| Author | Message | ||
     Jens |
When you read http://www.art-motor.de/ from today the headline is Who can beat Kitsch and Buell ? Nice to read, isn´t it  The backround of the question, and the resulting (for now intern) discussion is interesting, because it reflect our progress with the 1190 RR-B and we are still only at the beginning competing with a tall & heavy rider. Dominating the Sound of Thunder is nice but after 4 of 4 possible victories in the german championship is starting there an discussion how to get new competitors with new non V-Twins into the race. I am very interested share this thoughts with you and I like to hear your comments. The BEARS (British - european - american raceseries or British - european - american Racing and Supporters) was originally founded in the late 70th / early 80th as an answer of the dominating inline 4 cylinders. There could be another definition: all bikes welcome accept the japanese.... In times of less money, less sponsorsupports and smaller startgrids the racepromoters must think how to fill up the fields and offer attractive motorsport. Could a new BEARS be an answer? Lets play it. USA Buell: 1190 RR / 1125 RR Harley: not really.... Germany BMW K 1200 / 1300 / S1000 RR / HP 2 Horex 1000 (comes new out tomorrow -?) Kalex AV 1 Italy Aprilia RSV 4 / RSV 1000 R Ducati 1189 R / Desmosedicci / 998, former Superbikes MV Agusta F4 / Brutale Benelli 1130 England Triumph 675 / 900 Austria KTM RC 8 Many of these are true enthusiastsbikes, were you find serious fans and collectors. Imagine to battle the Buell with Desmosediccis, RSV 4, quick BMW´s and older Ducati SBK, KTM´s etc.... The idea is to offer exciting motorsport, that includes no dominating of any brand/rider combination. An S 1000 RR is a weapon, so the next point is how to break in the guys at the front. 1. Two races per weekend, the best 8 of the first race start in the 2nd race from the back. 2. Car racing teach us that regulations in weight or restrictors make it possible to finetune a field to maximum competition. 3. Powerlimitations and afterracedyno are not practical to control, as we all know.... Could a new BEARS an attractive raceformat that brings Teams, Sponsors and fans back to the track? I appreciate your comments. Jens | ||
| Imonabuss |
Could be cool. BMW, Aprilia and Ducati would have an advantage,due to the sizes of those companies and their WSB experience, but if rules would allow some adjustments to even out competition a little, it could be pretty exciting. Definitely need some differences in weight and power etc. so different models can run different lines on a track. So it would be best if some bikes were better on some tracks, others on other tracks. When all bikes have equal power and weight, the racing can be very much a parade, success largely driven by starting position. The promoters need to be driven by fan excitement, not manufacturers, and would have to work hard to get big factory paid off media from souring the class to the potential spectators. | ||
| Coolice |
That was good racing, the Britten was in the series. Bring it back. | ||
| 186bigtwin |
How big can triples be ?? | ||
| Jens |
There would be no cc limitation | ||
| Davegess |
That was a cool series, I hope it come back. | ||
| Trojan |
The only problem that I can see is getting enough prize and sponsorship support together to attract decent teams into the series. I don't know about Europe but there isn't much appetite in the UK for this kind of series and sponsors are hard to come by at the best of times. Unless this could run at national championship level it would just attract club level teams instead of the factory efforts it would deserve. Racing bikes such as these (and Vyrus/Morini and othe rsmall volume Euro bikes) is much more expensive than racing in a national class 600 or 1000 superstock series so you need to convince conservative minded racers that they need to do this instead. You will only get that with money and/or exposure. | ||
| Jens |
Like in carracing, Gentlemanriders embedded in professional teams are the only solution to finance this. But also that needs PR coverage in the media. Jens (Message edited by Jens on June 18, 2010) | ||
| Jens |
Ok now the decision is made, the BEARS are back:  http://www.art-motor.de/home/sot.html A quick Google Translation: Goodbye, Sound of Thunder Welcome back, B.E.A.R.S. ! The Sound of Thunder at Biketoberfest goodbye and returns to its roots. Let's go BEARS! Time for a review: The formula was simple: "Do not Japanese." To the New Zealand motorcycle racers were not at all. But they wanted it so easy to not do that. So they pushed it positive, and even better sounding. British, European, American, Racer Series - so they called their series, which ended in the early nineties at the start. Zuächst the BEARS-friends still ran against Japanese machines, but in 1993 it came to a local race track in Sydney for the first BEARS race. This was so good that an entire race series came of it: The Italspares BEARS Trophy Races, the reciting in the same year in Bathurst. Among its founders was John Britten. He built the BEARS icon par excellence, the legendary Britten, which henceforth was unbeatable, not only in Down Under, but also in Daytona. In 1995 the British and thus the BEARS Europe. With wins at Daytona, Thruxton, Zeltweg, Brands Hatch and Assen, and a second place in Monza, the British team took the places 1 and 2 of the BEARS World Championship. The foundation stone was laid - for the British legend and the BEARS. For the 1996 season focused on the British team sat at home and race in the U.S. - the only European presence in Assen nevertheless a victory. But the BEARS was not the same without Britten, and the makers of the series, led by Alan Cathcart and the Mechelen-Committee were looking for a new more sustainable formula. This was the birth of the Sound of Thunder. Four remained on the sidelines before, but now were on the Japan-Twins pure. The outcasts were - ironically - the Desmo-Superbikes. That henceforth with limited intake were not allowed to get so low combustion air. The handicap was enough to register on the Yamaha TRX Alan Cathcart as the first Sound of Thunder Champion in the history books of the new series. 