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The History of the British Superbike Championship
With record numbers of event spectators, greatly increased media exposure and
an outstanding on-track entertainment package, the British Superbike
Championship is without doubt the success story of British motorsport.
This development has been achieved by the combined efforts of the race
circuit owners and promoters, the teams and the manufacturers. The decision by
the circuits to take charge of the Championship back in 1995 was brought about
by declining attendances and a plethora of race series, with no clear way for
the public to know who was the British Champion.
A united front was required, and this was achieved with the formation of the
Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board (MCRCB). It planned to take charge of
commercial and organisational rights and to drive the sport forward into the
compelling spectacle that hundreds of thousands of fans now recognise as the
British Superbike Championship.
Immediately a pilot television programme was made and coverage on BBC TV
Grandstand was secured. Programming later followed on satellite television, most
notably Sky Sports, British Eurosport and the ITV Sport Channel.
The 1995 championship, running as the Shell Advance International Superbike
Trophy, was the start of this new era. Subsequent years brought increases in the
number of championship rounds, and greater manufacturer awareness. Another key
factor was the decision of Yamaha in 1996 to sign Nial Mackenzie to spearhead
their attack on the British crown; the vastly experienced Scot had won British
250 and 350cc crowns prior to a decade in Grand Prix. MacKenzie brought a new
brand of professionalism to the series and grabbed the media attention as he
reeled off a hat-trick of title successes.
That presence and professionalism was also an essential part in the
championship attracting new sponsors to the sport: Cadbury, Red Bull, Aiwa,
Toshiba, Virgin Mobile, INS, Clarion, Highland Spring, Rizla and Halls among
them.
The increasing power of the championship was not lost on the motorcycle
manufacturers who, keen to exploit the showroom appeal of being associated with
a winning bike on track, fielded factory teams.
In 2003, the series boasted the presence of five manufacturers, Ducati,
Honda, who returned to the domestic series with the World title winning team of
2002, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha.
To ensure that the quality of the entry is maintained the championship
organisers always need to keep ahead of the game, something they did extremely
successfully in 2002. The MCRCB introduced an innovative rule change which
permitted 1000cc bikes to take part, thus widening the array of eligible
machines and the increasing the attractiveness of the series to the likes of
Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda.
At the end of 2003, the MCRCB launched MCRCB Events Ltd. The company was
established to create, manage and organise motorcycle circuit racing
championships and events at a National and International level.
In March 2004, Dorna Sports S.L, the commercial rights holder of the FIM Road
Racing Grand Prix World Championship (MotoGP) signed an agreement with the MCRCB
to take over the commercial rights of the British Superbike Championship until
the end of 2008.
This decision was taken by the MCRCB in order to guarantee the long-term
future and stability of the championship, while widening the appeal of this
dynamic sport. Since the inception of the British Superbike Championship in
1995, the Donington Park-based Two Four Sports company held the promotion rights
until 1999 when the Octagon-based BMP company took over commercial operations
until the end of 2003.
Courtesy of www.britishsuperbike.com
British Supersport, British 125 GP and National Superstock Classes
The British Supersport, British 125GPs and the National Superstock
Championships are three of the classes that form part of the British Superbike
Support Programme and are in integral part of the Championship, accompanying the
headline series to all of its rounds.
The British Supersport are like their British Superbike cousins; production
based ‘showroom look-alikes.’ Changes are permitted to the tyres, exhausts and
suspension internals. They are powered by engines 401-600cc, four-stroke, four
cylinder, or 600-750cc, four-stroke two cylinders. Many of the British Superbike
teams also field entries in the ever-competitive 600 class, attracting top
manufactures such as Honda, Ducati and the British marque Triumph.
The 125GPs are generally regarded as the ‘tiddlers’ of the track and have
proven to be the training ground for many a world-class rider such as Neil
Hodgson and Leon Haslam. These little light (70kg) ultra-competitive machines
provide some of the closest racing and with riders as young as 14-years of age
the series is home to some of the UK’s youngest racing talent. In terms of
specification the bikes are over 80cc and up to 125cc, two-stroke and one
cylinder, with six gears maximum.
The ever-popular National Superstock class attracts bumper-grids every year,
so much so that in 2004 the class was divided into two groups; the National
Superstock Championship and the Superstock Cup. The series has been home to many
top riders over the years, most notably the late, great David Jefferies. On the
technical front Superstock bikes are quite simply production machines with race
tyres and a minimum ten per cent weight reduction, with an increase of power by
an equal amount, a combination of which can provide extremely close and natural
racing. The engines that are permitted are 601 – 1000cc four-stroke four
cylinders maximum, 751 – 1000cc four-stroke three cylinders maximum or
851-1200cc four stroke, two cylinders maximum.
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