If only i had the money to fund you Dave. You''re a great bloke and a great team with all the right values. If passion were the finance of racing you'd be the richest team on the grid. Here's hoping 2025 is a great season for you all.
I appreciate what you do & the work you put in. Motorcycle racing seems to be on the decline as it's too expensive for many. We need more grassroots 125 up to 400 cc races across the country.
You've hit the nail on the head. There isn't enough investment in young British, American or Australian talent to get them into racing. Spain have been investing in their youth for over 20 years. Look where they are now. And still more coming through. Motorcycle racing isn't a priority sport in any of the countries I've mentioned. As far as the UK goes, nothing is going to change until the big organisations in British Motorcycle racing pull their fingers out and start looking around and helping out with investment opportunities. On top of that, what's the percentage of youngsters getting into bikes anyway. All the statistics show that it's old farts like us who are still riding bikes and propping up the industry. Dealerships are going under at an alarming rate. Motorsport has always needed big sponsorship. But is it sustainable?
Brilliant video Dave and much appreciated. Owen Jenner has looked excellent this season, shame Scott Swann is taken .....hmmm, guess we'll find out soon - good luck getting the right rider for the team 👍🏻
Franco has a year under his belt and I so hope he stays with this great team. Funding is an obvious issue for all but the top few teams. No doubt there will be more developments. We wish you all the best for a successful 2025.🤞🤞
Very interesting Dave. I did actually see you doing a talk to your camera whilst i was on the pit walk. Didn't disturb you as i thought it would be rude. I would love to see Storm on a better bike so hope that rumour could be true. The other rider i rate highly is Josh Owens & feel he would do better 2nd time around in superbikes. Hopefully we will get some news of signings soon. All the best & thanks for the vlog 👍🏻
Interesting comments on who might be going where and you probably have your ear to the ground better than most. It would be great to see Franco on the bike in 2025 but I know riders and teams have to always be looking to the future while also not knowing where the money is coming from year by year. Good luck for 2025, I will be watching avidly for your posts.
Brilliant inside view of the paddock as always. If Franco does take Andrew’s seat Jenner would be a great addition. Shame he didn’t get a proper super sport bike this year
Evening Dave ……excellent…..you are always on the ball…..be great to see Storm with Danny Kent…👍😉👌🔥❤️🇮🇲 ps great to see the Newt…..👍😉🇮🇲 PPs Richard Kerr is a great shout….👍😉
Great vlog Dave , lots of rumours we heard to at Pirelli 🤫. Great chats we u lads this season an thanks for allow us ladies in ur garage. Good luck an see u soon pal , Kev 👍
Definitely look at Josh Owens as an option. In the right team he's capable of pushing up front. His confidence this year looks to be a million percent more than when he was with Hawk.
Enjoyed that! Interesting piece about the riders. I was thinking Scott Swann and Josh Owens as you were saying it. I guess the stepping up to Superbike thing applies, but what about Thomas Strudwick, he seems like he'd be a good fit.
Hi Dave. The cost element as you stated has become a major obstacle to young riders moving up from club racing. My nephew Joey Lambden # 3 races in Bemsee on a 600 and this year has finished second in the championship. However, his dad and myself, plus the odd one off donations comes out of our own pockets and we cannot possibly consider the next stage up. this year, he has again done well at Olivers and Aberdare and thats it. When, even at this level, you factor in entrance fee's, tyres, fuel and travel it is an onerous task.
Dave, great video as per. IMO: 1) Get Bemsee, NG, EMRA etc to work together to make club racing entries cheaper. Rise of track days has largely fucked club racing. 2) Create a fast, simple 2 stroke class (KTM’s 250sx in a Kramer frame e.g) engines are cheap to refresh / repair / lower power equal less tyre usage. 3) Engage racing clubs and BSB in better social media management: spend more initially to create advertising growth. Its low hanging fruit that most clubs/teams simply are not doing 4) Get fast Brit to winning Motogp, relax while country gets into bikes again.
Ill repost my reply here as its along similar lines ; THANK YOU I have been HARPING on and on and on for over 20 years that the sport is unsustainable. If you want to survive it NEEDS to be like Motorcross ( or have a class similar, to which you will find it will be, very popular ) EITHER Regulate the costs OR Lower the costs ( materials ) YES you can run trick ohlins and electronics BUT you WILL price yourself out of the market AND the racing is boring ( I can only speak for Japan) Mx, I can stand meters from the track and for 5000 yen ( not a lot ) I get 12 races min and the coffee is cheap ( they even gave away zero alcohol beer last week ) IF it were me, ya run a budget limit. A serious budget limit ( audited by the local auditors ) What u do with that money is up to u. As the teams progress up the ladder the cost of the bike gets factored into the budget.
