Former European Champion and four-time British Champion rides againCharity fundraiser forms part of September’s British Championship finals
Simon Belcher, team principal of Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship squad Handy Motorsport, has today announced he will make an unexpected one-off return to Jet Ski racing in September in a bid to raise funds for leading national charity Cancer Research.
The 42-year-old from Swindon, who is focusing on team management in the BTCC this year following two seasons as a driver in the UK’s biggest motor racing series, is relishing the opportunity to be back competing on the water during the British Championship finals for the first time in 15 years.
Taking place at Doncaster Lakeside over the weekend 3rd/4th September, the focus of Belcher’s sporting challenge is to try and raise awareness and vital funds for Cancer Research UK, one of the country’s foremost cancer charities.
Those wishing to support Belcher’s Jet Ski return, and help boost the fundraising effort, are invited to visit the special Just Giving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Simon-Belcher
He will contest six races over the course of the two-day race meeting, riding two different Jet Skis from the 1990s which have been fully restored and professionally fettled to their period championship specification.
“I’ve certainly been missing active competition this year, focusing instead on running the team in the BTCC and stepping up our development, so having raced in one form of motorsport or another since I was 18-years-old I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to do something and raise money for a fantastic cause”, said Belcher.
“It’s been a long time since I raced a Jet Ski, so I’ve no idea how we’ll get on, but I know it is going to be a huge physical challenge. I was 28 when I last raced and now, at 42, the younger riders will be very hard to run with. But, saying that, it’s going to be great being back as part of the British Championship even just as a one-off event.
“There are still a few riders involved who I competed against in the nineties, so it’ll be great renewing those rivalries. The most important part, of course, is to raise as much as we can for Cancer Research – hopefully we’ll get plenty of support!”
During Jet Ski racing’s heyday in the 1990s, Belcher was a title-winning force with no fewer than five championship crowns to his name. Taking his first title in 1996, the Pro Sport British Championship, in 1999 he won the Pro 785cc British title and successfully retained the crown the following season.
The year 2000 was the true highlight of his career on the water after adding the Pro 1200cc British Championship to the Pro 785cc title and he also went on to lift the Pro 785cc European crown, capping a remarkable campaign.
From there, of course, Belcher’s sporting career switched to the track and four wheels where he became a regular front-runner and race winner in the Legends Cars Championship, both in the UK and America, before becoming a two-time Masters Cup Champion in the BTCC-supporting Renault UK Clio Cup.
