BRAKING NEWS

Sporty nakeds to support BSB, £25k off new Brough and Lego.

Imagine 30 sporty nakeds – Street Triples, KTM 890s, Yamaha MT-09S etc – racing round Cadwell as a support race for BSB. Gaggles of young hotshots would ight it out, looking to make a name for themselves in front of BSB chiefs and big crowds. It could be utterly stupendous.

Which is why BSB director Stuart Higgs is seriously considering the idea. ‘It’s an exploratory project,’ he tells Bike, ‘and I’m aware the most important thing in the world at the moment isn’t a new motorbike race. But we’re talking to manufacturers, because it’s a genre of motorcycles that are important to the motorcycle industry yet there isn’t a sporting platform for them. ‘That sector is particularly interesting because at the last count there were nine manufacturers with suitable bikes – more than for any other category,’ says Higgs. ‘And manufacturers such as KTM and Triumph don’t have any bikes that are directly compatible with any race classes.’ The reaction has been largely positive: ‘Some people will say it’s gimmicky, but others said it’s exactly what’s needed – a throwback to the 1970s and ’80s superbike formula when you had high barred naked bikes. One manufacturer said they would prefer a one-make series, so there’s a range of options – maybe a grid mostly made up of regular riders, with a few wildcard heroes thrown in. We’re keeping an open mind.’ Bring it on.