IMO, I would love to see wsbk take on the same electronics rules as bsb, make wsbk more open and fair, and also open the path for wildcard rides again.... For me the hey day was when hodgen, Byrne etc could go the British round of wsbk and show them the the talent that exists in the UK !!!
I would have thought that track days would increase the chances of a rider to realise that it's actually a lot cheaper and safer to have a go at racing. Yes I know there is the extra expense of entry fee's and transport but you're not throwing you're lovely, expensive, road bike down the road.
As ever Dave great insight to BSB. It seems there are more riders than available team rides for 25. As you say a lot will depend on who FS3 and Haslam Rokit sign and whether Honda will retain Andrew Irwin so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. As others have said if only I had the money..
Cheers Dave great vlog again “mr honest “. So Franco to full Honda replacing Irwin . Irwin to DAO. Storm with you ? Great match , great talents in both engineering and inspiration . Swann would be good he has a good race craft and desire to win shines through . Then 30’s not old why not something that you know wardy , build your data and team around the known ( models change )! Either way keep on keeping on .. thanks A
R6 cup seemed to work quite well at highlighting some raw talent whilst being afforable-ish back in the day. How about a Yamaha R1 cup - stock-ish bike, control tyres and on the telly...?
Yup agree I think something like they have done with the f900 cup or even the sportsbike cup but with an age cap of say 25 let the young guns battle it out.
The thing is from the sidelines or on the telly, a bike travelling 5 seconds a lap slower is not noticeable. So why don't they do what we used to, proddy racing my RD250 was fun and affordable!
Thanks for another great vid. I think the biggest issue with any level of road racing is the cost of tyres, it’s ridiculous, I’m sure the manufacturers could make them last longer.
Apart from brands hatch where else is there to pratice south east on small bikes. We need more large go kart tracks which allow bikes on to bring the talent through
So interesting; we were having the conversation about the cost - even at club level - becoming prohibitive, earlier. With a track day before the weekend it’s 2 extra days off work (or school) and another chunk of money. That seems to be the norm now. Would it be better for clubs to have lower entry fees and packed grids or fewer competitors at current fees? (That’s not to say they’re unreasonable but easier to vary than eg cost of tyres or fuel).
Troy Jeffery another great talent…… did a wild card in Superteens this year on a brand new MSS ZX4RR having never seen the bike before in terrible weather conditions and podiumed it twice that weekend. Ritchie O’Neill too won the Scottish championship up here and the prize was free entry to BSB 2025 Superteens but the kid can’t afford to blow 20k on a new bike…… as you say….. all down to casholla 😢😢
Thanks for sharing some interesting goss' on next year's possible runners & riders Dave (AKA Our Man In The Field!). As a 'Real Roadracing' devotee, I'm wondering what the hell Honda's plans are for Deano next season? I appreciate he's no Tommy Bridewell on the 'Blade during this season's BSB, but I don't think subsequently binning him off to ride the 600 was in his best interests (albeit he was still racing & had Jack Kennedy fighting for the Championship). He (Dean) did brilliantly at the TT - despite Honda not delivering the new superbike until very late in the day; and they provided him with a 'stocker to run himself at the Southern 100 (which was predictably no match for the superbikes of Davey Todd & Michael Dunlop). It wouldn't surprise me if Jack Kennedy takes his seat in BSB, so we can but speculate just what the Big H's plans are for Deano (if anything)? Hmmmmmmm...
@@obsession_engineering Cheers Dave. I really hope Dean's with the Big H for another year. A full season of bike(s) development will certainly give him the best chance at adding to his TT wins. A cheeky Superbike at the mighty Southern' would be rather good too. 🤞
Slowly but surely becoming a rich man's game. I race with NG and youre right. A club level weekend is £1500 easy, that's skimping on pretty much everything 😅
Hi Dave, it appears that you're pretty certain Franco isn't going to be riding for you next year, perhaps it will be him riding for the full factory Honda team?. With regards to the superbike, I know that this will piss a lot of people off, but your going to have to reign in the amount of aftermarket parts. Yes, full factory Ohlins forks are the dogs' dangles but hugely expensive. 2mm bigger Brembo discs, astronomical, the list goes on and on. We are just going to have to get used to proper stockers, showroom with exhaust and bodywork only, and full superbikes will have stock forks, rear shock, etc. but reworked with new internals, that's the only way, in my opinion, that racing is going to survive. BUT!, according to the press and the manufacturers themselves, superbikes are no more. No R1, except the real exclusive, no GSXR 1000, soon no ZX10R? , I've an old one of those just like you have now, and you used to race. The BMW is hellishly expensive, and unless you have Toprak riding it, in superbike trim, it's uncompetitive, according to Josh. I'm throwing this out there, what is the answer?, does anyone know?
