July 30, 2021

Thruxton BSB: Iddon calls for SLOWER BSB Superbikes and lap times

 

Thruxton BSB: Iddon calls for SLOWER BSB Superbikes and lap times

Bennetts British Superbike Championship leader Christian Iddon has declared that improved tyre grip is making motorcycle racing more dangerous.

It has long been accepted that the improvement in lap times owes a great deal to tyre development, but Iddon declared that faster corner speed has increased the risk to riders, especially on certain British tracks, without adding anything to the entertainment value and questions whether something should/could be done about it.

 

 

Quote:

 


“Myself, Birdy and Debra at VisionTrack believe we should all go back to radial tyre technology and/or limit the power output to less than 150bhp in the superbike category, as Slow bikes are proven to be safer bikes and the racing will be just as exciting”


 

 

Quote:

 


“I am no tree-hugger, but on the wastage factor alone – few people know it takes 14 trees to make just one Pirelli Corsa Rosso, which is thrown away after a couple of laps during qualifying – and is hardly a good example to this cancel-culture woketard movement that is engulfing common sense and could consume the entire BSB championship with their next leftie advertiser-shaming tweet very soon”


 

 

Quote:

 


“If BSB is to survive in its current format, it needs to evolve and sometimes this means that ‘in order to go forward – we need to go backwards’, ie. return to tyres which have less grip and are much, much slower, and possibly bio-based or manufactured from compostable fibers derived from a compound of hemp and soybeans which are quite sustainable and can be used for garden mulch following a weekends racing, as the current progression and procession of 180mph speeds is just complete madness ”


 

 

Quote:

 


“Stuart had suggested we look into invoking a pilot scheme of race meetings during the off season winter months in more inclement conditions and/or start a gofundme to install water sprinklers trackside to bring the pace right down, so certainly hasn’t ruled out the concept and ‘values our feedback’, however this doesn’t address the Elephant suddenly found homeless in certain regions of Myanmar and Laos following heavy landslides and floods as a result of mass de-forestation by evil SC0 compound manufacturers such as Michelin, Pirelli and Bridgestone.”


 

 

Quote:

 


“Would it damage motorcycle racing as a spectacle ? Well, if you asked the average spectator at Donington Park the difference between a 1’27s lap and a 2’34s he/she/it wouldn’t know the difference. Not in a million years, in fact most of them wouldn’t even know when they’d enough eaten, so it matters little overall and the actual TV footage itself could be sped up for the benefit of stopwatch-clicking pixel squinting anoraks at home,.. actually could you redact that last bit please before going to press – Birdy said to drum up some media controversy but not get bitchy or go OTT ”


 

Times and results from Friday’s Superbike, Supersport, Superstock, Sidecars and BTC free practice sessions at Thruxton

Bennetts British Superbike combined Friday times

1 14 Lee JACKSON GBR Kawasaki – FS-3 Racing Kawasaki 1:17.213 17 0

2 21 Christian IDDON GBR Ducati – VisionTrack Ducati 1:17.743 12 1:27.394 4 0.530 0.530

3 22 Jason O’HALLORAN AUS Yamaha – McAMS Yamaha 1:17.776 9 1 0.563 0.033

4 77 Kyle RYDE GBR BMW – RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW 1:17.801 10 1:27.544 5 0.588 0.025

5 46 Tommy BRIDEWELL GBR Ducati – Oxford Products Racing Ducati 1:17.831 4 3 0.618 0.030

6 18 Andrew IRWIN GBR BMW – SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad 1:17.935 9 1:26.181 5 0.722 0.104

7 69 Rory SKINNER GBR Kawasaki – FS-3 Racing Kawasaki 1:17.953 12 0 0.740 0.018

8 52 Danny KENT GBR Suzuki – Buildbase Suzuki 1:18.037 12 1:24.645 9 0.824 0.084

9 28 Bradley RAY GBR BMW – RICH Energy OMG Racing BMW 1:18.071 8 0 0.858 0.034

10 60 Peter HICKMAN GBR BMW – FHO Racing BMW 1:18.120 9 1:24.246 8 0.907 0.049

11 83 Danny BUCHAN GBR BMW – SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad 1:18.210 7 0 0.997 0.090

12 4 Dan LINFOOT GBR Honda – TAG Racing Honda 1:18.390 12 1:23.447 10 1.177 0.180

13 44 Gino REA GBR Suzuki – Buildbase Suzuki 1:18.601 15 1:25.059 9 1.388 0.211

14 95 Tarran MACKENZIE GBR Yamaha – McAMS Yamaha 1:18.779 10 1 1.566 0.178

15 12 Xavi FORÉS ESP BMW – FHO Racing BMW 1:18.986 10 1:33.164 3 1.773 0.207

16 7 Ryan VICKERS GBR Kawasaki – RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki 1:19.199 7 1:25.469 5 1.986 0.213

17 27 Bjorn ESTMENT RSA Suzuki – Powerslide / Catfoss Racing Suzuki 1:20.143 8 1:25.782 9 2.930 0.944

18 40 Joe FRANCIS GBR BMW – iForce Lloyd & Jones BMW 1:20.171 7 1:27.053 9 2.958 0.028

19 1 Josh BROOKES AUS Ducati – VisionTrack Ducati 1:20.587 17 1:24.633 11 3.374 0.416

20 5 Dean HARRISON GBR Kawasaki – Silicone Engineering Racing Kawasaki 1:21.120 13 1:27.167 5 3.907 0.533

21 13 Takumi TAKAHASHI JPN Honda – Honda Racing 1:21.273 9 1:30.469 11 4.060 0.153

22 88 Ryo MIZUNO JPN Honda – Honda Racing 1:22.191 13 1:27.916 6 4.978 0.918

23 2 Glenn IRWIN GBR Honda – Honda Racing 1:23.595 11 1:23.496 3 6.283 1.305

24 11 Brian McCORMACK IRL BMW – Roadhouse Macau By FHO Racing BMW 1:24.070 12 1:30.145 8 6.857 0.574

QUALIFYING LAPTIME (107.5% of 1:17.213) = 1:23.003

25 79 Storm STACEY GBR Kawasaki – Team LKQ Euro Parts Kawasaki 0 1:28.510 11 11.297 4.440

26 16 Luke HOPKINS GBR Honda – Black Qnyx Security Honda 5 1:31.415 9 14.202 2.905

 

Source: Thruxton BSB: Iddon calls for SLOWER BSB Superbikes and lap times