Race Spec Story

Race Spec has just completed its 20th year trading. The company was formed in 1990 as a suspension company by former british MX champion Dave Watson, with a bank loan of just £2000 little did we know how quickly Race Spec would become the UK's leading off road retailer.

The Founder

David's roots are deeply planted in off-road sport and he was a very handy motocrosser at all levels of the sport. He started racing in 1973 at home in Northern Ireland, when schoolboy racing was pretty much in its infancy. David, together with on-track rivals Stephen Russell and Lawrence Spence, emerged as a leading trio and helped to grow the profile of what became a very strong schoolboy era. In order to pursue racing as a career, David made the tough decision to leave home at the tender age of 16, and moved to England to live with good friend, well known photographer and Nantwich club organiser, Bob Mcminn.

From Racer To Coach

After a couple year's hard graft, David's racing efforts were rewarded with a place on the Beamish Suzuki team and he was chosen to represent Great Britian in the 1980 Motocross des Nations at Farleigh Castle. The youngest on the team at just 19 years old, he made a name for himself by finishing fifth in the first moto and second in the second moto behind Belgian André Malherbe. Clearly, the talent spotters were out that day as 'the flying W' was offered a factory ride with Yamaha, the make on which he finished fourth in the 1982 250cc World MX Championship. David went on to win the British 250cc in 1986, but was forced to hang up his competition motocross race boots in 1987 when a badly broken leg finished his professional racing career.
A change of career in 1988 saw David hooking up with Honda as a motocross coach, a vocational path he followed for the next 12 years, whilst at the same time setting up and running Race Spec. "It was in 1990 that I realised riders needed to be taught more than just how to ride the bike", recalled David. "It was clear to me that they also needed tuition on bike set-up and preparation and so I spotted an opening for a company to help them do just that. With the help of friend and mechanic Keith Turner, I started Race Spec as a bike perparation business, focussing on suspension and race prep".

Race Spec Timeline

1991
Race Spec was formed as a suspension company by former British MX Champion Dave Watson in his garage with one employee.

1992
Race Spec develops and sells big wheel Honda CR100

1993
Race Spec is appointed the sole UK importer for Marzocchi Magnum 45 Froks and Kurt Nicholl wins the British MX Championship using Marocchi forks.

1994
Race Spec runs a Honda 125cc British GP Teeam with Nathan Shelton and Irish man Brian Steele. Mark Eastwood finishes second in the British MX Championship using Race Spec Marzocchi forks.

1995
Race Spec launched their first mail order catalogue; A massive eight-pager! Paul Cooper wins the British MX Championship using Race Spec Marzocchi forks.
"The mail order arm of the business really came about as a response to listening to what riders wanted. We'd be out there teaching them how to ride and helping them with machine set up, etc., but they also wanted to know where they could get aftermarket parts and accessories such as handlebars, grips, tyres, and so on. It really just grew from there. When we introduced our first catalogue, everyone thought it was amazing as there was nothing else like it.

1996
Race Spec catalogue increases to 24 pages and Race Spec turns its support to schoolboy riders and events.

1997
Race Spec launches its own range of fork and shock springs and sends a suspension service truck to the British MX Championship.

1998
Race Spec catalogue increases to 40 pages. Club Race Spec is launched.

1999
Race Spec launches its website.

2000
Race Spec catalogue increases to 70 pages and a full e-commerce website is launched. Race Spec is appointed UK importers for Scott Summers Racing Products, Throttle Jockey graphics and devol.

2001
Race Spec move to an industrial unit Ledbury to provide much needed space for the expanding mail order business. The suspension department is closed to allow the company to concentrate on Mail Order.

"Initially we worked out of a garage at home and grew the business whilst also caring for a young family. The mail order side expanded rapidly and everything revolved around it. I stopped coaching around the year 2000 and we moved to a site in Ledbury the following year"

2002
Race Spec catalogue increases to 196 pages. Race Spec become the UK importers for CRD Exhausts and Alloy protection.

