Successful businessman Richard Wood is a man who is trying to help the sport of veteran motocross grow in the United Kingdom. Having already been involved in the 2023 and 2024 World Vets Motocross event, run at the famous Farleigh Castle circuit, he is even more excited for the 2025 version as entries have gone through the roof and spectator support gets bigger and bigger.

Motocross fans around the country and World want to experience what is becoming a huge stop in the British motocross calendar. Set for Farleigh Castle on 19th - 20st July 2025, the ultimate motocross weekend for riders aged 25+ of all abilities, plus fun for all of the family.

With a mouth-watering line-up of famous racing legends, past and present, this year’s World Vets Motocross event should be a nice addition to the vintage rage, which is currently running hot around the World.

We caught up with Richard and asked him what we can expect from the 2025 version of the World Vets Motocross event and it sounds like it just continued to grow, with more riders, more activities and more racing.

MXLarge: Richard, thanks for chatting with us. I have heard that this years event has a lot of big changes and major activites for the kids and families?

Wood: The biggest thing this year was the interest from the riders is just overwhelming. In a few seconds of opening the application for entries, we have over 500 riders. Goracemx can do 300 riders a second, so it’s a perfect entry system. We have 300 riders on the reserve list, waiting if somebody pulls out.

MXlarge: You mentioned after the first year, you said it will take time for people to understand the event was even on, and now, you have run two years and it seems the concept is really different to other vets races and more a fun day for the family, with some great racing. But why do you think it has taken off like it has?

Wood: I mean, this was a big decision when we launched this in 2023, because we knew the first year it would be a big challenge and I spoke to Darren and his team, who run the meeting for us, we need to go in as big as we would if everyone was to turn up for the event. We spent a lot of money on that first event, with good entertainment and all the infrastructure you would need for a big event and unfortunately we didn’t get a crowd that first year. The people who did go talked to their friends and word got out, that it was a really well-run event, which is really good for the family and the kids. The second year, we still sold out of rider spots, but nowhere near as quickly as this year. The second year we also added a lot more things for the kids, a lot more entertainment for the kids. What I noticed, that worked well, we are not in a small area for the entertainment and you can see around it all, and it was nice to see the parents having a good time there and right next door was the kids entertainment, so they could also keep a bit of an eye on the kids. That was a big difference from the other motocross events I have attended in the sport.

MXlarge: Which is a bit old school, because like many who got into the sport, I used to go to the motocross with my dad and he would go off and do his thing, and my brothers and sisters would do our thing. Its hard to do that now in the current World we live.

Wood: It is and obviously a lot more rules now, you cannot ride pedal bikes or electric scooters, but this format we have allows the parents and kids to have a great weekend and the parents can feel comfortable their kids are okay and having fun.

MXLarge: I understand you will have a selection of e-bikes there for the kids to ride and possibly giving the parents the chance to see how that goes with their kids riding, and there will be a chance to purchase a bike, if they like what they see?

Wood: This year we will focus on the family and kids, and we have a little track where the kids can ride the electric minibikes. These are for five, six, seven, or eight-year-olds. The distributor for these bikes will be there, so he will man that area, and if people want to buy one of these bikes, they can.

MXlarge: What about access to Farleigh Castle, when do you guys open the gates?

Wood: Gates will also open a day early, on the Thursday afternoon, so the riders can come in early, the bar will be open, we will also have a large selection of food, so a nice night to chill out before Friday comes and the racing begins. Friday, gates open early morning and spectators can also camp on Friday. We wanted to make Friday a part of the event and give the families and riders more of an experience. The Pro riders will be there on the Friday to chat with the public and the old bikes will also be there to look at.

MXlarge: I understand you also have Justin Morris a former GP racer and famous motocross trainer coming, which is great for any families looking at their child wanting to race?

Wood: Yes, Justin Morris will also be there and he is one of the best at training the riders and if you want your kid to come through the ranks, Justin is the person to speak to and he will be on hand all weekend if parents want to speak with him. He will also lead the track walk, that we have at 2pm. For those wanting to do the track walk, we will split people into groups and you will have a Pro’s with each group, be it with James Dobb, or Mike Brown, or Ben Townley, or whoever you are selected with. So, a great chance to hear from the Pro riders what the track might do throughout the weekend and what to look for out there.

MXLarge: Which riders do you have for 2025?

Wood: At the moment we have Ben Townley, Mike Brown, Tommy Searle, Jeff Emig, James Dobb, Kurt Nicoll, Ryan Hunt, Doug Henry, Sebastien Tortelli and Brad Anderson. We are also speaking with Zach Osborne and some other riders, but for now, we haven’t worked a deal with Zach. I feel he will come, but he isn’t there yet.

MXLarge: I understand you will also have a Freestyle show?

Wood: On the Friday, after the track walk, we have a free style event, with Jamie Squibb and his team. That will be something nice for the Friday and the spectators and they can get really close to the action. After the Freestyle show the music will start and all the food stalls will be open, and it will be a really nice relaxing evening. I have a fantastic 80’s band coming and we encourage everyone to get dressed up in the clothes from the 1980s. We will give away prizes for the kids and the women, but the big prize will be for the guys, a free access to next years event.

MXlarge: And then we have the Saturday. Tell me what you have lined up for the Saturday?

Wood: Yes, Saturday will be a full day of racing. Practice in the morning, and then the races. The first two races, they will be qualification for the Team Cup (which runs on the Sunday). This race will be brand new, and I don’t think anyone has done anything like this. It is for riders who are entered into the other races, and they pay 50 pounds to join this extra race. You can have one 40-year-old, and then the rest of the team can be made up of any other class, be it the over 50 class or over 60s or even over 70s, if you like, it doesn’t matter. A three-man team and you have your team’s name. Whichever team finish top ten on the Saturday qualifier can race the team race on the Sunday. The interesting twist for the team’s race on the Sunday, as the qualified teams line up on the gate, they get to pick a name out of a hat, and they get to pick a Pro rider. So, you could be riding with Jeff Emig, Mike Brown, or Ben Townley or somebody of that level in your team on Sunday. We will also have all the Pro riders in one race, which is great, because normally, they are in different groups, because they are all different ages. We will again have Jack Burnicles being involved presenting the whole weeks activities, he will do the Q&A with the Pro riders, speaking about their career and that will be a highlight for the fans.

Find out more here about the World Vets event: World Vets Motocross