Ben Fortt

Ben Fortt started his motorbike racing career on dirt bikes at the age of 13 years old, due to an accident and a broken leg Ben expressed his desire to leave the dirt and do road racing, his passion for road racing bikes was evident at such an early age and this picture is of his 1st ever trophy which he won in a Super-Moto event in Bangkok.

Ben soon showed his skills on the tarmac quickly moving up to the top grade taking on the best in Thailand, Ben won 2 races on the same day in Bangkok at the age of 16yrs old, Super-Moto included a dirt section which  was not Bens desire and at the age of 17yrs old took the biggest step of his career and briefly rraced a 400cc superbike and did so well moved strait into Superbikes 1000cc.

Ben had his 1st Superbike race at Nakorn Chaisi Thailand international circuit starting 17th on the grid on his well presented finely tuned GSXR SUZUKI 1000cc he made his way through the field to notch up a very creditable 5th place. This did not go un noticed by the tabloid of Thailand, his very next race which was held at The Bira international race track near Pattaya Ben qualified 2nd on the grid and Blitzed his opposition to win his 1st  rookie superbike race by a staggering 17 seconds, following this he had one more race in this grade at Thailand Circuit in which he won in good style to move up the grades. The media have been keeping a close eye on his progress and have given him the nickname Pattaya Ice Man due to his cool approach to his races.

Ben is currently in Superbike SB2 PRO Grade, with a couple of good races under his belt he has finished 5th in his last race, with him not even 18yrs old yet and this being his first season we could not wish for a better start.

Promising Start for Ben Fortt in R2M Superbikes Series

Posted by Barry Russell, Media Consultant for FMSCT

In a busy paddock at the R2M Superbikes second round at the Thailand Circuit on Sunday, 17 year-old Ben Fortt stood out.

The tall youngster from Pattaya has a British dad, Keith, and a Thai mum, Goy, and has been riding bikes since he was old enough to reach the handlebars. He started racing in motocross before moving to supermoto three years ago, which he continues into this season while also realising his dream of racing a full superbike. His immaculate black GSX-R1000 was bought from a Thai-based British racer and has only had three previous outings. It has clearly been well-prepared and the engine looks to be one of Suzuki’s finest, having watched Ben fighting to keep the front wheel down as he came out of corners.

Rain during qualifying on Saturday saw Ben sit out the session in the paddock as the newly acquired bike did not have a set of wet tyres, so on Sunday he started at the back of the grid, in 17^th place for the SB3 race. However, when the red lights went out, the lack of track time didn’t show. He made up four places at the first corner and worked his way through the field to finish fifth with a fast, mature ride. Except for being hit from behind by another rider who out-braked himself and then crashed, he appeared to have everything completely under control. When I spoke to him in the paddock after the race, he was grinning from ear-to-ear and looking forward to the next race.

Ben is a talented young racer with a cool head and who clearly benefits from the guidance and support of his family. We look forward to watching his progress throughout the season.

Photograph by Champ Yusuwat

Superbike Rivalries to Resume in Motorcycle Mag Round 2

Escalating Rivalry: 'Beach Boys' John Hughes and Ben Fortt graduate to SB2 after blitzing the SB3 Novice Category

By Barry Russell

Beach Boys move up the charts

A rivalry of particular interest, albeit a good-natured one, is between the ‘Pattaya Iceman’ Benjamin Fortt and ‘Hua Hin Hitman’ John Hughes. The two riders have impressed greatly, pausing only briefly in SB3 before their official lap times (see previous post for classifications) became too fast to classify them as novices, so both graduate to SB2 and make their first appearances at that level. Fortt has done two races at Thailand Circuit and one at Bira International, while Hughes has done one at each track, setting the fastest lap in the last round at Bira before a punctured front tyre forced his retirement. In a grid where Hondas seem to be everywhere you look, the Beach Boys stand out on immaculately prepared machines: Fortt on his Cranes Equipment Asia Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Hughes on his ex-Mark Buckley SBK Kawasaki UK ZX-10R. These rising stars now find themselves on the same grid as the professionals and racing on live broadcast TV,  having demonstrated that they possess the quality to move further up the order.