The Grand Prix paddock wouldn’t be what it is without the support of team owners, and the many team sponsors that are involved. British company Pro-Carbon Racing is a very important part of a handful of teams in the GP circus, bringing their carbon fibre products to the highest level, and making a living from the sport they love.

Pro-Carbon Racing are an industry leading manufacturer of high-performance motocross protection, and their carbon fibre motocross parts cater to all off-road bikes. All of their parts, including motocross, enduro accessories and supermoto parts, are manufactured on their premises and have been for many years.

Nick and Richard Preston, who own the company Pro-Carbon Racing have been into motocross since they were young boys. Racing on weekends, and like many of us having the perfect childhood due to their passion.

We caught up with Nick and asked him about Pro-Carbon Racing, and also what their product means to the teams, and also to him personally.

MXLarge: So how did you get into motocross?

Preston: That’s a long time ago. 1979, first bike. Our motocross mad Uncle Bob came over from Australia. I got a Honda XR 75 first, then a brand new KX 80, metal tank, twin shocks, brand new, it was amazing.

MXlarge: Did you get competitive in it, or just race with your brothers?

Preston: Never national, got to be a local winner expert, never took it too seriously and never had an ambition other than being a club racer and it was just what the family did. We didn’t have holidays or Sunday dinners, we just raced on weekends.

MXlarge: When did Pro-Carbon Racing start?

Preston: Richard started playing around with bits in the very late 1990s and the early 2000s. We thought we could make a bit of pocket money from it. We formed a business in 2001 or 2002 and in 2003 we really started growing the business. We have been on the British championship and Grand Prix scene since around 2004. We had always pushed our logo out on the top guys to endorse the brand and build the business that way. We would have trade stands, not to earn money, but to push the brand out to the punters.

MXLarge: Did you have a hero when you raced?

Preston: Dave Thorpe was the man when I was racing. I didn’t watch a lot of championship events, because we were racers and that is what we did. We went to some events to watch, but normally we wanted to race ourselves.

MXlarge: So, creating more business was working with the riders and getting the brand name out there?

Preston: Yes, to push the brand and get the logo out there. It was always going to work, but we wanted it to be popular.

MXlarge: Brand awareness is very important, and you are involved with a lot of teams?

Preston: Yes, a lot of team, from Kemea Yamaha, Revo Husqvarna, Hitachi KTM, Sarholz KTM, F&H Kawasaki and many more.

MXlarge: I know it is a question you probably don’t want to answer, but do you have a favourite?

Preston: Not really, the one that is on the podium this week. We talk about the brand, but of course we always try and make the best product, with the best materials. We make the same product for the teams as for the public, and our goal is when the buy a product from us, it will last for a long time.

MXLarge: Making a good product can be like a two ended sword, because a good product lasts so long.

Preston: We are pleased with the manufactures change the bike and then you have to buy new bits.

MXlarge: Obviously the Grand Prix paddock is full of companies who support the teams. Obviously, you have a business to make money, but how fun is it to be involved?

Preston: It is fun, and it is nice to be involved. We stepped back from doing a trade stand at the events because we felt our distributors in other countries had to do that job, and we stepped away for a few years and realised we were losing touch. So, we bought a motorhome and started attending GPs again. Once we did that, we didn’t really know the new MX2 teams, got involved with them and now on a personal level we come and enjoy the meetings. We meet so many contacts over the years at the events.

MXlarge: I know at Matterley Basin, I have only been in Europe 25 years and I am not British, but the amount of people you run into is incredible over a weekend.

Preston: We had a beer last night with a guy who traded next to us at the Motocross des Nations in 2004 at Leirop. You walk through the paddock and are constantly saying hello to people, a lot of times not even know who they are, just knowing their face.

MXlarge: Do you have a favourite product?

Preston: No, I like all our products. It is very personal, and we take great pride in our products. We are better at taking criticism if that is warranted. At the end of the day, it is our product and our pride. We could make it cheaper, make more money from it, but we want the best product possible. We are trying to get people away from the fact that carbon fibre is brittle. You could get one of our fork guards and twist it right around and bend it inside out. We use materials that flex and can take impact.

MXLarge: Dealing with the big teams, does that help develop your product?

Preston: We know what we are doing, but there are little things they sometimes ask for, but usually they don’t need to do anything. All the thought goes into the design and very occasionally a team might request an alteration, but in most cases the parts are just what they are looking for and go directly onto the bikes without need for their input..