Unfinished Business
Zero To One Racing follows Evan’s motorcycle racing journey from complete beginner to competitive racer. Diagnosed with autism and starting later than most riders, Evan is proving that determination, hard work and the right support can overcome challenges both on and off the track.
Clubman Race Licence: Croft 2026 was the weekend Evan arrived needing two final signatures to complete his ACU licence upgrade. What followed was a weekend of personal bests, a crash, a race against the clock to rebuild the bike, and ultimately the achievement of his Clubman Race Licence.
Croft was always going to be an interesting weekend.
It’s not a circuit Evan would list amongst his favourites. It’s fast, bumpy and unforgiving in places, and our previous visit in 2025 hadn’t exactly gone to plan.
Although we’d been to Croft before, Evan had never really raced here. In 2025, qualifying went ahead, but Race 1 was plagued by red flags and restarts before eventually being cancelled. Sunday then brought heavy rain and, with virtually no wet-weather experience at the time, the decision was made to sit the remaining races out.
So whilst Croft wasn’t technically a new circuit, this was really the first opportunity Evan had to properly race it.
At the start of the 2026 season Evan needed six more signatures to upgrade his licence.
- 2 had been secured at Snetterton Round 1
- 2 more at Donington Round 2
Croft offered the opportunity to secure the final two.
Friday – Test Day
Friday brought almost perfect conditions. Blue skies, light cloud and temperatures in the low twenties.
The plan was simple. Get comfortable with the circuit again and build towards qualifying.
The first couple of sessions went well. Evan quickly found his rhythm and the lap times began to fall. However, as his pace increased another issue started to appear.
We’d arrived at Croft using the same 14/44 gearing setup we’d run at Donington. Before the weekend Craig Fitzpatrick had suggested that whilst it would work, Croft would probably suit a 15/45 setup better.
As the speed increased, Evan started finding sections of the circuit where the bike felt caught between gears. Nothing dramatic, but enough to affect the flow of a lap.
The decision was made to make the change. Unfortunately, changing gearing isn’t quite as simple as swapping a sprocket. A longer chain length was required, meaning grinders, chain splitters and rivet tools all came out.
Session 3 passed us by while Dad lay on the floor of the awning cutting chains, fitting sprockets and trying to get everything finished in time for the next outing.
Eventually everything was ready.
Session 4 – the first opportunity to test the new setup, but heavy traffic meant Evan couldn’t really push hard enough to form an opinion. When he came back in, the answer was essentially:
“I don’t know.”
Not exactly the feedback we’d hoped for. Thankfully there was one final session remaining.
Session 5 – The last opportunity of the day.
This time the circuit opened up. The gearing felt right. The bike flowed better. And the lap timer confirmed it.
1:34. Four seconds quicker than Evan’s previous Croft personal best.
Friday ended with smiles all round.
Saturday – Qualifying
Saturday morning arrived with fresh Pirelli SC1 slicks fitted front and rear.
As he headed out for qualifying, Evan said:
“I’m not bothered about lap times Dad, I just want the signatures.”
The first flying lap was a 1:35. The next dropped into the 1:32s. Then another improvement.
1:32.307.
At that point Evan came into the awning. Unknown to him, the timing screens were showing him in sixth place. Evan hadn’t even looked. All he knew was that he’d finally broken into the 1:32s.
And he was absolutely buzzing.
Jumping around the awning, grinning from ear to ear:
“I got into the 1:32s!”
That’s all he cared about. Not the position. Not who he was ahead of. Not where he might start on the grid.
The 1:32 lap time.
Moments later Frazer put in a 1:31.398 and then finished with a 1:30.969, moving Evan down to seventh.
Later, a timing issue resulted in some positions being adjusted and Evan was eventually classified 11th on the grid.
Still his best qualifying result to date. And a huge improvement from the rider who qualified 23rd at Croft just twelve months earlier in the Metzeler 600 Newcomer series.
Race 1
Saturday afternoon brought the first race of the weekend.
The objective remained unchanged. Ride smart. Focus on the lines, not on the times.
Bring home another signature.
The start wasn’t perfect, but it was another step forward. After dropping a few places early on, Evan settled into his rhythm and concentrated on riding his own race.
The result was another breakthrough.
14th overall.
10th in class.
And another personal best.
1:31.509.
For context, Evan’s fastest lap at Croft twelve months earlier was a 1:38.290.
More importantly, signature number nine was secured. One more to go!
Sunday – The Highs and Lows of Racing
Sunday started quietly. The paddock slowly came to life as riders prepared for another day of racing.
Race 12 would be Evan’s first race of the day. And unfortunately, it would be a short one.
Caught in traffic on the opening lap, Evan found himself taking a slightly different line through the Hairpin.
The tighter line required a little more lean angle than usual. The engine casing touched down.
The front unloaded. And down he went!