1998 jumped spark the thunder on to Germany. At the festival DUCATI (now Festival ITALIA), the new series was an instant new home. For the debut event type engine had flown in the Britten, and against Kiwi Chris Haldane had no what to order. But the Britons played with only in Oschersleben and in Assen, and Michael Galinski won the championship in front of Geoff Baines on a Ducati Superbike. The Briton had expanded from its smart to 888 Desmodromic and developed completely new heads. He did not fall under the handicap rule was a lot of smoke in the cabin. Benefited from the rule in the coming years, Julius Ilmberger. He just took a 748 RS, which was not a superbike, and gave it to capacity as much as he could without going to the Superbike displacement limit. 1999 and 2000 he won the title, in each case before Wolfgang einlassgeschwuchtelten Bax with a 996 RS. 2001 trumped the last time the British again at large: The Dutchman Lex van Dijk is one of the ten had built VR purchased in 1000 and drove it to win the Sound of Thunder series. It was a wild time, and some floors were much wilder than the British. So the Japanese Sundance team an hochspektakuläre Harley in Daytona and Assen brought to the start. Dynotec Guzzilla built with the Dr. John-Guzzi of the new millennium, rapid Triumph Triples drove into the Top Ten, Nico Bakker developed the barracuda with TL 1000 engine, Michel Robert Achsschenkelchassis one just for that engine, Rolf von der Weyden and Ralf Schwickerath kept the boxers flag so high it went. It ran in France, England, Italy, Austria, Germany and some also made a detour to Daytona, where long ago was not so much fried as in Merry Old Europe. The races in Assen, Oschersleben, Zeltweg, Magny Cours, Vallelunga, on the Salzburg Ring, Nürburgring, Lausitz Ring, in Spa, and even on the small tracks of Lydden Hill and Croix de Ternois were good and honest sport. The paddock was European and the atmosphere warm as well as for the sidecar riders, and the enthusiasm was enough for a "little Sound of Thunder" in the program - the Formula Twins for two-valve Twins. Also in evacuated from the Germans: only Wolfgang Bax, then Werner Hausner, and the Italians gave no rest until they put in Francesco Contigliozzi also a master. Then they pulled back and drove to Italy their own Super Twins Championship, which incidentally is flourishing as pretty. But the first and last title for the British in the 2001 season also marked a turning point in the history of the Sound of Thunder. Build yourself was worth no more, a little (or a bit more) Tuning Twins brought to the shelf already enough speed to even the most ferocious boxer and Guzzi to overtake sitting upright with one hand. Tame were the Aprilia RSV, Honda VTR, Ducati 996, Suzuki TL had while still a long way, and technical problems to do with drivers and teams enough. From then on was the Sound of Thunder, the Superbike Championship for amateurs, excluding the four-cylinder. So it should be, and in the following years witnessed the Sound of Thunder its bloom: So had a Gerhard Wacker properly repress opponents in order to bring its VTR 1000 in the years 2002 and 2003 to the title, and Ralph Stelzer needed a fast Aprilia , DM, experience and talent to the next three years to be his successor. January 2007 brought the crown back into Lüsse Ducati camp, where they head next year, thanks to Ralph, 2008, also remained. 2009 smelled after a renewed bull market. While there was the elderly Aprilia Twins out of the race, but now got the Ducati dominance serious competition: Julius Ilmberger had developed his Buell to victory motorcycle, KTM brought RC8R and Harald kitsch just as one, and Martin Kratzer, Ralph skull and Kalle Newiger was also set up the Ducati front combative. From an exciting season went on kitsch KTM win out, and it looks difficult from then, that with the Buell 1190 R of Pegasus Race team like drauflegt still a title. But kitsch, Buell and his team have come too late. The competition is crumbling, no longer like still in the early years of the Sound of Thunder or the heydays of BEARS. Perhaps the Sound of Thunder is not moved with the times. The BEARS was a refuge for Europeans, as the newly assembled the know-how to build four-cylinder. They had to stay outside because of that. Today, Europe is building motorcycles again, before which kneels the world: Still Ducati, Bimota, MV Agusta and also, of course, Aprilia and BMW. And while the Japanese have for the well done RC 30 no longer true icon, an Erik Buell shoots a grenade into the racing orbit that thunders right away at eye level. And suddenly the BEARS makes sense again. Of course it needs a regulation, perhaps with a handicap for Traktionskontrollierte, safely back with international dates. But first it needs a beginning. The launch will at Biketoberfest. Goodbye, Sound of Thunder, Welcome back, BEARS ! | ||
| Mark_1 |
Thank you Jens!! That sounds cool I hope it does well. When can we order race team apparel? | ||
| 186bigtwin |
Sounds Great......... | ||
| Jens |
The merchandising stuff will be ready for the german Biketoberfest, seasonfinal and Buell Trackday. Than we will set up an Paypal account. Soory that it taks so long, but in the season it´s hard to get things like that done to the end. | ||
| Mark_1 |
Thank you Jens!! Good luck to you!! Thank you for the updates |
