We are back with another season review from team rider, Ollie Bardoe who was announced as a new rider to the team for the 2026 season. As Ollie prepares to hit the 2026 season with full gas onboard his 125cc, lets look back on his first and only season on the Big Wheel 85cc.
2025 was my first season on the 85BWcc.
Southerly MXC
I signed up to do Southerly MXC Championship, Bridgestone Masters Series and the NORA92 British Cup.
My main goal for 2025 was to be picked for the Southerly MXC team for the NORA Motorsport team event and win the Big Wheel 85cc Championship. I achieved both!
I started the season well at Littlehempston for round one of Southerly’s Championship with a P1 overall. I did well at each round after that placing in the top 3 at each round. I missed RL raceway as I wanted to race in the NORA92 British Cup round at FatCats.
NORA92 British Cup
I rode well at Landrake which is my local track for Round 1 in the NORA92 Cup and placed 6th. My goal was top 10 as I knew they’d be fast riders there. For the NORA92 British Cup I placed top 10 in three of the four rounds and got 4th overall for the series.
I enjoyed the series but the toughest round for me was at FatCats, I suffered really bad with bleeding blisters on my thumbs and palms. I tried my best and could’ve placed higher but the pain got too much and I gave up fighting for my place. I learnt that weekend not to wear brisket gloves when it’s really hot.
Bridgestone British Masters
I enjoyed riding the Bridgestone series, my goal for that was top 20. I didn’t always get that and I found the round at Schoolhouse really hard as I couldn’t stay on the bike.
NORA Motorsport Team Event
The team event at Landrake I was buzzing for. I knew I had been picked with a strong BW85cc team. Race 1 I got out of the gate very nearly getting the holeshot. Led the race for the first few laps but lost the lead crashing just before the first table top. I lost more places by crashing again out the back and came 10th. I was gutted with my result and my overall, I knew I could’ve done so much better, but as a strong team we won the 2025 NORA Motorsport Team Event.
Weston Beach Race
I love Weston Beach race and I was determined to do well. I did quite a bit of endurance training leading up to it. The racing was cancelled on the Saturday because of the Storm and no one knew if we would race on the Sunday until they said all groups would race but have the time cut in half so I had a 45 minute race.
After lap 2 I was in 24th, I kept going strong and with Theo in front of me I was chasing. My positions were getting better throughout the race and I finished 15th overall out of 113 riders and 13th in the BW85cc results. I was really pleased with myself for that result.
I have just come back from a training camp with Joe in Spain, the tracks were really good and I learnt a lot.
Next season will be my first season in the Youth 125cc class. I’m keen to keep learning and looking forward to being part of the NORA CRS Development Team.
Thanks to everyone that has helped me and will carry on helping me next year.
