What Is Supermono?

Click HERE for history, advice and guidance to Supermono racing (Word Document)

What’s that all about?

Single cylinder racing is a interesting and unique class of motorcycle road racing. It is one of the purest forms of racing and the simplest rules.

The essence of the rules are that the bike should be powered by a single cylinder 4-stroke engine (either air or water-cooled) and that the bike should weigh more than 95kg. That’s it! 

This allows an enormous amount of scope and flexibility with regard to bike design. It is therefore the perfect class for someone with engineering tendencies, or those keen to try new and innovative technologies.

The class contains bikes at one end of the spectrum, literally bristling with new technology, and at the other, home-built bikes that run well-tried and tested materials. Costs clearly reflect this! 

The bikes themselves fall into 2 broad classes – the classic Supermono which is based on 250-sized GP race bikes and the minimono that is 125-sized. 

In the UK, the series is run by the British Supermono Association (BSA) at various tracks around the country. There is also a healthy European Supermono Association (ESA) that runs a European series, at some of the continents most famous circuits including tracks such as Assen and Spa. There is usually at least one UK round as part of this series which can overlap as a national round too.  Both race series are typically run over 8 to 12 rounds.

In the UK, a typical race weekend will consist of 2 practice sessions on the Saturday morning, one un-timed and the second session timed. The race is normally the first after the lunch break and is over 25 miles, as a standard race distance. The Sunday race is at the same time and there is normally an un-timed practice session in the morning. There is of course the opportunity to enter other race classes – typically the “sound of thunder” twins race.

How do I get started?

The first step to racing is obviously to get a racing licence. This process is well covered by the ACU who are the governing body for motorcycle sport in the UK. Full details on how to do this can be found on their web-site (http://www.acu.org.uk/) or by contacting them directly on 01788 566 400.

Assuming the racing licence is all sorted out, the next step is to join either the BSA if you want to race in the UK or the ESA if you want to race in Europe. Each Association administer their respective series’, including processing of race entries.

For BSA membership details contact Rob Whitworth on rob.whitworth@ntlworld.com or 07759398410

For the ESA, contact Evert Van den Beek. (evert.vandebeek@12move.nl)

Once this is sorted out, the next step is to source a bike. This, of course, is where it gets very interesting. There are numerous choices. First of all one can buy a bike that already exists. These can often be found on the “For Sale” section of this website. The class is quite close–knit and it is normally fairly easy to get a reliable history on the machine. Prices vary considerably depending on the bikes history and specification, as you would expect. Bargains can be still be found or negotiated.

Another option is to build your own. You can either start with a standard manufacturers racing frame and try and make an engine and running gear fit – the harder alternative? You could simply use a road-based single cylinder as your starting point although this is compromised slightly towards the road and less to the race-track.

Perhaps an easier option is to pick your motor and running gear and have a frame built to accommodate them. A leading frame maker and source of advice on this is Dave Pearce at Tigcraft. (info@tigcraft.com) This route is probably the favoured options for many riders wanting to build their own bike. Another source of advice and practical help on this is Jeff Claridge of Team Psyclo, who has recently built a lovely (and very successful) minimono. (http://www.psyclo.co.uk)

Finally we have had a lot of enquiries about the possibility of renting or leasing a bike. There currently is not anything available through this route, but it is something that the BSA organising committee is looking at, and talking to Dave Pearce of Tigcraft about. If there are any developments on this front they will appear straightaway on the Association’s website (www.supermono.co.uk).

Other good things about Supermono racing

It is probably the only class that has such a variety of racing machines. It is an incredibly friendly and tight-knit class and so there is a huge amount of help and support available, both at race meetings and in between. There is great scope for a young rider to learn about bike technology, development and set-up; not something that is so easily found in typical “turn-key” racing.

Conclusion

I hope this summary is some help in deciding whether Supermono racing is for you. There is no doubt that the more people racing, in any class, the more fun there is to be had. Supermono racing is a lot of fun.  We are always looking for “new blood” and hope you might think of joining.

If you want to know any more, please ask!

Andrew McCombe (BSA Chairman)

email – Amcco79794@aol.com