ISANET had the privilege to interview Norrie Kerr for the readers of the ISANET online scooter mag allowing us to share the life of well known scooter racer . Norrie Kerr. We would like to thank Norrie for giving his own time for the interview and for all the help and support on the launch of the ISANET magazine. Thankyou Norrie. Right Lets get started. We asked Norrie a series of questions about his scootering history. we think the following is of great interest and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did

1) Alot of people would like to know what got you first interested in scooters.

It was back in the mid 60’s, when I needed a scooter for getting to work. The other thing was scooters then (old ones) were cheap. My first scooter cost me £15, that was almost two weeks wages then!

2) What age were you when you got your first scooter.

Nineteen just going on twenty. I had met and just married Janet and we had come back to the UK in 1966 from Canada where I met her.

3) Can you remember the make and model of your first scooter.

Yes, it was a Vespa 152L2, beige in colour, never kickstarted, always had to bump start it. I met some members of the GVC (Glasgow Vespa Club) in Dunoon one weekend, and before I knew it, I had joined the club and loved every minute of it.

4) How did you get involved in scooter racing.

That’s a big jump from my first scooter to starting racing. After some years in the GVC I got to be a bit competitive. The Glasgow Vespa Club had some great riders, and being around them, the streak took hold and I got bitten. Racing…well no one in the club raced, I was the only one. We did trials, gymkhanas, road trials, and treasure hunts. The racing came along for me in 1971, in the Isle of Man. There for a week of competition, we sprinted, raced, had 12 hour regularity trials, night road trials, sand racing, and Druidale Hill Climb. I had visited the IOM from 1967 and it was the greatest event ever. Wonderful fun, and I still got friends for life. After the 1971 event with the racing I was hooked. I then got into racing with a few events in the championship a year on the mainland. Living in Glasgow, travel was expensive and I had two kids, so money was tight. In 1978 I moved home down to Long Eaton, Derbyshire and things took off for me on the track. I guess the competitive streak I got riding with the Glasgow Vespa Club, stuck and the mean streak on the track was born.

5) At what level are you involved in scooter racing today, and do you still enjoy scooter racing.

Nowadays I am too long in the tooth to race, and to chance injury at my age would be foolish, anyway it’s a young person’s game, not for an old guy like me. I love racing always did, always will. I made so many friends racing and of course the spin off was the tuning and then there was Midland Scooter Centre (MSC). Nowadays I am President of the BSSO, the race organizers. I have worked my way up the ranks, and eventually they wanted a figurehead, and I was delighted to accept their offer. I am an honorary member of the Vespa Club, and the Lambretta Club have also asked me to be an honorary member.

6) How many championship races did you win in your career as a scooter racer.

I won one National Road Race Championship, dozens of race class wins, three National Sprint Championships, again dozens of sprint class wins, and lots and lots of lap records, many still stand today. Biggest kick was driving home in the van having got four (4) sprint records at one meet from Baitings Dam, near Rochdale, and then doing it again later in the season at Curborough near Litchfield. Then there was crossing the line at Mallory Park in the last race of the year, arms aloft, after winning the 1983 Road Race Championship. great days…………

7) Have you ever picked up any major injuries whilst racing.

Just the one at my favorite circuit, Mallory Park, where I ended up in intensive care after I came off and another rider ran over me on the track. Took me 6 months to get over it, and settle into winning ways again. The hip was a problem for many years, but it’s not so bad now. Like many riders, you break the odd collarbone and finger, but nothing else serious, thankfully.

8) What was the funniest moment you ever experienced whilst racing.

That’s a difficult one, there have been many good laughs had, but to be honest I can’t recall any one particular item. I prefer not to count other peoples misfortunes on the track, cause before you know it, you’re the one in the shit next time round. However we used to race at a circuit called the Ponderosa near Grange over Sands. The place was awful when it rained. It was like glass. I fell twice in one race, and even fell off going to the start. I managed to get back on and in the end took the win, but it was like a war zone with bikes all over the place where they had fallen. In those days you could get back on if you came off, not so nowadays.

9) How did MSC come about.

