Friday February 26, 2010 at 10:33am
THE future of British Supermoto racing has been given a boost with the announcement that Norasport and the ACU have a signed a five-year agreement for Norasport to run Supermoto championships that are sanctioned by the ACU.
Although the proposed merger had been announced a number of weeks ago it has taken a lot of effort behind the scenes to ratify all the technical issues that are crucial to an agreement that see two permit issuing authorities come together. Clarifying points around insurance cover is a long winded and tedious affair but critical to the protection of riders and officials and therefore needed to be dealt with in a very detailed manner. This has caused the recent delay in announcing details and both bodies would like to express their thanks for the patience of riders and sponsors.
With the agreement covering an initial five-year period but with the intention of both parties that this will be a permanent state of affairs the benefit to competitors is immediately obvious. With a stable platform now in place riders, teams and sponsors can now plan and invest in a sport that has a secure and tenable future.
The current Norasport National Championships will now be recognised by the ACU and the FIM. This will give riders of different abilities an official championship to chase and a programme that will differentiate between capacity classes - the cornerstones of the new series. The existing Norasport calendar will remain un-changed, with the first date at Rowrah being a non-championship round the series will kick of in earnest at the three day Easter meeting at Three Sisters Wigan. Details of all the championship classes will be released shortly on both the Norasport and British Championship websites.
Norasport supremo Toby Taylor commented immediately after signing the historic agreement: “I’m really happy with the outcome of our negotiations and it is an honour for Norasport to be given the backing of the governing body of motorcycle sport in the UK. It is also a reflection of the excellent job done by our small but dedicated band of volunteers that work so hard behind the scenes. I would also like to thank Frank Carter and Gary Thompson at the ACU for all their efforts in helping make this happen.”
David Dearden, ACU Supermoto liaison officer added: “It is a great result for Supermoto; this long term agreement has benefits for all riders, whether a first time novice or an aspiring World Champion, all abilities will be catered for. Riders should not underestimate the work that has gone in from both sides to make this happen. It is really encouraging that (often perceived) rivalries have been put to one side for the good of the sport.”
For further information or to download licence forms and entry forms please visit.
www.norasport.com
www.britishsupermoto.net
www.acu.org.uk