When Stuart Higgs was on Chasin' The Racin' (think it was then I heard it) he said they had plans for the future of BSB, they were talking about the power of the superbikes and the tracks. Not sure what they'd be but it will be interesting to see.
I'd like to see you guys add a factory honda supported 600rr in supersport as a feed upto the superbike from the likes of talent cup etc that's where the quick lads are going to come from and the faster they get the opportunity of moving upto the bigger bikes the better just look at what they are doing in Spain jumping from moto 3 to superbikes etc I know it all comes down to budget but it'd be nice to see honda support you more moving forward, also Merch! You need some for sale at the track not just online either way will be cheering you all the way next season
In ten years time there will only be Spanish and Italian riders in world supers. The UK needs to do more for young riders. Red Bull rookies type championships all over the place. Unfortunately we don't have the weather or infrastructure for it. Basically we need more support for youngsters but as with (let's say for example) women's football ... Less crowd numbers, less money coming in. Someone cleverer than me needs to market a championship for youngsters and make it EXCITING
Done a few years with thundersport, and haven't raced since that folded, predominantly due to the ever increasing costs, all coming out of my own pocket. 😔
Maybe current superbike class (bsb and wsbk) should be ditched in favour of superstock. There is very little similarity to stuff you can buy. Currently you can swap suspension for £10k? New swingarms etc, major engine work. Ludicrous money. There's not enough difference from wsbk and motogp. OK you allow €50k homologation specials, but not further upgrades. Another Q is Why did bsb change to slick tyres for current supersport and superbike?
I don't agree with slicks for stock and supersport classes, but seems to have been dictated by pirelli. Which seems odd the supplier calling the shots. A full grid of pathway bikes, and reduced spec stockers would be sensible to me
THANK YOU i have been HARPING on and on and on for over 20 years that the sport is unsustainable. If you want to survive it NEEDS to be like Motorcross ( or have a class similar, to which you will find it will be very popular ) EITHER Regulate the costs OR Lower the costs ( materials ) YES you can run trick ohlins and electronics BUT you WILL price yourself out of the market AND the racing is boring ( I can only speak for Japan) Mx, I can stand meters from the track and for 5000 yen ( not a lot ) I get 12 races min and the coffee is cheap ( they even gave away zero alcohol beer last week ) IF it were me, ya run a budget limit. A serious budget limit ( audited by the local auditors ) What u do with that money is up to u. As the teams progress up the ladder the cost of the bike gets factored into the budget.
Although the f900s are boring to watch, they are 'dad and lad' racing, second hand ones are £7500-£8500, entries are no worse than club racing and they don't eat tyres
Question, Why can`t the tobacco and alcohol industry sponsor race teams? Any government is willing still to take tax on them so why no sponsorship deals. Great video Dave lad thank you.
Stockers / Superbikes look the same sound the same big money to only be 2 secs a lap quicker I think compromise is needed in the near future .... or the grids will be very small
If you want young riders, they will crash more, and cost you more money. If you are on a budget, go for more experienced riders, who are less likely to crash.
Very interesting Dave Tyres are a major expense and also a major polluter and so simply blackmail the supply chain erm professionally .. In parliament they call this lobbying nudge ,nudge….
i'am out ! ...must work , have not the fitness ...and for a interview my english isn't very well 🫣 ... sure it is expensive ...but some video's let us see how small the gap is between racer's and hobby-racer
The issue is Dave. And being dead honest. The budget is ridiculous and essentially companies are paying for guys to do high end hobby. Although talented and great riders, 70-80% of these guys aren't going much further. And what does a company get for dropping £50-100k into a 10-20 position team? A few hospitality passes? They're not getting an increase in profit or custom. Club is worse. And i've done it myself. Guys begging for companies to pay for them to go and have fun racing a bike. As a business owner now it's madness. I'd get zero return from my investment.