One moment everything was fine. The next he was sliding across the tarmac on to grass watching his bike flip from left to right!
Thankfully Evan was completely unhurt. His pride took more damage than he did.
The bike wasn’t quite as fortunate.
The right handlebar snapped clean off when it flipped. The front brake line was pulled loose and the fairings had definitely seen better days.
Race over! Weekend Over! Or so it might have seemed.
Thanks to Michael Wincott Photography for catching the moment.
The Rebuild
Once the bike arrived back at the awning there was no time for dwelling on what had happened.
Race 20 was only a couple of hours away.
The brake system needed repairing and bleeding. The damaged handlebar needed replacing. The bike needed cleaning down. Fresh wheels and tyres needed fitting. Fairings needed repairing and taping back together.
Most importantly, all of that needed doing with enough time remaining to get tyre warmers on for at least 75 minutes before the race.
One job at a time.
- Brake line
- Brake fluid
- Wheels
- Tyre warmers
- Handlebar
- Fairings
Eventually everything was back together. Not pretty. But race ready.
Race 20
The crash meant Evan would be starting 26th on the grid.
Far from ideal. Especially after showing top ten class pace throughout the weekend. But racing doesn’t owe anyone anything.
The lights went out.
Evan got his head down. And started working forward. Lap after lap he picked riders off.
The pace was still there. The confidence was still there. And despite the crash earlier in the day, the lap times barely changed.
Another 1:31. This time a 1:31.591.
By the chequered flag he had climbed twelve places through the field.
14th overall. 10th in class.
Exactly the same result as Race 1.
- Two top ten class finishes.
- A new personal best.
- And most importantly, the final signature required.
The Bigger Picture
As we packed everything away on Sunday evening, the significance of the weekend slowly started to sink in.
At the start of the season Evan needed six signatures.
After Snetterton, Donington and Croft, he’d collected all six available.
A few days later confirmation arrived from the ACU.
Licence upgrade approved. Clubman status confirmed. The orange bib had served its purpose.
Evan’s reaction?
There wasn’t much celebration. Instead he immediately asked:
“So what do I need to do to get my National licence?”
That’s Evan.
Every milestone simply becomes the next target.
Looking at the Championship Standings after Round 3, he currently sits 12th overall. Having finished 6 of the 9 races (1 not entered & 2 DNF’s one of which was mechanical failure.)
His response to that? “I want to be top five.” Of course he does.
We need to remind ourselves, when we made the decision to move Evan up from the Metzeller 600 Newcomer Series in 2025 to the No Limits Club Sport Cup (Cup 600) series we didn’t expect Evan to get into the points until the end of the season, we simply wanted him riding with faster riders.
Looking Back
This time last year, Croft was the circuit where Evan never really got the chance to race.
This year he left with two top ten class finishes, a new personal best, all six available signatures secured and a Clubman licence confirmed.
For someone who only started riding motorcycles in late 2024, that’s remarkable progress.
As parents, we’re incredibly proud. Not because of the results. Not because of the lap times.
But because we’ve seen first-hand how racing has helped Evan channel his autism, grow in confidence and overcome challenges that once seemed far bigger than a motorcycle race.
Before we finish, we’d like to say a huge thank you to all the marshals, recovery teams, medics and officials who make weekends like this possible.
It’s easy to focus on the riders and the racing, but none of us would be here without the orange army standing trackside, often in all weathers, giving up their weekends so we can do what we love.
After Evan’s crash on Sunday, it was another reminder of just how important these people are. From the first yellow flag to getting riders and bikes recovered safely, they do an incredible job and rarely get the recognition they deserve.
Thank you from all of us at Zero To One Racing. We genuinely appreciate everything you do.
Evan’s orange bib may have served its purpose, but thankfully our marshals are here to stay.
We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supports Zero To One Racing and helps make this journey possible.
To our partners, sponsors, Patreon members, Buy Me A Coffee supporters and everyone who follows along, shares our posts, sends messages of encouragement or stops by the awning for a chat, thank you.
One of the reasons we started Zero To One Racing was to share the reality of what it takes to build a motorcycle racer from the ground up. Not just the race results, but everything that happens behind the scenes as it happens.
- The garage nights
- The long drives
- The setup changes
- The crashes
- The repairs
- The successes
- The setbacks
And one thing that is already becoming very clear is that the faster Evan goes, the more expensive the sport becomes.
This weekend alone involved gearing changes, a new chain, tyres, crash repairs and plenty of late nights. Today, a set of tyres might last us a race weekend. As Evan’s pace continues to improve, the day will come when a rear tyre lasts a single race.
That’s the reality of motorcycle racing.
Every lap, every lesson and every step forward comes at a cost.
Without the support of the people and companies backing Evan’s journey, quite simply, none of this would be possible.
Thank you for believing in him, supporting him and helping turn a dream into reality.
The orange bib may have gone, but the journey is only just getting started. Thank you