Fleetwood motorcyclist Richie Harrison roaring ahead in race for a Thundersport double at Myerscough College

A second Myerscough College lecturer from Fleetwood is revving up for glory in motorcycle racing’s Thundersport GB series this year.

Gazette readers were last year kept up to date with exploits of Ryan Garside, who clinched Thundersport GB’s Blackbird Corporate Golden Era Steelsport Championship riding his EasyPay Myerscough College Honda on the country’s most iconic racing circuits.

This year his Myerscough colleague Richie Harrison also hopes to compete on the sport’s most iconic circuits in the ThundersportGB GP1 Sportsman Elite on a new Kawasaki ZX10R.

After 23 years racing at various levels from club to national championships, 42-year-old Richie is ready for his biggest challenge yet.

The first two rounds of ThundersportGB have been cancelled due to coronavirus but it is hoped the season will get under way at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire on May 24.

Originally from Darlington, Richie has been racing since childhood and excelled in schoolboy motocross from the age of 14.

He began to compete under the North East Motorcycling Racing Club banner and was its newcomer of the year for 1997.

More success followed in Motor Cycling Club ‘Super Club’ events and Richie began competing in Thundersport GB for the EB Racing team (later RAP Racing) from 2010.

He represented them at ThundersportGB events annually from 2013-18, never finishing a season outside the top five in his category and taking second place in the last two seasons.

With nine wins, 37 podium finishes and a many fastest laps over 2017 and 2018, Ritchie was pipped to the title by Sparklight Golden Era Supersport Championship title by barely 0.2secs in the first of those years.

Richie took a break from ThundersportGB last year, supporting new colleague Garside’s glorious efforts after taking his lecturing role at Myerscough.

But he still found time to compete, driving the Myerscough College Kawasaki ZXR400 to third place in the Formula 400cc series at the Three Sisters circuit in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan. Richie was also sixth in the Streetstock 125cc Evo series.

Again competing for RAP Racing this year, he is relishing competing in one of the fastest Superbike series in the UK,

Richie hasn’t competed in Superbikes since 2009 but, like Garside, he can look forward to outstanding support before and during races from his motorsport students at Myerscough.