@@deanmsimpson yeah true. But the bills have never been this high. And up until a few years ago. I belive there was a little return from the investment.
Well doesn't help that they scrapped the stock 600 class instead of working with it in the regs. Not many people can afford a supersport bike and then they introduce a spotbike class thats just as expensive as supersport. In sportbike your still looking at 20k plus to build it now they have allowed tuning etc. Even the 1 make ecu is about 3.5k with the loom and dash. It's just massive jump in costs from the junior classes. As soon as they got rid of stock 600 there was no where for them riders to go without spending fortunes. The whole... 600 class is dead argument etc and it's only R6s anyways was just a cop out from the organiser so they could sell more of there solo engineering gear. Most classes end up dominated by 1 make of bike. Just look at stock 1000 this year. Mostly hondas, next year will probably only be Honda and a couple BMs.
You do make some very good points, can't argue with them. I do like the sport bike class though, even if it's become more expensive than it should have been
We all know that some riders put a real effort into showing themselves at contract time. This year's standouts are Andy Irwin and Josh Brookes. They've both suddenly appeared at the front and are giving interviews like Z list celebs. And surprise, surprise it looks like they've succeeded in keeping or getting new deals for 2025. What I've noticed about both, is they can't keep it up. They run around at the front - get in the way for a few laps and then drop down the order. I expect we'll see much the same from them next year.
When you've got a passion for bike racing it's hard to understand how much duller (no disrespect intended) spectator sports have no trouble getting loads of sponsorship. I can't help but feel bike racing (and bike in general) needs a big injection of publicity to get people back into it. I'm not sure if anybody wants to take the financial plunge sadly. Failing that you could drop Thomas Tuchel an email, I heard he's doing OK.
Race success does not sell more superbikes sadly as that market has shrunk, mostly due to cost and the unfriendly nature of the beast. Motorcycle Dealers are not making enough money anymore to support the grids, it's as much as they can do to support guys at club level or real roads racing. The industry is up crap creek and the costs for circuit hire (MSVillans) is prohibitive. Get rid of the superbike class altogether and run restricted production based models without loads of electronics. Its far to complicated, as you well know and the support needed is lacking. Lets not make bike racing like F1 cars, its boring!
If only i had the money to fund you Dave. You''re a great bloke and a great team with all the right values. If passion were the finance of racing you'd be the richest team on the grid. Here's hoping 2025 is a great season for you all.
Same here.👍❤️
Thanks for the kind words, hopefully Matt finds the funds so we can push on even more last year
As a car racing guy for 4 decades, your videos are so refreshing, keep it going. Great video 👊🏽
Also watching from trackside a few times this season Josh Owens really stood out for me he needs the chance on a proper superbike
I appreciate what you do & the work you put in. Motorcycle racing seems to be on the decline as it's too expensive for many. We need more grassroots 125 up to 400 cc races across the country.
You've hit the nail on the head. There isn't enough investment in young British, American or Australian talent to get them into racing. Spain have been investing in their youth for over 20 years. Look where they are now. And still more coming through. Motorcycle racing isn't a priority sport in any of the countries I've mentioned. As far as the UK goes, nothing is going to change until the big organisations in British Motorcycle racing pull their fingers out and start looking around and helping out with investment opportunities. On top of that, what's the percentage of youngsters getting into bikes anyway. All the statistics show that it's old farts like us who are still riding bikes and propping up the industry. Dealerships are going under at an alarming rate. Motorsport has always needed big sponsorship. But is it sustainable?
Brilliant video Dave and much appreciated. Owen Jenner has looked excellent this season, shame Scott Swann is taken .....hmmm, guess we'll find out soon - good luck getting the right rider for the team 👍🏻
Franco has a year under his belt and I so hope he stays with this great team. Funding is an obvious issue for all but the top few teams. No doubt there will be more developments. We wish you all the best for a successful 2025.🤞🤞
Love this, thanks Dave
Very interesting Dave. I did actually see you doing a talk to your camera whilst i was on the pit walk. Didn't disturb you as i thought it would be rude. I would love to see Storm on a better bike so hope that rumour could be true. The other rider i rate highly is Josh Owens & feel he would do better 2nd time around in superbikes. Hopefully we will get some news of signings soon. All the best & thanks for the vlog 👍🏻
Interesting comments on who might be going where and you probably have your ear to the ground better than most. It would be great to see Franco on the bike in 2025 but I know riders and teams have to always be looking to the future while also not knowing where the money is coming from year by year. Good luck for 2025, I will be watching avidly for your posts.
