Interview – Derek Curry

Team ACE is widely recognized as the first official BMX team in the UK, assembled by Richard Barrington, who also helped organize the country’s first BMX event alongside Don Smith in 1979 at Brockwell Park, London.

Early Team ACE riders included the likes of Andy Ruffell, Pete Middleton, Nicky Matthews, Steve Gratton, Cav Strutt, and Craig Schofield—many of whom went on to become the first generation of BMX superstars in the UK.

In addition to these well-known names, we want to highlight other riders and individuals who were part of ACE Racing and share their stories, contributions, and connections to the team—and especially to the man behind it all, Richard Barrington, who arguably doesn’t receive the recognition he deserves in the history of UK BMX.

Below is an interview with Derek Curry, a former ACE Team Manager, BMX News and BMX Weekly contributor, and close friend of Richard Barrington during and beyond his years in the sport.

We also spoke with his son, Lee Curry, one of the youngest Team ACE riders, who—along with his brother Stacy—was highly ranked nationally during the early days of UKBMX.

More ACE Racing to come, as we continue to deep dive into the story of the first British BMX team and the people who made it happen.

How did you first discover BMX?

I discovered BMX from a kids’ TV programme in the early 1980s. It immediately caught my attention, and it wasn’t long before my sons got involved too.

Your sons Lee and Stacy started racing — can you remember your first race meeting?


Lee and Stacy had their first race at Landseer Park in Ipswich. That’s where it all started for us as a family.

What were some of the other early tracks they raced at in the following years, and how did the boys do?


In those early days, they raced at tracks like Buckmore, Redditch, Cleethorpes, Bradford, Scotland, Eastway, and Albury. Stacy raced originally with plate number 163 as a 6-year-old in 1980, winning quite a few trophies — mostly wooden shields at first. Later, as a 7-year-old, he continued doing well and finished the year in 4th place with 292 points.

Lee raced with plate number 162 starting as a 7-year-old in 1980. Like Stacy, he picked up a number of trophies early on. When he moved up to 8 years old, he had an even better season and ended the year in 2nd place with 304 points.

After meeting Richard Barrington (ACE), and from what we’ve read in books, interviews with ACE riders, and early magazines — he really was one of the key guys in promoting the sport. With Team ACE sponsoring riders who later became huge names, what other tidbits can you share with us about Richard?


I first met Richard Barrington at the ACE shop in 1980 when I was buying bits and bobs for the boys — including those iconic blue ACE trousers with their names on them. We became good friends during that time.

Richard was a real driving force behind BMX’s early days between 1979 and 1983. He was a brilliant photographer too, capturing some fantastic shots of early ACE riders — like Cav Strutt at Harrow skatepark and Andy Ruffell at Rom skate park. His photos really helped build the image of the sport in those days.

You also became the Team Manager for ACE and there’s a cool shot of you and Steve Gratton in BMX News when you signed him to the team, standing next to the ACE van you used to drive. What do you remember about Steve being on the team?


Apart from that photo of Steve Gratton and me in front of the ACE van, which was reported in BMX News when we signed him, I’m sorry to say I don’t have much memory of him racing after that.

There are photos — a lot of which you took — of team riders on different bikes. Richard eventually designed and made his own frames. I think Cav Strutt rode one. What else can you tell us about the ACE framesets?


The ACE frame was Richard’s brainchild, with a lot of input from Cav Strutt, who also built them. There were some distinctive design features — the front gusset was a solid piece without any holes, and the rear dropouts had a unique design.
The early frames were welded prototypes before they eventually became chrome plated. They really stood out from other frames at the time.

You also got deep into writing reports and shooting photos for BMX News & BMX Weekly. How did that come about?


We were spotted as a family at many BMX tracks, and one day I was approached at a meeting and asked if I would be interested in taking pictures of riders across different age groups and writing race reports. That’s how it started. I loved doing it — but unfortunately, I never kept copies of my pictures or reports.

What led you and the boys to finish up with BMX? Did you follow the sport much afterward?

I think it was around 1983 when Richard closed the ACE shop on Forest Road. He took back all the ACE bikes from the team, including Lee and Stacy’s bikes, and sold them along with the frame design — although I wasn’t involved in those details.

Personally, it was a shame, but I loved every minute of it. Eventually, though, I got tired of all the early mornings, the late returns, and balancing it all with work.

I still followed BMX for a while and loved seeing how the tracks evolved and how riders like Andy Ruffell and Craig Schofield, who we knew from the early days, went on to do so well.

You kept in touch with Richard after his BMX days — what did he go on to do?


Richard and I stayed in touch for a little while. He still had the factory in Walthamstow and kept up his passion for photography, turning it into a business taking portraits of children and babies. Over time, we lost contact, but the memories we shared from our BMX days have stayed with me.
We still have our family album full of all the photos I took during those incredible years.
Photos.

Photo credit:

Derek Curry welcomes new signing Steve Gratton to ACE Racing in 1981.

BMX News Race Report – Words and Photos by Derek Curry.

His back-page photo for BMX News—titled “Wildest of the Week”—features Nicky Matthews (178) during his brief time riding for Mongoose.

One of Derek’s shots shows riders on the gate, including Alan Woods (214), Dave Thomas (555), and ACE Racing’s Scott McDonald (second from the left).