THUNDERSPORT GB 2020 - RACERS KNOW

THUNDERSPORT GB

CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 1ST CLASS EVENTS FOR ALL CLASSES

#RACERS KNOW! THE HOME OF SPORTSMAN RACING

Premier Motorcycle Protection

DATES, VENUES & COSTS

PREMIER STANDARD COST COST

DDAY

DATE

VENUE

EVENT

FRIDAY

6th MARCH

MALLORY PARK

ACU CTC/BRA COURSE

£135

£135

FRIDAY

27th MARCH

BRANDS HATCH

EXCLUSIVE TESTING

£145

£145

SATURDAY

28th MARCH

BRANDS HATCH

SOUTHERN THUNDER

SUNDAY

29th MARCH

BRANDS HATCH

SOUTHERN THUNDER

£269

+£20

FRIDAY

24th APRIL

SNETTERTON

EXCLUSIVE TESTING

£130

£130

SATURDAY

25th APRIL

SNETTERTON

THUNDER ON THE PLAINS

SUNDAY

26th APRIL

SNETTERTON

THUNDER ON THE PLAINS

£239

+£20

SATURDAY

23rd MAY

CADWELL PARK

EXCLUSIVE TESTING

£130

£130

SUNDAY

24th MAY

CADWELL PARK

THUNDER MOUNTAIN

MONDAY

25th MAY

CADWELL PARK

THUNDER MOUNTAIN

£239

+£20

FRIDAY

19th JUNE

MALLORY PARK

EXCLUSIVE TESTING

£130

£130

SATURDAY

20th JUNE

MALLORY PARK

MASTER OF MALLORY

SUNDAY

21st JUNE

MALLORY PARK

MASTER OF MALLORY

£239

+£20

FRIDAY

24th JULY

DONINGTON PARK

EXCLUSIVE TESTING (98dba)

£140

£140

SATURDAY

25th JULY

DONINGTON PARK

DUKE OF DONINGTON

SUNDAY

26th JULY

DONINGTON PARK

DUKE OF DONINGTON

£269

+£20

SATURDAY

29th AUGUST

ANGLESEY

EXCLUSIVE TESTING

£130

£130

SUNDAY

30th AUGUST

ANGLESEY

SUPER-PRIX OF WALES

MONDAY

31st AUGUST

ANGLESEY

SUPER-PRIX OF WALES

£239

+£20

FRIDAY

25th SEPTEMBER

OULTON PARK

EXCLUSIVE TESTING

£145

£145

SATURDAY

26th SEPTEMBER

OULTON PARK

ADAM BOYLE TROPHY

£169

+£20

FRIDAY

23rd OCTOBER

CADWELL PARK

EXCLUSIVE TESTING

£130

£130

SATURDAY

24th OCTOBER

CADWELL PARK

THUNDER IN THE WOLDS

SUNDAY

25th OCTOBER

CADWELL PARK

THUNDER IN THE WOLDS

£239

+£20

www.thundersportgb.com

RACING IS AN EXPENSIVE HOBBY ( but no more expensive than Track Days - and with far greater returns )

The statement above is what we like to think of as a “Public Wealth Warning” but behind that is the elemental truth that this is the most fun, best buzz, most self-fulfilling thing you can do if you’re into bikes - any kind of bikes.

OK, so we’re extremely up front about what racing costs here at Thundersport GB and the table you see on the facing page gives you the Entry Fees for each of our events and Test Days in the last 2 columns. Many riders are surprised that as the #1 sportsman racing organisers in the UK our prices compare extremely favourably with other organisers using the same (or even inferior) venues.

With Thundersport GB your pound goes further and still guarantees the highest quality experience and all with a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

All of our prices include VAT and we supply invoices reflecting that upon request.

We DON’T do bulk buys, or pay for the season in advance deals, as we consider those things to be simply an unsecured loan from you to the organiser with no security, payback or right of cancellation to protect your interests. (for our fair cancellation policy please see below) None of those high risk deals actually match up to our Premier Rider deals for value either.

