Calling all trackday riders - this is your chance to take the next step and go racing!
Following a massive response to
our recent questionnaire, we can now outline our plans for Club
MSV's new motorcycle racing series, the Bike Trackday
Trophy, aimed exclusively at trackday riders and novice
racers.
We are initially planning four
race meetings in the inaugural season taking place at Brands Hatch,
Cadwell Park and Snetterton, running through the summer months. A
45 minute endurance race will cater for riders wishing to race solo
and a three hour race for teams of two, three or four riders. Both
races will have practice / qualifying sessions all taking place on
one day to reduce overnight costs.
A simple class structure will
split bikes into pre and post year 2000 categories with these
classes being further divided by engine size. To enter the series,
each team must also have at least one novice rider who has competed
in less than ten races. In keeping with the spirit of the series,
National and International licence holders will not be permitted to
enter.
Club MSV Manager Alex Baker
explains the logic behind the plans:
"Two years ago we launched the
Car Trackday Trophy which has been an overwhelming success. We have
introduced well over 100 new drivers into the world of competitive
motor sport, many of whom have successfully graduated to other
series and championships organised by clubs all over the country.
Now we want to replicate this successful formula for
bikes.
We have thousands of riders
taking part in our trackdays each year and in 2010 the ACU issued
Club MSV with the authority to administer ACU licence tests across
the group of MSV circuits. With the introduction of the new series
we'll be able to help riders from the first time they ride their
bike on a race track, through their race training and preparation,
all the way up to being sat on the grid waiting for the lights to
go out.
The No Budget Cup (an endurance
race series designed for novice racers on bikes made during the
90s) ran two rounds in the UK last year and the format was
obviously well received with full grids at both rounds. However,
they are not returning to the UK in 2012 and therefore we'd like to
offer a series for their riders to compete in with a few modest
changes to the format and regulations.
Firstly, all riders must have an
ACU or SACU race licence. Safety is our number one priority in
whatever we do whether it be trackdays or racing. Therefore I felt
it was important to ensure all the riders on the grid were capable
and had the right level of experience to be racing.
Following an overwhelming amount
of feedback from interested competitors we've also realised that a
lot of riders want to race bikes made this century. That's fine
with us - newer bikes should mean better reliability. However, we
don't want to leave the riders of older bikes at a significant
disadvantage with the technology (and ultimately) performance
advantages that came about with the introduction of fuel injection.
Therefore our class structure will reflect this by having classes
for 90s and post 2000 bikes as well as splitting bikes by
capacity.
It's also become clear that many
riders want to race solo so we'll be introducing a new
semi-endurance race format with races of around 45
minutes.
Having said that, we're still
talking to riders, experienced racers and others industry experts
about how it should all work. We want to create a series that is
easy to get into, not too serious and ultimately fun for all
involved."
To read more about our plans for
the series please click here. Further
information such as entry details and prices will be released very
shortly.