Brilliant inside view of the paddock as always.
If Franco does take Andrew’s seat Jenner would be a great addition. Shame he didn’t get a proper super sport bike this year
Great vid enjoy the info. Cheers have a great winter
Would love to see Storm Stacey on something competitive..... Fireworks
Not really fireworks . GR has one win. They’re not shit. But they’re not a front team.
Evening Dave ……excellent…..you are always on the ball…..be great to see Storm with Danny Kent…👍😉👌🔥❤️🇮🇲 ps great to see the Newt…..👍😉🇮🇲 PPs Richard Kerr is a great shout….👍😉
Dave’s rumour mill, keep it up 👍
Good to see Newt! Nice pitlane walk. 👍
Great vlog Dave , lots of rumours we heard to at Pirelli 🤫. Great chats we u lads this season an thanks for allow us ladies in ur garage. Good luck an see u soon pal , Kev 👍
See you in April Kev, now get back to those pipes
Dave if I win on the lottery this week you will fully funded for quite a few years. Keep it going mate Great stuff
Definitely look at Josh Owens as an option. In the right team he's capable of pushing up front. His confidence this year looks to be a million percent more than when he was with Hawk.
Enjoyed that! Interesting piece about the riders. I was thinking Scott Swann and Josh Owens as you were saying it. I guess the stepping up to Superbike thing applies, but what about Thomas Strudwick, he seems like he'd be a good fit.
THANK YOU. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
Hi Dave. The cost element as you stated has become a major obstacle to young riders moving up from club racing. My nephew Joey Lambden # 3 races in Bemsee on a 600 and this year has finished second in the championship. However, his dad and myself, plus the odd one off donations comes out of our own pockets and we cannot possibly consider the next stage up.
this year, he has again done well at Olivers and Aberdare and thats it. When, even at this level, you factor in entrance fee's, tyres, fuel and travel it is an onerous task.
It's a real shame when talent can't make it through due to money, hopefully he'll get spotted at Oliver's and get some help
Dave, great video as per. IMO:
1) Get Bemsee, NG, EMRA etc to work together to make club racing entries cheaper. Rise of track days has largely fucked club racing.
2) Create a fast, simple 2 stroke class (KTM’s 250sx in a Kramer frame e.g) engines are cheap to refresh / repair / lower power equal less tyre usage.
3) Engage racing clubs and BSB in better social media management: spend more initially to create advertising growth. Its low hanging fruit that most clubs/teams simply are not doing
4) Get fast Brit to winning Motogp, relax while country gets into bikes again.
Can you explain how track days have affected club racing?
Ill repost my reply here as its along similar lines ; THANK YOU I have been HARPING on and on and on for over 20 years that the sport is unsustainable. If you want to survive it NEEDS to be like Motorcross ( or have a class similar, to which you will find it will be, very popular ) EITHER Regulate the costs OR Lower the costs ( materials ) YES you can run trick ohlins and electronics BUT you WILL price yourself out of the market AND the racing is boring ( I can only speak for Japan) Mx, I can stand meters from the track and for 5000 yen ( not a lot ) I get 12 races min and the coffee is cheap ( they even gave away zero alcohol beer last week ) IF it were me, ya run a budget limit. A serious budget limit ( audited by the local auditors ) What u do with that money is up to u. As the teams progress up the ladder the cost of the bike gets factored into the budget.
IMO, I would love to see wsbk take on the same electronics rules as bsb, make wsbk more open and fair, and also open the path for wildcard rides again.... For me the hey day was when hodgen, Byrne etc could go the British round of wsbk and show them the the talent that exists in the UK !!!
Might be waiting a while for number 4 😢 we can dream though
I would have thought that track days would increase the chances of a rider to realise that it's actually a lot cheaper and safer to have a go at racing.
Yes I know there is the extra expense of entry fee's and transport but you're not throwing you're lovely, expensive, road bike down the road.
Great video Dave!
As ever Dave great insight to BSB. It seems there are more riders than available team rides for 25. As you say a lot will depend on who FS3 and Haslam Rokit sign and whether Honda will retain Andrew Irwin so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. As others have said if only I had the money..
Great content!
Great update 😎👍
Richard kerr would be a great shout for your bike.
