I really hope this is a April fool joke...

[Bustaspoke]

OMG withdrawing from BSB...
https://bikesportnews.com/british-super ... mpionship/

[Yorick]

Blimey !!

[Bigyin]

Doesn’t seem to be unless they are going really big on the gag as it was announced late in the day and also affects the WTF road racing branch for the TT

I do wonder how much the loss of free to view in the UK with BSB going from Eurosport to pay channel TNT has hit the sponsorship opportunities and sponsors have got cold feet

FHO bailed early leaving 2 riders in the wind but seem to have secured rides with a team full of ex FHO employees. ( cynical me says they knew of the lack of sponsor visibility early through Higgs relationship)

Now OMG bail and leave the reigning champ, the former champ and a good up and coming rider without a ride

[Yorick]

A few reports are blaming the lack of prize money and the greed of the tracks and organisers.

[weeksy]

A few reports are blaming the lack of prize money and the greed of the tracks and organisers.

Welcome to the world of 2025...(and before).

I was reading about a GB Athlete yesterday who was picked to race the World Champs, but has to pay £1100 'entry' then find the flights etc themselves. I kinda understand the flights... but the entry to British Athletics, seems very wrong

It's just how the world is now, nothing is for free and people have less to spend as well.

Think about how much a fast team spends even just on tyres in a weekend, it must be £3000+

[Cousin Jack]

Time to go back to the old model of motorsport?

Top tier with professionals but VERY limited budgets.
Second tier with semi-professionals and top amateurs, with bits and bobs of sponsorship.
And then 3rd tier masses of hobby racers, often with home built specials.

More of it, much cheaper, and a lot more fun.

[Yorick]

A few reports are blaming the lack of prize money and the greed of the tracks and organisers.

Welcome to the world of 2025...(and before).

I was reading about a GB Athlete yesterday who was picked to race the World Champs, but has to pay £1100 'entry' then find the flights etc themselves. I kinda understand the flights... but the entry to British Athletics, seems very wrong

I saw that and it made me sick. The staff at GB Athletics have one job to do. Get folk competing, They consumed so much money they can't do that. They should be ashamed.

[Yorick]

From FB and hits nail on head

When the prize money went out of British Motorcycle Racing it showed the greed of the organisers and circuit owners.
The days of a working class rider making it on merit like the old days in the 80s winning decent prize money and making it up to the international level are over.
You need a rich dad, fancy moterhome, and to suck up to the organisers, who charge for a full series entry, want to sell you your petrol at inflated prices and expect you to entertain the large entry paying crowds at your own expense.
Ian Simpson would never have made it to win the double British Superbike/ Superbike championship without the prize money.

[mangocrazy]

A farmer had fallen into poverty. He had been rich, having inherited the farm and many possessions, but sold them all to avoid having to work. Now he only has one goose, which he plans also to sell.

However, the goose lays a golden egg, which the farmer is able to sell for a lot of money.

Further golden eggs follow, and the farmer becomes rich again. Consumed with greed, the farmer wants to get all the golden eggs at once, and cuts the goose open to get at them. There are no eggs there, and now that the goose is dead, no more eggs to come.

Substitute Jonathan Palmer for the Farmer (it even rhymes) and British Motorcycle Racing for the Goose and you have a pretty accurate analogy.

[Count Steer]

Selling everything to payTV is probably short-sighted too.

Make a quick killing, then watch the fan base dwindle. I suppose it sort of works for F1 (and other things) because countries pay a lot of $ to stage it but the gaps in the crowds at some races tells the story. 'This is a TV sportswashing event, we could do it just the same with a CGI crowd and an empty venue'.

Works for a while.

[Skub]

Alan Gardner was on facebonk earlier this year complaining about his account being suspended and losing sponsors as a result.

[weeksy]

Selling everything to payTV is probably short-sighted too.

Make a quick killing, then watch the fan base dwindle. I suppose it sort of works for F1 (and other things) because countries pay a lot of $ to stage it but the gaps in the crowds at some races tells the story. 'This is a TV sportswashing event, we could do it just the same with a CGI crowd and an empty venue'.

Works for a while.

That wasn't BSB though, or WSBK or any of them, that was Eurosport and the closure/selling/whatever of that. It's not like BSB were alone in this, many many sports are being hit exactly the same way.

[Count Steer]

Selling everything to payTV is probably short-sighted too.

Make a quick killing, then watch the fan base dwindle. I suppose it sort of works for F1 (and other things) because countries pay a lot of $ to stage it but the gaps in the crowds at some races tells the story. 'This is a TV sportswashing event, we could do it just the same with a CGI crowd and an empty venue'.

Works for a while.

That wasn't BSB though, or WSBK or any of them, that was Eurosport and the closure/selling/whatever of that. It's not like BSB were alone in this, many many sports are being hit exactly the same way.

Yup. I was really making a general observation on the way sport as a whole is going.

[Tricky]

Very minor update of sorts from Dom- for anyone that doesn't know, he and James Hillier are the WTF Racingteam riders, which was the OMG funded road (ie TT, NW etc) team.



The main rumour of the cause that I've heard is that it was LKQ (the owner of EuroCarParts, GSF, Michael Page etc etc) pulling their 2025 sponsorship funding that has caused the OMG collapse, albeit looking at OMG's last accounts , I'm not sure that's the whole story.

Whatever, it's a sad situation IMO- maybe Lewis Hamilton will step in and pick it up, I can see potential big positives for all sides in that scenario.....

[KungFooBob]

...and they're back.

https://www.britishsuperbike.com/news/2 ... ence-is-on

I believe Brad Ray has signed a deal with Raceways Yamaha tho'

[Bustaspoke]

Yes,Brad Ray's back with Raceways https://bikesportnews.com/british-super ... -rumoured/
Also on the roads,Team WTF rider James Hillier is back at the TT on a 600 supersport for Bournemouth Kawasaki

[KungFooBob]

One saved, another out...

https://www.crash.net/bsb/news/1067961/ ... superbikes

[Tricky]

Update from the man himself- I haven't watched it yet (it's the usual CTR 2-ish hr length), but have plenty more Bandit and Tuono fettling to be done so will whack it on in the garage later today

[Bustaspoke]

I ussed to listen to CTR every week but there's only so much of Herbertson that I can listen to & I hit the limit after Chrissie Rouse got killed,no doubt Alan Gardner will appear on the Off Track podcast sooon.
I notice that Alan Gardner is also the co-founder of Kove moto UK,should be interesting watching that project progress in the paddock.

[Tricky]

I ussed to listen to CTR every week but there's only so much of Herbertson that I can listen to & I hit the limit after Chrissie Rouse got killed,no doubt Alan Gardner will appear on the Off Track podcast sooon.
I notice that Alan Gardner is also the co-founder of Kove moto UK,should be interesting watching that project progress in the paddock.

Yup, know what you mean about Dom, but he does get a lot of interesting (to me ) people on there talking at length , and although I never really sit in front of a screen and watch them, I subscribe and often have them on in the garage in the background and listen whilst I'm fettling.

And RE Kove, yup, Gardner/ OMG has his fingers in a fair few pies- there was a fair bit of talk about the Kove Sportbike in the commentary on the BSB tests a couple days ago- as far as I could gather, it's pretty down on power at the moment and the showing it gave (which by the end was a very respectable 6th or 7th fastest I think) was flattered by Casey Gorman's ability