The ONLY difference we make between a PREMIER REGISTERED RIDER (£120) and a STANDARD REGISTERED RIDER (£50) is the £20 discount on each round that a PREMIER REGISTERED RIDER enjoys.

Effectively, if you are contesting 6 rounds or more, this option makes your Registration free, which is our way of acknowledging and rewarding your commitment to the series.

HOW AND WHEN WE PROCESS YOUR PAYMENTS When you enter online for a Race Meeting or Test Day with us, our system does not take any payment.

This means you can submit your entries as soon as you like without any fear of your account being debited until the correct published date.

You will have probably noticed that our events are spaced at one per month to assist you with managing your racing budget alongside your normal financial commitments.

On the system you simply select your method of payment (Either from your registered card OR by ringing with new details) and we will automatically take your fees between the following dates (never earlier):Brands Hatch – 14th to 22nd March 2020 Snetterton – 12th to 20th April 2020 Cadwell Park – 10th to 18th May 2020 Mallory Park – 7th to 14th June 2020 Donington Park – 12th to 20th July 2020 Anglesey – 10th to 16th August 2020 Oulton Park – 8th to 14th September 2020 Cadwell Park – 7th to 14th October 2020 Once you are registered and the Permit Numbers are issued (usually early to mid-January) you will be sent a link to all of the seasons Race Entry Forms and Test Day Entry Forms.

We do not publish them prior to the ACU issuing the Permit Numbers as this is in breach of the ACU Sporting Code which is there to protect your interests.

We will send a group email to all Registered Riders as soon as they are live.

CANCELLATION OF ENTRIES You may cancel any entry without incurring a cancellation fee if you do so prior to the first date for payment for the event concerned. Between that date and the Monday prior to the event you will only incur a nominal £50 cancellation fee.

After the Monday prior to each event cancellations will not be refundable.

(That is 5 days prior to the first race day of each event).

Please let us know as soon as you think you may have an issue with any entry. We try very hard to be as accommodating as possible, but if we don’t know that you have a potential problem we cannot help you. Please speak to us, we are here to listen and help wherever possible.

CLASS ACTION

( Our extensive portfolio has something for everyone )

Here at Thundersport GB we have a massive portfolio of 20 race categories, spanning every kind of bike from a production based Aprilia RS125 right through to the very latest Ducati V4R in Superbike trim.

Our Championships are structured to cater for as wide a range of ages and budgets as possible from the world renowned GP3-Superteens to the Thundersport 500 veterans classes.

For youth riders there is no better starting place than GP3-Superteens, as this is where pretty much every successful British racer has begun their careers. This is the only place below BSB level where the youth riders do not have to share grid space with adults.

It’s cost effective, fair and very, very competitive at the sharp end of the grid. It nevertheless retains a friendly and non-intimidating feel for young riders to develop their skills further down the race order and it never seems to take them long to get up to speed.

At the other end of the age spectrum we have the Thundersport 500 Seniors Championship which is restricted to riders who have already passed their 40th birthday. Make no mistake though, some of these riders are extremely fast and often challenge the Elite riders for the overall podium positions.

The Thundersport 500 classes have one other huge plus though:They are the cheapest form of mainstream racing anywhere. If you want highly competitive, yet friendly racing on a budget, these old parallel twins offer exactly that at a price even the old East German 250 MZs can’t compete with.

Our championships are also extremely diverse in another respect though. We have Golden Era classes for both 600cc machinery and classic era Superbikes. The race machinery found in the Thundersport GB paddock spans the past 40 years of racing history, as well as the bang up to date GP1 Superbike specification cutting edge stuff.

The following is just a brief outline of our portfolio of categories and classes, which we believe creates the most diverse and interesting racing events anywhere:1). THUNDERSPORT GP1 ELITE This is a truly Open Class for large capacity machines up to 1300cc swept volume and the Norton Rotary (nominally 699cc). Minimum weights at post race controls are 125kg for 4-stroke machines and 95kg for 2-stroke machines.