2003
Race Spec work force increases to 10 and work space is doubled with the addition of a second unit.
Race Spec is appointed the UK importers for Shot MX Clothing brand.

2004
Race Spec catalogue increases to 224 Pages.

2006
Race Spec purchuses new larger purpose built industrial unit in Tewkesbury, close to the motorway network. This would then allow them to carry out further growth plans.
"We had experimented with some other lines of business such as the import and distribution of a number of products and also set up a company called Ko-gee that sold casual clothing. But, when in 2006 we moved to our current premises here at Tewkesbury we decided to cut everything back to concentrate soley on the retail side of motocross"

2009
Race Spec re-opens its suspension department and workshop. "As luck would have it Keith, who had taken a 'sabbatical' from Race Spec, was able to return to the fold and we started up the suspension service and workshop department again".

The next significant step for the good ship Race Spec was the opening of its retail shop showroom in November 2009. A bold move when you consider the somewhat troubled economy the UK has endured in recent years, but one that has proved to be a success.

"We needed to get back in touch with the public as we were losing contact with our customers", explained David. "In terms of credibility, the company had been built on my name and reputation, but Race Spec was in danger of becoming another faceless mail order company. We felt there was nothing to set it apart from the others".

2010
Our staff enjoy the customer interaction and we find that people want to come somewhere they can find everything under one roof. Location is key and because we're right by the motorway and have plenty of free and easy parking, we find that people will travel to get here. We regularly have truck drivers stopping off, in fact there was one here recently from Norwich. He was heading down to Cardiff and then up to Sunderland, and he called in here to get his bits for the weekend.

Reaching Out

Never ones to simply stand still and wait for the shop doors to open, Watson and Co regularly take 'Race Spec the shop' trackside at major meetings and events and have operated a few Open Days this year, which have proved to be immensely popular with attendees. Competition prizes, free goodies, snacks and refreshments and the like, are all aimed towards giving something back to its customers. A 'Day in the Dirt' initiative has also proved to be a hit with riders, whereby customers are taken to apex for a days riding with goodie bags, refreshments and a free suspension set-up thrown into the mix. Two separate days have been run so far this year and have both been fully subscribed with 100 riders, The event is advertised on Race Specs's website and places are quickly filled. "Again", said David, "Its a fantastic way for us to keep in touch with our customers".

What You See Is What You Get

Before we opened the shop we really had the mail order market sewn up as we were the only ones out there with such a huge catalogue. The arrival of broadband has played a big part in changing the face of the market now as anyone can create a website. But no matter how big they are, you can quite often find that there is very little substance behind the screen in terms of support and supply.
"We have a policy whereby we will only advertise what stock we stock and we've built our reputation on that. It's easy to advertise something and claim to be better and cheaper than anyone else but, if you haven't got it in stock and can't satisfy demand then that's a pretty hollow claim".

Back To Basics

Supporting grass roots racing is another area David is passionate about. "It's easy to lose sight of what we started with and how we got here, so it is important for us to play a part in getting back to our roots. We used to put all our support through clubs, and will continue to do so, but at the end of the day we feel we need to give support to individuals, and we help out a number of local riders at differing levels of amateur racing.

Twenty More?

What's next on the Race Spec agenda?

We're looking to develop our website. We already take orders on-line but we recognise that we need to look beyond the UK if we are to maintain and grow the business. It would be all too easy to sit at home and concentrate on the British market, but the hard fact is that it's not an expanding economy. People are still riding their bikes and we'll fluctuate around the same market share here. However, with the pound/euro situation, we're hoping to cultivate an international aspect to the business which will allow us to continue supporting British riders.

Race Spec and Owner David Watson would like to thank all is customers over the last 20 years for their support and hope you continue to keep supporting us for another 20 years.

Best Regards
David Watson and all the team at Race Spec