Cheers Dave great vlog again “mr honest “. So Franco to full Honda replacing Irwin . Irwin to DAO. Storm with you ? Great match , great talents in both engineering and inspiration . Swann would be good he has a good race craft and desire to win shines through . Then 30’s not old why not something that you know wardy , build your data and team around the known ( models change )! Either way keep on keeping on .. thanks A
R6 cup seemed to work quite well at highlighting some raw talent whilst being afforable-ish back in the day. How about a Yamaha R1 cup - stock-ish bike, control tyres and on the telly...?
Yup agree I think something like they have done with the f900 cup or even the sportsbike cup but with an age cap of say 25 let the young guns battle it out.
The thing is from the sidelines or on the telly, a bike travelling 5 seconds a lap slower is not noticeable. So why don't they do what we used to, proddy racing my RD250 was fun and affordable!
Thanks for another great vid. I think the biggest issue with any level of road racing is the cost of tyres, it’s ridiculous, I’m sure the manufacturers could make them last longer.
But then we'd use less 🤣
Apart from brands hatch where else is there to pratice south east on small bikes. We need more large go kart tracks which allow bikes on to bring the talent through
Where did you get to at Brands
Owen jenner has done very well, for me edoardo colombi has to be in with a shout of a big bike of some description
So interesting; we were having the conversation about the cost - even at club level - becoming prohibitive, earlier. With a track day before the weekend it’s 2 extra days off work (or school) and another chunk of money. That seems to be the norm now. Would it be better for clubs to have lower entry fees and packed grids or fewer competitors at current fees? (That’s not to say they’re unreasonable but easier to vary than eg cost of tyres or fuel).
What about padgetts and mossey?
Not sure Padgetts would want to run a sbk again. It was tough when they tried it with Davey
Oh Dave, on another note. What's the best way to remove rust from the inside of a tank?, cheers!
Industrial vinegar
Or tank cure!!
That could be Markus Reiterberger....that would be a nice surprise.
Give it to Wardy, he more than deserves it
Troy Jeffery another great talent…… did a wild card in Superteens this year on a brand new MSS ZX4RR having never seen the bike before in terrible weather conditions and podiumed it twice that weekend.
Ritchie O’Neill too won the Scottish championship up here and the prize was free entry to BSB 2025 Superteens but the kid can’t afford to blow 20k on a new bike…… as you say….. all down to casholla 😢😢
Alfie Davidson, young lad mixing it in the sportsbike class thats a name to keep an eye on.
There's some exciting riders on the sport bike cup, hopefully we'll see some even closer racing at the front next year
I would love to see Storm Stacey get that ride
Owen Jenner……. My rider of the season, well worth promotion and investment and won’t let the team down, slow burner and not a crasher 🏁🏁
Thanks, very interesting indeed. I will say Owen Jenner will be a perfect fit.
Thanks for sharing some interesting goss' on next year's possible runners & riders Dave (AKA Our Man In The Field!). As a 'Real Roadracing' devotee, I'm wondering what the hell Honda's plans are for Deano next season? I appreciate he's no Tommy Bridewell on the 'Blade during this season's BSB, but I don't think subsequently binning him off to ride the 600 was in his best interests (albeit he was still racing & had Jack Kennedy fighting for the Championship). He (Dean) did brilliantly at the TT - despite Honda not delivering the new superbike until very late in the day; and they provided him with a 'stocker to run himself at the Southern 100 (which was predictably no match for the superbikes of Davey Todd & Michael Dunlop). It wouldn't surprise me if Jack Kennedy takes his seat in BSB, so we can but speculate just what the Big H's plans are for Deano (if anything)? Hmmmmmmm...
I'm sure Deano will be on a full brace if honda's at TT and he seems to have enjoyed the 600, a bit nearer the front helps confidence
@@obsession_engineering Cheers Dave. I really hope Dean's with the Big H for another year. A full season of bike(s) development will certainly give him the best chance at adding to his TT wins. A cheeky Superbike at the mighty Southern' would be rather good too. 🤞
Slowly but surely becoming a rich man's game. I race with NG and youre right. A club level weekend is £1500 easy, that's skimping on pretty much everything 😅
Hi Dave, it appears that you're pretty certain Franco isn't going to be riding for you next year, perhaps it will be him riding for the full factory Honda team?. With regards to the superbike, I know that this will piss a lot of people off, but your going to have to reign in the amount of aftermarket parts. Yes, full factory Ohlins forks are the dogs' dangles but hugely expensive. 2mm bigger Brembo discs, astronomical, the list goes on and on. We are just going to have to get used to proper stockers, showroom with exhaust and bodywork only, and full superbikes will have stock forks, rear shock, etc. but reworked with new internals, that's the only way, in my opinion, that racing is going to survive. BUT!, according to the press and the manufacturers themselves, superbikes are no more. No R1, except the real exclusive, no GSXR 1000, soon no ZX10R? , I've an old one of those just like you have now, and you used to race. The BMW is hellishly expensive, and unless you have Toprak riding it, in superbike trim, it's uncompetitive, according to Josh. I'm throwing this out there, what is the answer?, does anyone know?