Tuning is permitted, electronic control systems (including quickshifters and active datalogging) are permitted, any suspension is allowed and chassis changes are free.

No Turbo-chargers and no Super-chargers.

Tyre choice and rim sizes are free at all times.

Rider Eligibility = For any GP1 rider not eligible for one of the sub-classes below.

This is the Premier GP1 class.

2). THUNDERSPORT GP1 SPORTSMAN

Technical specification as GP1 Elite.

Rider Eligibilty = Open to Clubman licence holders or newly qualified National Licence holders who have never competed in a British, European or World Championship event. Sportsman riders also score points in the main GP1 Elite championship.

3). THUNDERSPORT GP1 SPORT

Technical specification as GP1 Elite.

Rider Eligibilty = Open to Intermediate Novice licence holders who not taken part in more than 8 race days prior to 1st March 2020 & certain Clubman Licence holders who are yet to achieve a top 50% finish.

4). THUNDERSPORT 600 ELITE

To Thundersport 600 (2020) specifications with any road legal tyre allowed.

Tuning is permitted, electronic control systems (including quickshifters) are permitted and any suspension is allowed.

Frame, Engine cases and wheels must be from the same homologated model.

Full wets are also permitted when a “Wet Race” has been declared.

Rider Eligibilty = For any 600cc rider not eligible for one of the sub-classes below.

This is the Premier 600 class.

5). THUNDERSPORT 600 SPORTSMAN

Technical specifications as Thundersport 600 Elite.

Rider Eligibilty = Open to Clubman licence holders or newly qualified National Licence holders who have never competed in a British, European or World Championship event. Sportsman riders also score points in the main 600 Elite championship.

6). PRE-NATIONAL SPORT 600

Technical specifications as Thundersport 600 Elite & Sportsman.

Rider Eligibilty = Open to Clubman licence holders who have never competed in a British, European or World Championship event.

7). THUNDERSPORT 600 FRESHMAN

Technical specifications as Thundersport 600 Elite.

Rider Eligibilty = Open to Novice & Intermediate Novice licence holders who not taken part in more than 5 race days prior to 1st March 2020.

8). THUNDERSPORT GP1 CLASSIC SUPERBIKE

A class for up to 1100cc Super Production machines principally designed and commencing production before 1st January 2000. A full list of eligible machines is contained in the technical specifications.

Tuning is permitted, suspension upgrades are allowed within certain restrictions and quickshifters are allowed.

Rider Eligibilty = Open to all riders from Intermediate Novice to International level.

9). GOLDEN ERA SUPERBIKE CUP

Superbikes of the classic era (designed and produced between 1985-2000 homologation years) 750cc 4-cylinder and 1000cc twin cylinder models as in the period. List of eligible models can be found within the Technical Regulation documents.

Tuning is permitted, electronic control systems available during the period are permitted, any suspension is allowed and chassis changes are free.

No Turbo-chargers and no Super-chargers.

There are no tyre brand restrictions and slick tyres are permitted.

Rider Eligibilty = Open to all riders from Intermediate Novice to International level.

10). THUNDERSPORT GP3-SUPERTEENS

A series open to riders aged between 12 – 21 years of age riding production based motorcycles that the ACU deem eligible to be ridden by a Novice Licence Holder at the age of 13 years.

This class will include the 450cc 4-stroke machine specifically as restricted to 32bhp by IN Competition which will retain a sealed ECU and throttle body restrictors as fitted by IN Competition. The Aprilia RS125 production model is eligible (this is the only permitted machine for 12 year olds).

The KTM RC390 Cup machine in MCRCB trim is also eligible. Any brand of road legal tyre is permitted.

The Kawasaki ZX300 Ninja and ZX250 Ninja models are also eligible. Any brand of road legal tyre is permitted.

The Yamaha R3 will be eligible in MCRCB trim. Any brand of road legal tyre is permitted.

When a “Wet Race” is declared Full Wets may be used.

