Forged Under Pressure: Inside the Army Motorcycle Road Race Team

As the mist clears, calm gives way to pressure. Noise arrives first, not just heard but felt — engines hammering the air, vibrations rattling through the ground. Breathing becomes deliberate inside armoured kit, lungs filling with the sharp scent of rubber and fuel. Machines strain against restraint, waiting to be unleashed. It is a moment of focus, tension, and consequence.

It could describe a rider stepping onto the grid, or a soldier entering a battlefield. That overlap is precisely why the Army Motorcycle Road Race Team exists. What defines the team isn’t simply where it races, but why.

Army sport has long been used to develop soldiers beyond conventional training. Motorsport, with its extreme physical and mental demands, creates an environment where pressure is unavoidable and mistakes carry consequence. Elevated heart rates, cognitive overload, fatigue, and rapid decision-making place riders squarely in the same psychological territory soldiers must learn to master on operations.

Jordan Warren-Goode & Michael Large-Taylor shot by Eamon Yates

At the centre of the programme is Warrant Officer Class 1 Gavin Watts. Joining the team in 2021, Watts progressed rapidly through endurance and sprint racing, winning back-to-back Cup 1000 championships in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, riding a Yamaha R1, he claimed the Premier 1000 title — a defining season that mirrored the team’s growing ambition.

Operating across grassroots and national levels, the Army Motorcycle Road Race Team provides structured progression for its riders. Endurance and sprint racing are used deliberately to develop race craft, resilience, and decision-making under pressure. As talent has emerged, the team has expanded onto the national stage, competing across British Superbike weekends in classes including National Superstock 1000, Supersport Cup, and BMW F900 Cup. Competing in one of the most demanding environments in UK motorsport.

While championships and podiums matter, one event carries particular significance: the Inter Services Road Racing Championship. Contested fiercely against the RAF and Navy, it is a race defined as much by pride as performance. With full grids and familiar rivals, it remains the team’s highest priority. The Army has won the title for the past two seasons, but each victory only sharpens the challenge.

Away from competition, the British Army Track Day plays a crucial role. Open to personnel across the service, it strengthens bonds, shares experience, and can even help make connections for potential talent. It reinforces the culture that underpins the team’s success on track.

Army Motorcycle Road Race Team shot by Eamon Yates

Running a multi-class race programme without public funding is logistically demanding. The team relies on the Army Sports Lottery, sponsorship, and significant personal investment from its riders. Under Watts’ leadership, emphasis has been placed on structure, clarity, and sustainability, ensuring participants understand the commitment required to help foster an environment that is inclusive but uncompromising.

Results validate the programme, but they are not its true measure. The real success lies in what riders take away: sharper judgement, greater discipline, and increased resilience under stress.

When the paddock empties and the circuit falls silent, most competitors move on. For an Army racer, the experience continues. The pressure faced and decisions made on track shape how individuals respond long after the chequered flag falls. Motorsport becomes another proving ground, sharpening qualities that transfer directly into the Army’s core purpose. Long after results are forgotten, those lessons endure.