of laps to settle in. Managed to bring it home in P3 (with the top three split by just 0.3 seconds).
“Race 2: off to a better start and lead most of the race, then we hit some back markers. Some worked for me and some went against me. But another solid P3 in another very close race, which was a great eye opener for me!
“Race 3, Sunday: this is an interesting one! This was my first ever wet race, so I was a bit nervous. I have ridden in the wet on track days, but very limited time, due to my late start to motorcycle racing (last year was the first time I rode a bike). Anyway, I did my best and brought it home in P10 in class, which give us something to work with.
“Race 4: with my not-so-good Race 3, this put me back to P19 on the grid. Conditions were damp but drying fast which I like, so I was determined to do the best race possible and managed to bring it home in P4 in class which put a smile back on my face and was absolutely amazing.
“Overall, an amazing weekend with a lot of info to build on and move in the right direction, this round has really motivated me to succeed.”
GPFAX Pads
EBC’s GPFAX Sintered Race Brake Pads are for RACE ONLY use. This is a blend of brake pad that has higher friction and far better grip than any other brake product on the market.
X-Series Floating Discs
Since their introduction, EBC’s ultra-lightweight floating motorcycle rotors have become one of the worlds best selling lightest and best performing discs available for all modern sport bikes.