11). GP2-SUPERTWINS

Middleweight machines based on produAny four-stroke twin cylinder motorcycle with a water cooled engine of up to 700cc may be used and any air cooled twin cylinder motorcycle up to 820cc provided it adheres to the following regulations. Single cylinder 4-stroke machines up to 750cc are also permitted, subject to the minimum weight limits listed in the Technical Regulations.

GP2-Supertwins have no tuning restrictions and any make or type of tyre is permitted.

12). GP2-CUP

Lightweight machines of single or twin cylinder configuration including Honda RS125, Kawasaki ZX400 Ninja twin, Honda CB500R and similar machinery as listed in the Technical Regulations. Any make or type of tyre is permitted.

13). STOCKTWINS

820cc 2 cylinder air-cooled machines, 650cc 2 cylinder and 550cc 3 cylinder 4-stroke water-cooled machines plus up to 400cc 2-stroke production based machines. Stocktwins may not be tuned and must not exceed 72bhp sae at the rear wheel. Stocktwins have several other restrictions which are detailed in the full Technical regulations, please refer to these before entering this class.

Quickshifters are forbidden for Stocktwins.

Road Legal Treaded Tyres or Full Wets are permitted.

14). THUNDERSPORT 500

A series for near standard 500cc 4-stroke parallel twins (Honda CB500, Suzuki GS500 & Kawasaki ER5) within a strictly controlled formula.

Tuning is forbidden, no quickshifters or performance enhancing modifications. (see full technical regs) Dunlop control tyres in both wet and dry patterns ensure a level playing field.

Thundersport 500 Seniors sub-category, open to riders aged 40 years or more on 1st March 2020.

Thundersport 500 Sportsman sub-category, open to non-National Licence holders and certain other less experienced riders.

Thundersport 500 Freshman sub-category, open to Novice licence holders who have not taken part in more than 5 days competition prior to 1st March 2020.

15). GOLDEN ERA SUPERSPORT

A class for 600cc 4-cylinder and 750cc 2 cylinder Supersport machines designed and commencing production before 1st January 2000. A full list of eligible machines is contained in the technical specifications.

Tuning is permitted, suspension upgrades are allowed within certain restrictions and quickshifters are allowed.

The tyre regulations are as per Thundersport 600.

A full list of eligible models can be found within the Technical Regulation documents.

16). GOLDEN ERA STEELSPORT

A class for 600cc 4-cylinder Supersport machines designed and commencing production before 1st January 2000 and having a mild steel beam or trellis frame as standard. The tyre regulations are as per Thundersport 600 and tuning is as per Golden Era Supersport.

A full list of eligible models can be found within the Technical Regulation documents.

Full Technical Regulations for all classes can be found at

http://thundersportgb.com/index.php/downloads

#RACERS KNOW!

THE ONLY ONES WHO KNOW!

Your friends don’t know!

Your wives don’t know!

Your girlfriends don’t know!

Your husbands don’t know!

Boyfriends, mums, dads, teachers, employers, bank managers or accountants, none of them know!

The ONLY ONES WHO KNOW are the ones who have been there, the racers themselves.

Because, as we regularly say here at Thundersport GB:#RACERS KNOW! When you first become a racer, you probably don’t quite realise that doing so will very slightly change your relationship with EVERYONE else you have known in your life up to that point.

Before you start, in your preparation and build up to your first race, you’ll listen to

your friends and those that are helping you in a particular way, but after your first event all of that advice will be filtered by the fact that you ‘know’ and they are only guessing.

Of course the ex-racers know too and they will treat you differently, with more respect, once you’ve actually gone out and done it.

There is a lot of useful stuff available on the internet too, but you’ll soon discover that there are numerous “expert racers” in that environment who don’t stand up to the acid test of reality.

Once you get through your first event, you’ll soon be able to differentiate between the genuine article and the PlayStation Warriors.

Expert suppliers are the same.

I clearly remember a short while before I took part in my first race, speaking to an old guy called Ole Gunnarson in Drammen (Norway) who owned a little back street engine tuning shop.

