Harley McCabe crowned 2020 Ohvale UK Cup champion

The inaugural Ohvale UK Cup came to an end earlier this month with an action-packed final round at Teeside Autodrome.

Run by the world’s fastest road racer, Peter Hickman, the six-round series aims to get young racers on two wheels and was eventually won by 12-year-old Harley McCabe.

Open to riders aged between seven and 12 years old, the opening season of the OMG Ohvale UK Cup proved a huge success, with over 20 riders competing at each of the six rounds. The lightweight, race-inspired machines have been a huge hit across Europe, and 2020 saw the inaugural UK race series based around the 110cc version of the bike.

Starting at Ellough Park in July, the 2020 OMG Ohvale UK Cup took in six rounds across the country as part of the Rich Energy British Mini Bikes series. The class itself is sponsored by BSB team OMG Racing. The season was dominated by young Harley McCabe, who took seven wins over the course of the year. Whilst being crowned champion, the 12-year old rider from Halifax was awarded with an Ohvale 160 machine, allowing him to progress to the next category for 2021.

The unique series is organised by Bennetts BSB star and the world’s fastest road racer, Peter Hickman. Hicky attended the rounds that didn’t clash with his own BSB commitments, helping the youngsters to improve their race craft and providing them with the steppingstone into the world of racing. The Superbike ace even took to the track at the final round of the season to race against former teammate Barry Burrell. 

Peter Hickman added, “The 2020 OMG Ohvale Cup has been absolutely mega, and it’s been incredible to see how these youngsters have progressed over the year. The Ohvale machines are the perfect bikes to take your first steps into racing on, and they are proper mini race bikes with a host of trick parts. They also provide a cost-effective long term solution, allowing riders to install a bigger engine into the same chassis as they progress, helping them to get used to the increased power with the same reliable and nimble chassis.

Harley has been awesome all season and is a deserving winner, he was pushed hard all the way by such riders as Luca Hopkins, Henry McCartney and Rueben Bray. To be honest everyone on the grid should be proud of the progression they showed. It’s been a fantastic season, and there are some big plans for 2021 which will see the series take a significant step forward and help our riders achieve even more recognition. 

A big thank you needs to be given to the sponsors that supported us this year, OMG Racing boss Alan Gardner sponsored the series and also me as Ohvale UK, allowing me to private hire tracks so the kids can come and test for free across the country, something never seen before in youth racing. On top of this, Motul UK gave free product to all our Ohvale Cup riders, SBS Brakes did the same along with Evotech Performance too! We also had Reactive Parts put up a prize fund for the top 3 in each race with vouchers to be redeemed on their website! Last but not least, Dom from Rusty Restos supplied a brand new Ohvale GP-0 160cc bike for the winner - amazing!! A massive thank you to these companies for supporting our future stars.”