I was working from home tuning Vespa's, and has been working for Douglas Vespa previously. Douglas had gone into liquidation and shut the doors, and that’s when Vespa UK came into being from the Suzuki group. I was made redundant from Douglas, and did some tuning and selling spares from home. That could not last as there was no room, what with neighbours and noise, etc, so a shop had to be found. I knew Dave Webster from our racing together. He was also working from home tuning Lambretta's. so why not put one and one together to get number 1, MSC. So one day we decided to get in tow with each other and before we knew it we had a business.

10) Did you ever expect the nk specials to be so popular even today.

Retro items are always popular, Did we think the mini would come back like it is, Fiat 500, Beetles, etc, etc. No to be honest, you do things for someone, a customer, and then before you know it, it takes off. One scooter painter who did the Downtown specials, Brendan McNally did a range of specials and his style at that time was real 80’s. Sometimes everything comes round again. I often get owners contacting me about spec on scooters, or ideas they have, it’s nice to be remembered in that way. I have always tried to remain available. Being a success has never gone to my head, the only difference is the bills are still there, only they are bigger.

11) What made you decide to start VE.

I had fulfilled my wish in retailing and took a way out that allowed me to move to an area where I thought would be exciting., and that was wholesaling. Little did I know that I would have to start completely over again, from the floor up. It took five years as a one man band to get the whole thing moving upwards. I had no safety net, no one to call on and it was damned hard work. Every penny earned was ploughed back into the business, and eventually it moved forward. Then a dealer asked me to get him some spares that I had never stocked. He was hacked off buying from his competition, i.e. other dealers. So I got heavily involved in stocking a full range of scooter parts, and then it took off. Before I knew it I needed staff, one extra member at a time to cover what was needed. Nowadays I have 20 staff including Janet and I, so lots of years and lots of hard work has paid off.

12) Did you ever expect VE to become so popular and so big.

To be honest I never knew about popularity, till I realized we had over 2000 dealers buying from VE. Even then popularity is not about being the flavor of the month, it can be about having what your dealers want and that breeds the good reasons for being in business. I never take anything for granted. I thank god all my hard work has paid off and I have a fantastic family who through thick and thin have been behind me. Nowadays, Robert my son, (who helped at MSC when he was thirteen packing parcels for pocket money), is now the general manager at VE. My daughter Kirsteen is in the accounts, Jody my grandson has joined us from school, so I am pleased to have been able to give them security. My own father died when I was only eight and although I have been strict with the kids, I believe they see what the big picture is. I only ever wanted to be here to see them do well. They have chosen to be with me and I am delighted to have been able to be supportive to them.

13) Do you still take an active role in VE.

Oh yes, I am MD, and as such still steer the ship, but with much more involvement of ALL of the staff. Let’s face it, there is no use having staff do a job, unless they have input to the way it all pans out. I rely on their honesty in telling me what would be better for business through their eyes. All their input is valuable, and along with Roberts experience we run a good ship. Our move to new premises has given us a huge boost in performance. Our output is far improved and our professionalism has increased tremendously. Robert has been in scooters since he left school, ran his own scooter business, Scootz, for a while and having experience in retail showed him the other side of the coin. Now he is the boss at VE, he knows what dealers want, having been there himself. I am now more involved in Press collaboration, our web sites, and IT. The day to day running of the business is down to Robert. Your members can visit our website at - www.ve-uk.com

14) Now that you've moved to larger premises what plans are in store for VE`s future.

Well expansion is high on the list. As a wholesaler we cannot do every part ever produced. We try to supply what we do in the highest quality, from the best suppliers. We deal with some of the top names in scootering. They want someone to represent them who has experience and can hold good stocks to supply customers. They want advertising that reflects their products. They want the best representation there is, and we offer that. We have been busy getting our stocks up in volume to utilise the extra space we have. You don’t buy what doesn’t sell, you buy and sell what sells. We have a great team, most of them are scooterists and have many years in the business. I have a good rapport with my staff, and it shows. I know if I ask for hands to do something, they will in turn respond. So the future…well no one knows what the future holds, but keeping our eye on what we do, not what others do, is paramount.