He was a wiry little fella and he exuded an air of knowing pretty much all that there was to know in the racing business. This guy had been there, done it and got the T-shirt, but somehow he was always kind of off-hand with me when I went in to get the parts I needed to race prep my car (yes a car, I was a 4-wheeled deviant before I saw the light and turned to motorcycles much later, but I hope you’ll forgive me).

The conversations I had with him were always short and to the point and he rarely offered any advice on any of the things I was

buying.

I thought he was just a bit of a miserable bloke by nature and I didn’t think too much about it at the time. He did seem to be much more animated with some of his other customers though and it made me wonder what it was that was different about them, or what it was that I didn’t have.

On the first weekend of May 1981, I took part in my first ever race and whilst I may not have set the world alight, I did get to stand on the podium and I was by far the fastest novice at the event.

That didn’t really mean much, as racing in Norway & Sweden at the time was very low key and recruited fairly few new drivers each season, so although I was delighted, it didn’t mean much to anyone else. Or so I thought.

The next time I went into the tuning shop, Ole didn’t exactly greet me like a long lost brother, but there was a noticeable difference in his attitude to me.

Initially I thought it was because I’d had my picture in the evening paper (which only had a circulation of about 200 copies I suppose) but it wasn’t that at all.

He was talking to me from the point of view of a Racer rather than a Dreamer. He knew that I was now one of the ones who know!

From that point onwards he gave me a lot of help and plenty of advice – most of which I initially ignored, but then later saw the value of.

He’d seen it all before and knew that I would have to make my own mistakes before I would listen to good advice.

Over a period of time we became very good friends and he helped me enormously right up until he died in late 1983.

His favourite saying – usually used when I wanted more power, better tyres or something else I couldn’t afford, was :- “Don’t waste time worrying about what other people have got, just make the most of what you’ve got. Your biggest advantage is in there!” and with that he would tap me on the chest “Sjelvalig” (self belief).

Years later, long after I’d stopped car racing and even after I’d finished my own bike racing, I met someone who reminded me a lot of Ole. He too had been there, done it and got the T-shirt.

This time however, because he knew that I’d also done it myself and that I was one of the ones who know, he spoke to me as an equal – which in terms of what he has achieved on two wheels I most certainly was not and still am not!

That particular wiry little fella was called Ian Newton and he was (and still is) one of the most experienced men in the UK when it comes to all aspects of motorcycle racing.

He has ridden in multiple Grand Prix world championship races, won on the Isle of Man, won British Championships, European Championships and at the North West 200 road races, where he still holds a lap record to this day.

He has also been a top team manager alongside Paul Bird at Vimto Racing and now runs the official Aprilia Team in the British Championships.

So Ian is definitely one of ‘the ones who know’ and he has that same air of confident experience that I first encountered all those years ago in Ole. However, having worked at several shows and exhibitions with Ian, he also has that mental dividing line between racers

Once new racers have sampled their first race, they understand why we all smile at Track Day stories

Sportsmanship is about season long battles and mutual respect between riders and everybody else. He is always professional, but there is a slight difference in his approach to racers as opposed to everybody else.

Having spent many years looking after the Aprilia Superteens and the RRV450GP classes meant that he had to walk the tightrope between offering good advice to the riders and managing the expectations and excesses of their families & teams.

I know that he sometimes found it very difficult when people wouldn’t listen to good advice and the dispersal of knowledge that he himself had to work hard to obtain.

Over the 15 years or so that we worked together, I saw him mellow and accept that sometimes people had to make their own mistakes.

The important thing is always to be there with advice and support when they come back, which Ian eventually became very adept at.

That kind of support is beyond

monetary value.

This two-stream attitude is something that we all subconsciously do, whether we realise it or not.

During our hour and a half oil clear up at Brands Hatch on March 4th back in 2016 I spoke to several people who were leaning over the spectator fence whilst we were working.

Some were spectators or perhaps friends of racers and others were actually racers themselves.

