Thunder goes back to the future

From Professional Motorsports Productions

TORONTO, ON – The Canadian Thunder class of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship has altered its rules structure, returning to the weight to horsepower sliding scale it used from 2005 to 2007.

The new format will take effect with the next round of the series, the doubleheader at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, N.S. Aug. 8-10.

The change was agreed to following the most recent events at Mosport International Raceway after a meeting between representatives of the four manufacturers involved in the class, BMW Motorrad Canada, Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, Ducati Canada and KTM Canada.

Bikes competing in the Canadian Thunder class will now be allowed one horsepower for every 3.2 pounds of weight.

“I think this is a move in the right direction; I think this will be good for all of our brands,” said Chris Duff, marketing manager with BMW Motorrad Canada. “We’re all looking forward to bringing back the exciting and close racing this class was noted for.”

The NCR-Ducati 848s of Valter Bartolini and Andrew Nelson have split the first four races of the season between them and the pair leads the Thunder standings.

“When we adopted our new rules during the off-season, all these bikes were new and we were basing our decisions off manufacturer spec sheets,” Duff said. “We had an agreement in place to review things after the third or fourth round. By that point we had sufficient data to see where the various bikes’ strengths and weaknesses lay.”

Duff said the 3.2:1 weight to horsepower ratio corresponds very closely to what the NCR-Ducati 848s have managed this season.

“The Ducatis will still be allowed to run essentially as they are,” Duff said. “They are not being penalized. And hats off to them for providing the data we needed to come up with this ratio.”

Rules in the Sport Twins class are unchanged, with a minimum weight of 370 pounds and maximum horsepower of 95hp for air-cooled bikes and 90hp for liquid-cooled motorcycles.