Congratulations to Richard Barrington! Inducted into the British BMX Hall of Fame Class of 2025 – Pioneer Influencer

Richard Barrington was one of the early pioneers at the very start of BMX in the UK. He formed a team, ACE, from local kids in the Walthamstow, London area and took them to the now-documented Brockwell Park race (won by Pete Middleton). Most of the riders at Brockwell were from the ACE team.

You could argue that Richard’s team — ACE Racing — was the very first BMX team in the UK, featuring riders such as Pete Middleton, Cav Strutt, Trevor Shanks, Lee Curry, Nicky Matthews, and Andy Ruffell, just to name a few. It’s fair to say that ACE was the farm team for Ammaco Mongoose, as many of the ACE riders later went on to race for them.

Richard had a clothing factory (where the team would often meet) and later opened the ACE shop on Forest Road in Walthamstow. He designed his own frames, which he had manufactured, while Cav Strutt and Trevor Shanks built them up in the shop.

“We got introduced to Richard after Don Smith got us together when he saw us riding over at Hollow Ponds. We met Richard at his factory on Billet Road in Walthamstow — he was in the rag trade back then. We used to meet there to go through the design of the ACE race kit — me, Cav, and Nicky.

We went to races at Buckmore, Redditch, and a few others I can’t quite remember. Then Richard took me, Nicky, and Cav to the States — we hit a couple of races and stayed with Bobby Woods’ family for a few nights. We all helped build the Eastway track too — Richard was heavily involved with that.”
— Pete Middleton, Team ACE Rider

Former ACE Team Manager Derek Curry recalled:

“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.”

Richard gave back to the sport in many ways. When a group of Belgian riders came to Earls Court, Richard and the ACE Team presented them with a superb trophy — as Richard said in BMX Weekly, it was his way of thanking them for coming over to race.

Richard funded everything for Team ACE, including a trip to the U.S. (California), taking Cav Strutt, Nicky Matthews, and Pete Middleton to race at the famous Orange YMCA track, Ascot, and to visit many of the factories and BMX brands at the heart of the Southern California BMX boom.

Richard’s time in BMX was relatively short, but he moved on from the sport having given so much during those formative years. He helped launch the first era of British BMX superstars, giving riders their first opportunities and introductions into a sport that would define their lives for decades.

Today, ACE Racing still has a loyal following, and the ACE frame holds an important place in collectors’ circles and in the history of British BMX.