2012 sees one hour of Thundersport GB action per-event exclusive to Motors TV.

Riders in Morello GP1, Doodsons Supertwins, RLR 600 Sportsman Elite and the new-for-2012 RST Golden Era Superbikes class tackle in 9 rounds of top-draw racing up and down the country. The series pulls riders from England, Scotland, the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Channel Isles and the European Continent to do battle when the red lights go out!

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the Honda Fireblade, the bike that arguably signalled the beginning of the end for true 750cc Superbikes. Do you remember back when the sharpest blade in the box was a Yamaha YZF750, a Kawasaki ZX7RR, Suzuki GSXR750 SRAD, a Honda RC45 or even a beautiful little Ducati 916?

None of these were particularly good road bikes, but when you stripped the clunky and ugly detritus off of them and they stood there in their race-prepped glory, just waiting to be spanked around the track, their true purpose was revealed.

At world level they were seemingly ridden by a highly talented and committed bunch of axe wielding maniacs and the racing was simply fantastic. The appeal of Superbikes was infectious and spread far beyond motorcycle fans.

Indeed it was the very popularity of Superbike racing in the 1990s that brought about the ‘born again biker’ phenomenon. In the UK market Grand Prix were in decline with a low point of just 6 works bikes on the premier class grid and a crowd figure reputed to be less than 10,000 for the British Grand Prix. Superbike racing was where it was at and the crowds flocked to both Donington Park and Brands Hatch to watch Scott Russell, Giancarlo Fallapa, Yasutomo Nagai, Colin Edwards, Aaron Slight, Carl Fogarty, Anthony Gobert and a host of other riders who didn’t complain about a bit of fairing bashing. They actually expected it - and so did the fans!

Traction control? No. Fancy electronics? Err, no. Great racing? Oh yes!

Watching old footage from Hockenheim in 1995 got us thinking about what had happened to all of those fantastic bikes, and all the others that were ridden at around the same time from clubmans events at Darley Moor & Lydden Hill through nationals at Brands Hatch and Donington Park, to international meetings like Daytona (back when it was a real Superbike race). A few calls and e-mails later we had the answer: they’re still out there but there isn’t seen to be a dedicated and attractive race series that they can be competitive in.

As such the bikes are very underpriced for what they are. A quick Google and eBay foray found no less than 7 Kawasaki ZX7Rs, 5 Suzuki GSXR750SRADs and a smattering of other suitable bikes all for under £2000. The Hondas and Ducatis were more expensive, but then again they were at the time and we found one lovely 996R Ducati that still gave enough change from £5,000 to buy a decent set of tyre warmers.

For me this looked like just the thing I’d been looking for: a budget priced championship where the bikes looked anything but budget. The only thing needed was a simple set of rules that would be designed to keep the costs controllable and allow in specific bike models and years that fitted the spirit and ethos of the class.

“Golden Era Superbikes” will compete for the duration of the 2012 season within the Thundersport GB Championships, running to pretty much the old WSB formula of 750cc 4 cylinder bikes and up to 1000cc twins and triples with a few tweeks to help keep it cost effective. To simplify it a model list of eligible motorcycles will be issued to include all of the following machines:

• Ducati 888 all models (926 & 955 kit permitted)
• Kawasaki ZXR750 all model years (840 kit permitted)
• Yamaha OW01 all model years (840 kit permitted)
• Suzuki GSXR 750 SRAD all model years
• Honda RC30 all model years (810cc kit permitted)
• Kawasaki ZX7R and RR all model years
• Yamaha YZF 750 all model years
• Yamaha OW02 R7 both model years
• Honda RC45 all model years
• Ducati 916 all model years
• Ducati 996 all model years inc 996R
• Aprilia RSV Mille & Mille R up to 2003
• Suzuki TL1000S & TL1000R up to 2003
• Honda VTR 1000 SP1
• Triumph T595 up to 2001
• MV Augusta F4 750 Oro & S models to 2002

The Isle of Man TT Races will this year feature a lightweight class called Supertwins, which is broadly similar to Thundersport GB’s 2011 GP2 category. To keep things as simple as possible we have now re-branded our class as Supertwins for 2012 and it will continue to contain a Minitwin Cup for those competitors who wish to run their bikes in un-tuned guise. We think this class now has enormous potential, given the level of international coverage afforded to the TT.

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Thundersport Naked

Stimulating elbow rubbing action where you can see top European riders on motorcycles naked - that is, without fairings and flat handlebars race - at breakneck speeds. These productions, exclusive to Motors TV, contest 9 rounds at premier circuits all over Britain.

HEL Performance Streetfighter racing has captured the imagination of the biker fraternity as more and more make the switch to this machinery on the roads. Bridgestone Thundersport 500 champions a truly budget form of racing, with strict rules that make competition closer and affordable for youngsters to progess through the ranks and get noticed, while their older compatriates try to give them a run for their money!

The Thundersport GB HEL Performance Streetfighters has grown from a fairly off the wall concept when first introduced in 2008, to one of the most successful series for ‘naked’ bikes anywhere in the world. Others have tried to imitate it, but there is just something about this grid that attracts an eclectic mix of people and machinery and that in itself creates something very special that just works.

Bridgestone Thundersport 500: Ever since Leon Haslam and James Toseland burst onto the scene via the old Honda CB500 Cup (as the class was then known), these humble ex-commuter parallel twins have been producing some fantastic racing at a lower cost than any other series in the UK.

Bridgestone Tyres are once again providing the race rubber as the control product at absolute bargain basement prices and this highlights both Bridgestone and Thundersport GB's commitment to keeping this very important part of racers' budgets as low as possible.

New for 2012, Bridgestone will also be providing over £1,500 worth of prize tyres for the championship in the form of “Rider of the Day” awards to be given out at each event.
LMB London have also committed to providing end of season awards of £1,500 worth of entries to any Thundersport GB 2013 class for the winner of the main championship as well as £500 worth of entries for the winner of the Thundersport 500 Novice Cup. (these may be used for testing or racing)

These great little bikes can be picked up as a full race package for less than £1,000 and can be run all season on a budget that wouldn’t even buy you a pair of grandstand tickets to the British Grand Prix as a spectator.

And all of this is available for your enjoyment - only on Motors TV!

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Website: www.thundersportgb.com