Associated British Motorcycles (ABM)

David Willis of ABM’s management team says, “We were actively looking to relocate and could have stayed nearer London but several factors swayed us. One was simply the warmth and enthusiasm of the welcome we received from the South Lanarkshire Council Economic Development Team.

“They sorted out a grant and introductions to make the move easier but also offered really useful advice on becoming greener; on sustainable fuels and how to reduce our carbon footprint.

“Another significant factor was the availability of mechanical and engineering talent nearby, both from nearby businesses and available labour, but also from the local University output and from the National Manufacturing Institute. We work with novel technologies and materials so having international innovators like BAE Systems nearby is another bonus.”

Associated British Motorcycles first came into being in 2019, when one of the original founders, Tony Scott, was racing at the prestigious, British Superbike Championship.

At the time, British racers were at a disadvantage since overseas competitors were racing on specially designed prototype bikes, while their British counterparts still used modified road bikes or ‘production’ machines.

Specialist Moto2 racing bikes cost around 150k Euros at the time, which acted as a barrier to young talent entering the field. This spurred ABM on to develop an alternative, at a third of the price and consciously using all British materials, including their own frame, swingarms and Triumph engines.

In 2017, they were ready to approach the British Superbike circuit at Donnington Park with two-time British Champion Alastair Seeley piloting the bike.  Not only was he able to take on champion Tarryn Mackenzie, Alastair put the bike on pole position, finishing second in the race on its first outing. The team went on to take podiums at all seven events in which they competed that year.

David Willis comments, “This didn’t necessarily make us popular, but a new class of racing was born; British GP2. We competed in the new championship in the following years taking countless race wins and the constructor’s championship – beating  much more expensive European factories, such as Kalex.

Around this time, the relationship with Tony Scott ended and the ABM story turned another corner, with the company then focussing on providing team support to many riders and other teams.

The ABM GP2 has been ridden by many top riders over the past seven seasons, including Alastair Seeley, Josh Owens, Mason Law, Charlie Nesbitt and 29 Time TT winner Michael Dunlop.

ABM moved to Cambuslang in summer 2024 and is looking to build a Scottish BSB2 team by the second half of this year. They continue to design, build and service racing bikes but David Willis says, “We want to encourage people who love the sport, whether young talent or just those with an interest in racing.

“We hope soon to open our facilities in South Lanarkshire up to the public, to welcome people who want to work on their bikes and encourage young people to become the mechanics and engineers of the future.”