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ABOUT US - OUR HISTORY
Team SMO Racing manager and previous rider Jason Dobson, from Ripon in Yorkshire, has been interested in bikes for many years.
He first became involved in the racing scene when he was a mechanic for a British Championship 125cc team in 1999 & 2000, before he worked for – & helped to run – a 2-man team in the following 2 seasons, achieving podium finishes. During 2003 & 2004 Jason moved on with the rider from that team to work with him in the Virgin Mobile R6 Cup.
In 2005 Jason worked as a mechanic for Paul Veazey in the British Superstock Cup, where they achieved consistent top-3 results.
In 2004 Jason also began competing as a rider himself in local club championships, where he achieved much success. His main achievements came in the Pre-95 125cc championship, which he won several times.
2007 was a particularly triumphant year for Jason as he won 3 club titles – the Pre-95 125cc, 125GP Northern Masters and North East 125GP champion – before moving up to his highest level of competition in 2008 – the Thundersport series.
In the championship’s inaugural year Jason was a frequent challenger for top-5 finishes in the GP3 class, getting a well deserved podium position at Cadwell Park. These consistent results saw Jason in the top 3 of the championship for most of the season, until bad luck and mechanical problems at the final round saw him drop to 5th place as the season – & Jason’s racing career – ended.
New rider Gavin Lupton is from Otley in Yorkshire and is also an experienced racer, previously gaining success in the Moto-Star championship. After a tough 2008 season he is looking forward to taking his place on the competitive Thundersport GP3 grid in 2009.
During the Winter break Jason has been working hard to make the bike as competitive as possible for Gavin for the first round of the year, with improvements including new engine and suspension parts and new brakes. Also, throughout the 2008 season Jason had a lot of help and support from friend Derek Quinn and he is pleased to say that Derek has agreed to continue his support for the SMO Racing team in 2009 and will be helping new rider Gavin.