When Stuart Higgs was on Chasin' The Racin' (think it was then I heard it) he said they had plans for the future of BSB, they were talking about the power of the superbikes and the tracks. Not sure what they'd be but it will be interesting to see.
There's definitely going to be rule changes in the next few years, exactly what I don't know yet unfortunately
What about tj toms with you ?
He has had a very good year!
I'd like to see you guys add a factory honda supported 600rr in supersport as a feed upto the superbike from the likes of talent cup etc that's where the quick lads are going to come from and the faster they get the opportunity of moving upto the bigger bikes the better just look at what they are doing in Spain jumping from moto 3 to superbikes etc
I know it all comes down to budget but it'd be nice to see honda support you more moving forward, also Merch! You need some for sale at the track not just online either way will be cheering you all the way next season
A good stocker is much cheaper to run than a 600,and a better step up towards sbk... But even that is a lot of money!
In ten years time there will only be Spanish and Italian riders in world supers. The UK needs to do more for young riders. Red Bull rookies type championships all over the place. Unfortunately we don't have the weather or infrastructure for it. Basically we need more support for youngsters but as with (let's say for example) women's football ... Less crowd numbers, less money coming in. Someone cleverer than me needs to market a championship for youngsters and make it EXCITING
Deano???
It'd be great working with Deano, but he's staying at honda
@@obsession_engineering SBK or SSP?
Think we need a Franco update soon.
Dave id like to see you have a hand in running BSB. Higgs needs to stand down and go away we need people like you with the right vision and ethos .
I’d love to see Louis Valleley have a step up from NP.
Would like to see Taz Mackenzie on the Honda with Tommy!
Now that would be exciting!
Yeah I reckon andrews out of there. That would open the door.
Is Rollo signed up?
I'd assume he's staying at IN comp as he's a great fit with them
Done a few years with thundersport, and haven't raced since that folded, predominantly due to the ever increasing costs, all coming out of my own pocket. 😔
Maybe current superbike class (bsb and wsbk) should be ditched in favour of superstock. There is very little similarity to stuff you can buy. Currently you can swap suspension for £10k? New swingarms etc, major engine work. Ludicrous money. There's not enough difference from wsbk and motogp. OK you allow €50k homologation specials, but not further upgrades. Another Q is Why did bsb change to slick tyres for current supersport and superbike?
I don't agree with slicks for stock and supersport classes, but seems to have been dictated by pirelli.
Which seems odd the supplier calling the shots.
A full grid of pathway bikes, and reduced spec stockers would be sensible to me
How do you become a millionaire in motorbike racing?
Start as a billionaire 😂
THANK YOU i have been HARPING on and on and on for over 20 years that the sport is unsustainable. If you want to survive it NEEDS to be like Motorcross ( or have a class similar, to which you will find it will be very popular ) EITHER Regulate the costs OR Lower the costs ( materials ) YES you can run trick ohlins and electronics BUT you WILL price yourself out of the market AND the racing is boring ( I can only speak for Japan) Mx, I can stand meters from the track and for 5000 yen ( not a lot ) I get 12 races min and the coffee is cheap ( they even gave away zero alcohol beer last week ) IF it were me, ya run a budget limit. A serious budget limit ( audited by the local auditors ) What u do with that money is up to u. As the teams progress up the ladder the cost of the bike gets factored into the budget.
2025 Rapid Honda move to supersport does that mean NO pathway Superbike team in BSB Dave Franco are doing?? A few teams already leaving the series
We weren't pathway last year!!
And no superbike or Franco for us, just supersport
Brookes to Moto rapido with rapid solicitors returning
Hope Storm gets McAms
Although the f900s are boring to watch, they are 'dad and lad' racing, second hand ones are £7500-£8500, entries are no worse than club racing and they don't eat tyres
Question,
Why can`t the tobacco and alcohol industry sponsor race teams? Any government is willing still to take
tax on them so why no sponsorship deals.
Great video Dave lad thank you.
