Thundersport GB

8 Wheeler at Mallory - photo PLJ

In the handling department the spirit of 250GP bikes certainly remains very much alive here.

Connor Tagg & Will Hodgson - photo PLJ

Technically, the singles are more advanced and can be tuned and they also benefit from being able to run slick tyres and being lighter than the twins. Direct from information gathered by the technical officers at round one it appears that the average single is 55bhp & 106kg, giving a power to weight ratio of 0.51bhp per kilo and the twins are 58bhp & 123kg, giving a power to weight ratio of 0.47bhp per kilo. From that it would appear to be a 'no brainer' that either of the singles would be the automatic choice, but that doesn't take into account the differences in power delivery and it appears that the 3 slow corners at Mallory Park favoured the twins ability to spin up the revs faster. The front row was headed by a Yamaha after qualifying, but the Aprilias managed to get the holeshot in every race and gradually eased away in a fashion often seen in 125GP races where a group of bikes working together can ease away from the rest of the field.

It will be fascinating to see how things pan out over the course of the season as we visit 8 very different circuits across the country. 

NEW FOR 2010

Having now taken on the ACU Supermono Championship, we now have a natural home for these lovely little bikes and with the RRV450s coming on stream the field looks set to be packed. All Moto450 machines (Singles and Twins) will not only score points in their own Moto450 Championship, but will also score points in the main Supermono Championship too. This is what has been really needed as racing against SV650s and F400 machines does not allow the Moto450s to take advantage of their superior cornering speeds and very short braking distances. Jeremy McWilliams was absolutely amazed at the overall handling and performance when he tested the Aprilia Moto450 RRV in Almeria recently and said that 10 minutes in the saddle of one of these machines would be enough to silence even the harshest of critics.  

This is a Yamaha WR450 in its natural state next to a fully clothed Moto450 in Bill Smith Racing bodywork. Everyone who looks at www.450moto.com is surprised by how good these bikes look after they are made over and at a price you can’t argue with.

The ACU Road Race Committee have agreed that these are an excellent machine for young riders to move onto also and have agreed a starting age of just 15 years old to compete on them.

With such a short build time and the benefit of being able to use the same machine for off road activities in the closed season (nothing is irreversibly changed during the transformation) the value for money aspect cannot be argued with. The technical regulations have capped the power at 65bhp, but realistically these machines will be competing with a good reliable 54-62 bhp and should produce top quality racing for participants and the fans alike.