Lewis Paterson Biography
D.O.B – 01/03/2001
Hometown – Scone
Hobbies – Football, Tennis, Boxing and Racing Bikes
Lewis, coming from a Racing family started going to the racing at the age of 5 weeks old. His Dad, Torquil Paterson 5 Times Scottish Champion got Lewis into racing and he got his first motorbike at the age of 6.
2007 – 2008 : It was a Yellow Suzuki JR 50. Lewis used to practise at his Nanna’s field and used to think about racing one day. He got a KTM 50cc Auto on his 7th Birthday and he used to practise at Dunblane. He looked up to Lewis Farrow, British 250cc Champion, a good friend of Lewis’s Dad, and then Competed in his first Racing event at Shiplaw. Lewis enjoyed his first meeting and went on to complete the remaining part of the season at Leachurs and Shiplaw where Lewis finished 6th overall.
2009 – 2012 : He then went and tried road racing for a change because of all the “muc” from motocross. He had previously tried minimotos but was frightened by other bikes around him so that’s when Lewis raced motocross to get experience with other bikes surrounding him. Lewis then wanted to go back to minimotos for another shot and really enjoyed it. He got a 40cc Polini 910 bike half way through the 2009 season and got on really well. Lewis at the end of season presentation picked up Rookie of The Year. His Dad then bought him a Polini GP5 for the 2010 season and he got some really impressive results with 2nd and 3rd’s. He then went into the 2011 season feeling like a real contender for the championship. Lewis was in impressive form and was winning at all the rounds but then a Scout camp came up and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and sadly he couldn’t claw back the points gap and came 2nd overall in the championship. Lewis went into the 2012 Season determined about only one thing, Lifting the Scottish Minimoto Junior B Championship and that is what he did. A Flawless year from Lewis left him lifting the title on the 11th day of the 11th month aged 11 and racing number 11. It was just ment to be for Lewis.
2013 : This was the biggest year of Lewis’s life, he moved on to an Aprilia RS 125. Lewis was really small and could barely touch the ground when sitting on the bike so it was a struggle to do starts and pull away from the awning or start line. He did his first training day at Knockhill. The snow was piled at the side of the track!!!. Lewis struggled a bit on that day because that was his first time with gears. Lewis’s Dad took him out. The second time he did training was actually in the morning of the first round of the Scottish Championship at East Fortune. Lewis was surprisingly going really well and was going so much faster than the first time out. Lewis’s first meeting went really well and he got the fastest lap of the race twice that weekend and finished 3rd in the races. The season was going well unit Lewis got knocked off in a qualifying session at Knockhill by another rider and fractured his wrist. He finished the season but confidence was down a little from a couple of crashes. Lewis and his Dad were getting sponsorship from Saltire Motorcycles who were proving Lewis with a helmet, boots and gloves.
2014 : The second year Lewis was feeling much more confident and was consistently finishing in 3rd throughout the season until the final round of the season where Lewis was hot on the first two’s tails and in the first race of the weekend Lewis was third but knew where he was losing time so Lewis and his dad made changes and the second race of that weekend Lewis finished second only 0.8 seconds behind the leader. The next day Lewis was in his best shape for racing and won the first race on the Sunday with a last corner maneuver to take his first victory. Lewis then took second in the 2nd race and 3rd in last race of the season to end the season on a very high note.
2015 : Lewis got a new Aprilia for 2015 and was the year for him to win the Championship and the first round of the season backed that up winning all 5 races in the first weekend. Lewis went on to be unbeaten at East Fortune and sadly crashed at Knockhill so wasn’t unbeaten but all the races completed by him he won. Lewis went down to Cadwell Park because the competition is much stronger down there. It was wet on the Saturday and he got a 4th and a 5th which he was pleased about. On the Sunday it was dry and Lewis came 6th and 8th. Lewis got a wildcard at the British Superbikes on a KTM 390 at Knockhill. Lewis had never been on a 4 stroke before and was nervous about the weekend. There were really fast riders in the series and Lewis was doing well in free practice and was not that far behind then he went out in qualifying and did his fastest lap on the last lap whilst making a mistake so could have been higher up. Lewis was going well for the four races and his best result was the final race because he was aggressive at the start and kept the position for the whole race, close to the leaders. Lewis again went to Rockingham with Thundersport and on the Saturday was struggling with the track and then on Sunday it was pouring down and Lewis was 2nd in the first race making a passing maneuver in the final corner but lost drive and lost the race by inches. The second race Lewis should have won but his visor steamed up and he could’t see a thing and came 3rd. Lewis finished his season by winning 3 Championships in Scotland and got invited to try out for Red Bull Rookies. Lewis went to Gaudix in Spain for 2 days and really enjoyed the experience but unfortunately didn’t get selected to the Series. Lewis is hopefully going to apply next year and try to get in.
2016 : Lewis in 2016 will be racing a Suzuki SV 650 backed up by Cupar Motorcycles in Scotland. Lewis started the season with 2 pre-season tests at East Fortune and Knockhill. First test was at East Fortune where Lewis was going well until a clutch issue halted progress to the weekend. Next test was Knockhill where Lewis was getting quicker and quicker throughout the day until the final lap of the day and Lewis came over to take the chequered flag and was just rolling off when Lewis’s SV blew up. Lewis’s bike was only just ready for the first round. Lewis made steady progress in the first round but was disappointed because of the grid position all weekend. The next round at Knockhill, Lewis’s bike was making weird noises and Lewis didn’t want to risk any more damage. This was the same for the next round but carried on. Lewis’s season started at the 4th round where there were no problems and he could focus on his riding. By the endof the season Lewis was the 2nd fastest rider and finished the Scottish Championship in 3rd.