You're not allowed fag sponsorship anymore, and alcohol and motoring don't go well together unfortunately
Stockers / Superbikes look the same sound the same big money to only be 2 secs a lap quicker I think compromise is needed in the near future .... or the grids will be very small
You should run a second bike and have Storm 😉👍🏻
Then we'd definitely need more money 🤣
Louis 👀
If you want young riders, they will crash more, and cost you more money. If you are on a budget, go for more experienced riders, who are less likely to crash.
Parting ways with franco?
It’d be nice if franco stops next season
Very interesting Dave
Tyres are a major expense and also a major polluter and so simply blackmail the supply chain erm professionally ..
In parliament they call this lobbying nudge ,nudge….
i'am out ! ...must work , have not the fitness ...and for a interview my english isn't very well 🫣 ...
sure it is expensive ...but some video's let us see how small the gap is between racer's and hobby-racer
Josh Brookes to factory honda For bsb and the roads🤔
Can't see that, Josh is probably beyond his prime unfortunately
@@obsession_engineering Just for 1 year Dave 🤔
The issue is Dave. And being dead honest. The budget is ridiculous and essentially companies are paying for guys to do high end hobby. Although talented and great riders, 70-80% of these guys aren't going much further. And what does a company get for dropping £50-100k into a 10-20 position team? A few hospitality passes? They're not getting an increase in profit or custom.
Club is worse. And i've done it myself. Guys begging for companies to pay for them to go and have fun racing a bike. As a business owner now it's madness. I'd get zero return from my investment.
But hasn't it always been like this?
@@deanmsimpson yeah true. But the bills have never been this high. And up until a few years ago. I belive there was a little return from the investment.
There are advantages to sponsorship, and I'm sure Matt can go through them in another vid 😁
Luke Mossey?
Same situation as Wardy, fast but where can we take them on the career path?
You may not be able to take him somewhere, but he could certainly take you further up the grid for a year or two@obsession_engineering
Well doesn't help that they scrapped the stock 600 class instead of working with it in the regs. Not many people can afford a supersport bike and then they introduce a spotbike class thats just as expensive as supersport. In sportbike your still looking at 20k plus to build it now they have allowed tuning etc. Even the 1 make ecu is about 3.5k with the loom and dash. It's just massive jump in costs from the junior classes. As soon as they got rid of stock 600 there was no where for them riders to go without spending fortunes.
The whole... 600 class is dead argument etc and it's only R6s anyways was just a cop out from the organiser so they could sell more of there solo engineering gear.
Most classes end up dominated by 1 make of bike. Just look at stock 1000 this year. Mostly hondas, next year will probably only be Honda and a couple BMs.
You do make some very good points, can't argue with them.
I do like the sport bike class though, even if it's become more expensive than it should have been
Give Kam Dixon a ride
He's got some speed this year, definitely pinged the radar
👍🏻🇨🇦
We all know that some riders put a real effort into showing themselves at contract time. This year's standouts are Andy Irwin and Josh Brookes. They've both suddenly appeared at the front and are giving interviews like Z list celebs. And surprise, surprise it looks like they've succeeded in keeping or getting new deals for 2025. What I've noticed about both, is they can't keep it up. They run around at the front - get in the way for a few laps and then drop down the order.
I expect we'll see much the same from them next year.
OMG 'Garilla' Yamaha, 🤔
When you've got a passion for bike racing it's hard to understand how much duller (no disrespect intended) spectator sports have no trouble getting loads of sponsorship. I can't help but feel bike racing (and bike in general) needs a big injection of publicity to get people back into it. I'm not sure if anybody wants to take the financial plunge sadly. Failing that you could drop Thomas Tuchel an email, I heard he's doing OK.
Get Scott swan on that Superbike. You won’t be able to sign him after next year.
The old saying " how to make a small fortune out of racing motorbikes 🤔 start with a BIG one 😂 ,
Maybe Mr Palmer can start paying some win money out of his bank account rather than just giving away a a cheap plated trophy.
Race success does not sell more superbikes sadly as that market has shrunk, mostly due to cost and the unfriendly nature of the beast. Motorcycle Dealers are not making enough money anymore to support the grids, it's as much as they can do to support guys at club level or real roads racing. The industry is up crap creek and the costs for circuit hire (MSVillans) is prohibitive. Get rid of the superbike class altogether and run restricted production based models without loads of electronics. Its far to complicated, as you well know and the support needed is lacking. Lets not make bike racing like F1 cars, its boring!
Jonathan Palmer only cares about lining his pockets.