Whilst the information on the clean up was essentially the same “We need to make sure it’s safe before we can even look at a restart time.”

I found myself managing the expectations of the racers differently to those of the spectators and others. When speaking to the racers I gave them a lot more detailed information as to the progress and also made sure that I explained that although we would re-start only when the

surface was free of oil, there would still be substantially less grip in the affected section because we had used a lot of detergent which not only scrubbed away the oil but also took away any rubber that had been laid down.

The affected area would also stay wet longer and therefore potentially be a lot more slippery than the rest of the track for some time.

I spoke differently with the ones who know – because they are the ones who need to know.

This is something that we have always worked very hard on at Thundersport GB, mutual trust between the man in charge and the men (& women) with their hands on the throttle twistgrip.

There has to be an unspoken bond of trust between the racers and the officials, as we are all reliant on each other to get the job done safely.

When we did re-start, the Thundersport GP1 class was

first out and because they had the correct and accurate information, they were able to put on a spectacular race whilst at the same time treating the exit of Druids with the caution it required. Mutual trust between riders and officials in these instances is beyond monetary value and those experienced riders all placed their trust in me without question, which is a massive compliment, but also an onorus responsibility to always put rider safety at the centre of any decision.

We must never forget that #RACERS KNOW! when you’re cutting corners too and if you do that, the trust is gone.

Every year we speak to new riders who experience these transitions, both of being accepted as a racer and of moving into our paddock from other organisations.

The new racers often say that now they understand what I was talking about in the pre-season classroom sessions. The feeling of actually being on the starting grid for a race is something that you can explain over and over again, but it’s only when you actually experience it that the explanation makes sense.

The more experienced racers coming from other organisations talk about the misconceptions

they may have held before joining our paddock.

It is often wrongly believed that just because this is the most competitive series in British club racing, it must by its very competitive nature be unfriendly. That is soon found to be an urban myth that quickly evapourates when the true sporting nature of everyone involved becomes self-evident.

Competitive people want to win races on the track and build on their status within the paddock with good sportsmanship and a helping hand. Nobody wants to win a race because the main challengers weren’t on track and it is quite normal for racers to lend whatever is required to their greatest rivals to ensure the victory on track is deserved, not gifted.

This situation of those who know and those who don’t is totally timeless. The main picture here is of my great friend Gordon Cobbold taken in 1926. This is one of my favourite motorcycle racing photographs of all time and it was taken in the paddock at Crystal Palace after a test session. Although this is the speedway variant that he was testing, Gordon rode many of the works bikes around the fully banked circuit at Brooklands too earning a Gold Star for his

108mph lap in 1923.

Brooklands was the worlds fastest racetrack and it was so bumpy that riders often suffered from broken ribs and bleeding kidneys just from riding the bike, not falling off.

Gordon once confided in me that he had taken part in one endurance race there wearing a womans girdle to prevent his kidneys bleeding as much. The story of him buying the girdle in the Kings Road had me crying with laughter, as did his quip of “Because we didn’t have so many of them funny fellas around back then!”

The photo shows Gordon Cobbold just having got off the bike, with his sponsor and friend Harry Weslake in the background on the left. Talking to Gordon is another racer of the time – the great Gus Kuhn - who is making the ‘keep the throttle pinned’ gesture that’s universally understood in racing paddocks around the world to this day.

The thing I like about this photograph most, is that although there are 6 men in the picture, Gordon and Gus are sharing a moment that only the racers really understand.

They are the only ones who know.

#RACERS KNOW!

#RACERS KNOW!

THE HOME OF SPORTSMAN RACING

The Wonderful World of Sportsm

man Racing

# RACERS KNOW!

THERE IS A SUBTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRACK DAYS AND RACING YOU KNOW?

Come on Tarquin, you’ve been in there with your bike magazines for ages!

You’ll go blind you know!

START RACING FOR REAL AND WE’LL SHOW YOU WHAT YOUR RIGHT WRIST IS REALLY FOR!