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Originally Posted by twpd Yes...but the whole point of TB is a power:weight restriction. So far no-one has met the benchmark figure. By allowing the 748 in suddenly there's the means to do it easily. So why will anyone bother with anything else? |
At present there are plenty of bikes either bang on the power/weight limit or not far off it. Our Buell is around 5kg over weight at the moment but still has the starter and alternator etc that could come offf if necessary. The Laverda 750S of Alto racing has to put a huge battery on just to make the weight at all and the SV700 of Rob Wittey and Sarah Jordan aren't far off it either.
Next year there will be more tricked SV's plus a couple of RC30 Hondas etc. With the power/weight limit as it stands I don't think that the 748 will run away with it at all., and it will give all those garaged 748's a series to run in too
In the US Thunderbike series they have allowed the 748 in this season, and even though there have been a couple of very well dealer supported bikes out there they have yet to score a victory. The dynamic of the series is certainly different here in the UK, owing in large part to the lack of manufacturer support over here (Buell puts up US$750,000 in contingency in the USA and exactly 0 here), but I think the 748 will still have a real run for it's money in this country too.
What we have seen, unsurprisingly, so far in the series is that rider ability is the biggest factor rather than bhp/weight. James Wainwright is undoubtedly the quickest rider out there and is on a ZXR400.
There has been a very disappointing showing of Ducatis in the series this year, with just one road legal Paul Smart 1000DS making an appearance at Brands Hatch. I had expected to see a few more air cooled Ducs out there and don't think that they would have been outgunned by too much.
If anyone fancies running in the series next year please e-mail me, as I am in the middle of putting a case together for BEMSEE for 2007. None of the Bemsee/MRO classes are decided yet for next year and each class has to justify its inclusion in the calendar for 2007. Thunderbikes has so far produced 55 different points scorers and some very close racing all year, so hopefully we will still have a place once the decisions have been made