The Place

Very factual post , and a good insight into your TT experience . Congrats on your lap times . I'd be brooodily proud of those if i was you .

On a side note do you have shares in motec ?

It doesnt matter what logger you use most of em do the same but you still need an ecu to control it so why not have them all built in seems to make sense to me
Eddy what is this system your on about ????Name etc

* €17,250 registration deposit for each rider in the team
* €70,000 (Suter) – €145,000 (RSV) for the Moto2 race bike sans motor
* €90,000 to lease and maintain the Honda 600cc quasi-prototype motor, adding on a €20,000 bond if a team believes the motor is not within spec, which is forfeited if the motor is determined to be in proper tune
* €400,000 maintenance costs and mechanic salaries for the Moto2 bike for the season (Suter states you can purchase and maintain their bike for €400k/season)
* €90,000 in engine leasing and maintenance costs per season
* €40,000 for Dunlop tires: 12 tires per weekend, 204 tires for the season
* €3,500 for a 2D datalogger, which is used on all of the bikes

MOTO 2 CHEAP ITS NOT THE DATALOGGER THAT YOUD NEED TO WORRY ABOUT BY THE LOOKS OF IT

Just shows Dean,that we are in a very different world to the solo boys, at that level anyway.

Which makes it all the more incredible that people can't see what a bargain we are as sponsored teams... the costs of a sidecar team compared to even the lower reaches of solo national competition is peanuts. We need a marketing strategy!
We need an overal "Sidecar" marketing plan, and then individual plans would slot in... the big problem is... the person/organisation which does this then takes over... eg Dorna etc... that's how they do it. There's always a price to pay.

Dorna NOOOOOOOOOO Remember that they did not wany us anyway so ******** to 'em

Totally agree... just pointing out what happens, but it's a bit of a vicious circle, really...
no marketing=no sponsorship=no sidecars, but...
marketing = sponsor control= not our class any more
What's the answer?

Answer - endeavour to find a 'benevolent' sponsor, i.e. one for the love of the sport and not pure greed an control. If I think back to the 'Dark Ages' it could well have been the ACU No chance now I suppose

How about approaching the ACU's official insurers, they must make a substantial buck annually from racing Seem to recall that Bowrings were there insurers at one time and supported some sort of racing

Monster, Dark Dog (little known in UK I believe), Arkells ...

Yoko, Avon, Oil companies large and small (suspect BP might not be interested!)

Arai, Shoei, Dainese etc

Steam Racket

Just food for thought ...



Where's me beret and Chardonnay de Bergerac ...

well heres my bit.....i was a newcomer this year.....i did 101.5mph with a worn stock EBAY engine and a stock USA ecu(not hrc) and 102.763mph with the same ecu but an engine with light head work and cams.....this was on a 10 year old bike and with a passenger that has only been on my bike 2 weeks earlier at a one day meet(both times are from a standing start)i didnt find this hard to achieve and had i not have missed the last race am sure i could have gone faster...........................................BUT...
this was all only possible because i did my ''homework'' and set on learning the track....and because i had great help and surport from others.....we need to get teams to the island before the tt to help reduce accidents and we also need to look at cost .....the cost for travel is the biggest cause for the spectators not coming im sure of that but it hurts us too...the solo teams get £500 travel allowance...we get £600...but there are twice the numbers in a sidecar crew....if the allowance was double that of a solo then at least it may cover the ferry cost(or most of it)....fuel for the competetors should be reduced....say half the price.......all tt competetors should be able to go to an allowcated fuel station and with their tt course liscence get the fuel with out such heavy tax.....lastly the money paid to a few teams for just turning up because their names are famous is a joke...they should come as we all do because we want to be there....the money should be put towards the riders and teams that race and finish races(even to the last place riders...)....that way the 2/3 weeks we all take off work isnt so painfull when we get back home........just these few simple things would make a huge difference to most normal everyday teams....

by the way tt2010...it was as amazing a time as i dreamed it ever would have been...cant wait to do it again,,,,,,what a rush

Belly wrote:Also why do people take three weeks off work, the sidecar event only lasts a week and a half??

