The team at Spyre have a passion for motorcycles – in particular racing 250cc Grand Prix two-strokes. In recent times Siân and Steve have raced at GP Originals onboard post classic Yamaha TZ250s from 1984. Our design work can be seen on our custom made-to-measure leathers and on the bodywork of our TZs.
Starting racing
Siân made a tentative start in racing in 2007. She completed a couple of rounds at the Aintree circuit on a friend’s 250 Rotax in the Forgotten Era class. She also competed in a second class on her own 1996 RS250 Honda.
Cancelled meetings and clutch failure prevented starts in the first two rounds but eventually her luck changed and she managed a best place finish of 5th and was presented with an award for the best novice rider.
Novice to National
In 2008 Sian was ready to have a proper attempt at a full season. She joined NGRRC and entered the 250 NG Cup, concentrating on the Honda RS250. With a little more experience she began to improve and ended the season with two novice race wins, a newcomer Snetterton lap record and 3rd position overall in the NG Cup.
The following season saw Siân miss out on the Cup Championship win by only two points. In the same year she also finished 2nd in the Open 500 standings. The next step was the ACU National 250 GP Championship which produced a top 10 end-of-year result. Several following seasons built on her experience with the tricky two-strokes, but also delivered several considerable injuries!
© Ste Gilbert 
© Abby Law
Back in time
After five seasons on the single-sider, Siân changed to a post-classic 125 to race at CRMC. The little Honda from 1986 was a new bike to learn and a huge step backward in technology compared with the 250. At her second meeting titled ‘Race of Year’ at Snetterton, Siân put in a 3rd place finish, a good sign for the following season.
The intent was to campaign the 125 for a full season with CRMC. The Spyre team started well at Pembrey from the back of the grid to 3rd, and three subsequent 2nd place finishes, dicing for the win throughout the weekend.
The remainder of the season saw Siân holding 2nd spot in the Post Classic 125 Championship through to the penultimate round. However, after becoming a little disillusioned with the CRMC system, the team abandoned the season prior to the final round. The decision had been made to return to a 250cc class for 2016.
Mark Linton generously offered to build up one of his Yamaha TZ250L machines for Siân to ride at a planned group trip to Chimay. For various reasons we all didn’t make it to Belgium the following year but the bike was ready and has been raced ever since. Without Mark, there would be no GP Originals!
It’s all about the teamwork
The next step brought Siân’s partner Steve Pond, out from behind the spanners and back in the riding seat. The team makes an unusual ‘competitive couple’.
The team enjoyed an outing at the prestigious Goodwood Members Meeting in 2017. Both riders had no prior track knowledge, and with no chance of testing, it was straight into qualifying! Steve finished the weekend 2nd of the 250 finishers and Siân 3rd, with a respective 6th and 12th on the road.
Events have included Paul Ricard in Southern France and a host of top UK circuits but the strain of running two challenging 35+ year old Grand Prix bikes produced far too many DNFs. A huge crash at Oulton Park’s notorious Island Bend signalled a two year recovery for Siân and Steve took over as team rider for 2018 and the inaugural season of GP Originals.
Siân is racing again despite a permanent shoulder injury and in 2021 rounded out the year with a 4th 250cc Championship position at GP Originals and 3rd in the ACU National 125cc Championships hosted with NGRRC.
Spyre has been instrumental in the start-up and development of GP Originals. We provide a professional standard of communication and connect the riders’ sense of camaraderie via social media channels.
