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2019 Concours de Competition at Barber June 29th

Discussion in 'General' started by Mongo, Feb 20, 2019.

  1. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    CONCOURS DE COMPETITION JUNE 29, 2019

    WERA Motorcycle Roadracing working with the Barber Museum will present a new event to return some of the vintage race bikes to the track again for their members and the public to enjoy. The event will be the Inaugural Concours d’Competition Classic on June 29th hosted at the Barber Motorsports Park. To get into the Concours judging round the contestants must first have made several laps at speed on the track. The winning bikes will be judged on a combination of preservation, track performance and educational exhibits.

    WERA Motorcycle Roadracing has been a premier provider of racing and rider schools for over four decades. The list of national and world champions who have come up through the program is impressive. WERA’s reach to all levels, amateur as well as professional, has made them the grass roots leader and making road racing available to all with a dream.

    Evelyne Clarke, CEO/Owner of WERA said, “From their earliest years in the 1970s we have always had classes available for “vintage” bikes to preserve the heritage of the sport. Of course, those “new” bikes back then now run in our vintage classes. This is a chance to get the bikes that are the history of our organization back out on the track for our current members and the public to enjoy again and see the history of this port.”

    Jeff Ray, Executive Director of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum added, “One of the guiding principles Mr Barber set when founding the museum was that the bikes displayed had to be capable of running. These machines were not meant just to be static displays of engineering art, but rather were to be seen and heard as they were designed. There is a reason the galleries overlook a world class race track.”

    Brian Slark, Restoration Specialist at the Museum, will serve as the Chief Judge. This event will feature the bikes that raced from the late 1950's up to 1989. Essentially any bike which is eligible to compete in any of WERA’s 250GP-500GP classes or V1-V6 could enter the Concours d.Competition. The Concours will be limited to 30 entries to provide adequate track time and safety. The event will be by invitation only. There will be a concurrent Concours d’Elegance for vintage road racing bikes up to 1989 which will be located together but these will not go out on the track. The Museum is designing and making unique trophies for the winners of both Concours. For more information on how to secure an invitation see the WERA.com Forum under the 2019 Concours Thread.


    Barber Trophy Design Element.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2019
    j cal, 50Joe, Banditracer and 2 others like this.
  2. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    Ron Raven is the force behind all of this and will be posting more details soon so be patient :D
     
    50Joe, CharlieY and mastermind like this.
  3. Can-am

    Can-am Well-Known Member

    Concours d’Competition FAQ

    When and where will the concours be presented? The event will be part of the WERA race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday June 29, 2019

    How will the concours operate? There will be two concours run: a concours d’ competition (go class) for on track laps as well as display and a concours d’ elegance (show class) for static display. Once a participant has be accepted into the “go” classes they will also be given the opportunity to enter the “show” class.

    How will the track time on for the “go” class operate? WERA will conduct the sessions and tech inspection for the “go” class as they do for the regular vintage competition classes. Riders of the concours machines must have AMA membership and license with a racing organization WERA recognizes. WERA will have the final authority over issues related to safety per their technical standards, rider licenses and everything related to the on-track portion of the event. WERA will register the participants (once accepted by museum) in its normal manner.

    How much track time will the “go” class have? WERA will give the concours participants 2 fifteen minute “practice” sessions in morning and 1 six lap “racing exhibition” in early afternoon. During the exhibition each period of bikes will leave the grid as a separate wave with the oldest leaving first. Minimum number of “at speed” laps to qualify for concours will be 6.

    How many entries will be accepted into the “go” class? 30. Entries will come from a field invited by the Museum and WERA.

    Where will the concours area be located? WERA will provide a dedicated area of the paddock (upper most tier) for the competitors.

    How will the machines be judged? The concours will be under the direction of the museum and the promoter. This includes establishing the rules, recruiting the participants and judging. Both the museum and the promoter will provide a judge. The museum members, fans and WERA members will be able to vote for their choice of winning machines. Bikes in the ”go” class will be judged on the combination of how well they performed on the track, their appearance and their exhibits in the exhibition area. Bikes in the “show” class will be judge on appearance and educational exhibits. The Museum will provide the awards and preside over the awards ceremony.

    What bikes are eligible for the event? At the first event bikes would be limited those raced in the 1950s - 1980s. Any bike which is eligible to run in WERA’s classes 250GP – 500GP or V1 – V6 can apply for an invitation.

    Where do I get more information? Information is posted on WERA’s website at wera.com.

    What is the tentative schedule?