Just guessing - but probably something to do with availability of ferry space (at the right times) to some extent - also the limited paddock space means that as the number of people with 40 ft trucks & marquees has increased over the years - so the amount of space for all the "other" people has become less - so if you don't get there early enough - maybe there will be nowhere to pitch camp - or it will be a bit further from the "action" than you would like...

tufty113 wrote:all tt competetors should be able to go to an allowcated fuel station and with their tt course liscence get the fuel with out such heavy tax.....

I'm pretty sure when I did my first few TTs on a solo - that we were given fuel vouchers - think it was a discount when you went to get fuel...(although my memory might be playing tricks )

by the way tt2010...it was as amazing a time as i dreamed it ever would have been...cant wait to do it again,,,,,,what a rush

Glad you enjoyed it

tufty113 wrote:the money should be put towards the riders and teams that race and finish races(even to the last place riders...).

Be fair Matt, Someone racing on a shoestring budget may have put all his/her effort into getting over and competing and may have a fortnight of bad luck and not finished, you were fortunate this year to finish but would you have expected nothing, if you had not finished either race? you should ALL get decent money, after all you are not just racing but entertaining the fans, so being in the entertainment business you should be paid accordingly.

well i do think that you should only get extra money for the laps you do in the races .....that way we all still make the effort in the races....yes i know i finished and thats half the luck of it ....but its better to all those that compete than a cheque to a few that just turn up no matter what their out come....possibly moneys awarded to all that start the race and for every lap they do as well as travel allowances.....say £50 for the first lap and £75 for the second and £125 the third(this is for sidecars not solos...solos do more laps so it may be different for them).....thats an extra £500 a team for their efforts if they do both races and finish all 6 laps.....if they double the travel allowance then thats a possible £1500 a team...thats a lot of money for most teams and will go a long way......

as for the fans ...well make the ferry cheaper and im sure more will come by their own accord......

Just to drop this in, mayb a little of topic (sorry steve) but the Manx Grand Prix has NO prize money NO appearance money NO ferry help, NOTHING AT ALL (apart from the joys of racing) do they get people there, yes more an more every year, the only classes that are dwindling are the 125/250... The only thing i have heard this year is that they have put the entry fee up to £300+ per race, (due to the rising cost of insurance i think)..... Dan normally does 3/4 races but this year he only doing 2, mainly due to bike's but have to admit £1200+ for a race entry is a bit steep, although we don't have to pay ferry cost ect, but those that do pay entry's, parts for bikes, tyres, fuel ect but yet everybody walks away with nothing, apart from their own personal achievement!!!!!
Talking of entry's i cant remember what the entry fee was for the TT, £1000??..
The point i am trying to make is regardless of this that an the other, when it comes down to, everbody does it because they love it and everybody will come no matter what, an those that don't do it for what ever reason always help those that do do it the best way they can.
Do we think that the recession has a big part to play in this year, i think someone before has asked do we know what caused the dnf's during the races this yr?

Was something not decided at TT regarding the standard engine thing or was that just a meeting?
Something does have to happen or i am thinking sidecars may be moved or scrapped completely.... not what any1 wants at all.
Sorry if i have offended anybody xxxx

Thanks Hayley. The Manx is different. Nobody is paid to ride there its done for fun as you say. They also dont run sidecars and never have as far as I know.

I am hearing that may b an option soon if things dont improve.
Is there any way you guy could arrange a meeting with the powers that be, an express EVERYTHING that has been discussed on here, everybody in 1 room all together at 1 time (or was that the point of the meeting at TT)

Hayley,the sidecars at the manx!,thats just what the organisers deepdown want.that leaves extra track time for the road bikes to practice at the TT,would make the manufacturers happy,and Wayne Gardner,To55er !,probably wouldnt be a bad idea(dont shot me,my opinion).
your right about haveing to pay for the Manx,but at least its an equal playing field,i think the ferris are cheaper and not inflatted like TT time,and the weather is probably better at Manx gp time