    7:00 am Registration and exhibit set up. Tech inspection by WERA.

    9:15 am Qualifying session 1

    10:00 am Concours area open to fans

    10:45 am Qualifying session 2

    1:00 pm “Racing exhibition” (and last chance to qualify)

    3:30 pm Judging begins

    5:00 pm Winners will to be announced and prizes awarded.

    How much does it cost to enter? Entry is by invitation only. Those who are invited will not pay any entry fee.

    How do I get invited? Send a request to [email protected] along with a photo of the bike you wish to enter the “go” class. If you have additional bikes you would like to enter the “show” class, include that information in your request.

    What prizes will be awarded? The museum is making its own unique trophies. First, second and third will be awarded in each the “go” and “show” class. In addition, there will be one trophy awarded for best of show.
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2019
    50Joe likes this.
  4. joec

    joec brace yourself

    Will chosen bikes go through full wera tech?

    Free laps at barber sounds super fun!
     
  5. Can-am

    Can-am Well-Known Member

    Yes. WERA will conduct the sessions and tech inspection for the “go” class as they do for the regular vintage competition classes. Riders of the concours machines must have AMA membership and license with a racing organization WERA recognizes. WERA will have the final authority over issues related to safety per their technical standards, rider licenses and everything related to the on-track portion of the event. WERA will register the participants (once accepted by museum) in its normal manner.
     
    joec likes this.
  6. tzrider

    tzrider CZrider

    Not that it's very important but for anyone with a functional understanding of the french language, that title makes no sense at all.

    It's a competition of competition at Barber.... :D
     
  7. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    We know. But that's what it actually is, essentially a Concours d'Elegance for competition motorcycles. So a competition of competition bikes.
     
  8. worthless

    worthless Well-Known Member

    There isn't an abundance of functional understanding of the english language here, let alone the french language.
     
    yamageezer and britx303 like this.
  9. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    Except we do understand it (Evelyne speaks French oddly enough), and it was done on purpose :p
     
    yamageezer likes this.
  10. guzziguy

    guzziguy Well-Known Member

    cool, not sure my bike will ever do well in the "prettiness" category though :)
     
  11. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    Therein lies the rub, they'll have to be pretty to get an invite to do this.
     
  12. britx303

    britx303 Boomstick Butcher…..

    Sounds fun! Do the racers have to do some kind of history display based on the model of bike they are racing? Not sure what else an "exhibit" would be.
     
  13. Can-am

    Can-am Well-Known Member

    Yes. The exhibit should give some history of the bike in competition. If the rider has history with the bike that should be included. If the rider has history in the period that would be nice to add. The museum has an educational mission. It members enjoy learning about the machines in the context of the period in which they were raced. Fans in general like to see exhibits about the time and place of the machine and ask questions of the owner or rider. It is not a competition of exhibits but without one giving at least the basics of the bike's history, the bike is not going to win a trophy. Just fast or just pretty or just historic is not enough to win. You need a combination to get a trophy. Thanks for your interest.
     
  14. dave3593

    dave3593 What I know about opera I learned from Bugs Bunny

    I know where I'm going June 29 and 30 since thats a WERA race week end at Barber anyway. I hope this is a good draw for WERA. My older TZ250 probably would not qualify for the free laps and show but, lets go race with other vintage stuff!! I'll bring two or three of my dinosaurs!!
     
  15. dave3593

    dave3593 What I know about opera I learned from Bugs Bunny

    Where will the display take place? I hope its around the paddock and not in the museum. The museum would make it harder to go back and forth with the bikes to get on the track.
     
  16. britx303

    britx303 Boomstick Butcher…..

    Im drawing a total blank on exhibit/display ideas........but I'd like to actually give it a go and come down to Barber for the first time for this. Bikes are sorted.....but the history fair project has me stumped.
     
  17. Can-am

    Can-am Well-Known Member

    The concours area will be on the upper most tier of the paddock. Spaces will be assigned to the invitees. It will be set up to encourage visits from the public as well as the WERA members who are there for the weekend.
     
  18. Can-am

    Can-am Well-Known Member

    The best vintage display I have ever seen by collector Erv Kollek at Road Atlanta a couple years ago.
    [​IMG]
     
    yamageezer likes this.
  19. Can-am

    Can-am Well-Known Member

    A more reasonable effort for a bike show or concours.
    [​IMG]
     
  20. britx303

    britx303 Boomstick Butcher…..

    Ahh that does help me with whats to be expected. Yeah,I know its silly,but I really wasn't sure what yall were really looking for.Thanks!!
     

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