WERA Yamaha R3 Cup

Second season now? How was the turnout? Coming back for 2018?

 

Rumor has it that the 300 class will be growing at all organizations in the USA in 2018

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Still kinda light this year.
Mid central is semi popular, down south and up north is small grids and not enough for payouts.

GNF R3 cup race will be interesting again...

 

Seems like the people doing it are having a ton of fun.

 

I've seen some massive little bike grids this year.

 

I'll buy another R3 when grids get to SV levels. Most of the north central races I went to had 3 guys, and that's because I brought 2 R3's.
I didn't get mad when the tykes beat me, I got faster. And yes, relative to a 600 they are cheap to build and run- but I had a lot more into mine than you can get a nicely built SV for. Hopefully Yamaha keeps paying for all model year R3's, that'll make it much more affordable as the used/salvage availability grows.

 

Imagine how big the grids would be if they did the same thing with the R6...with at least a year notice.

People (companies) can't expect a lot of club racers to go buy a new 600-1000cc bike and build it from scratch, get it tested/setup, and accumulate data/spares/etc in just a couple of months. That's why every now and then there is a thread asking about OEM contingency (especially back when the Bounty Hunters were big). People want to find out as early as possible so they can decide what bike to buy/build.

But anyway, everyone knows the R6 is the best MW bike available, and has been for years. And the 600 classes are the largest, most popular grids.

Imagine if in the 1st quarter of 2018, they announced that in 2019 there will be an R6 cup that pays $1000/$750/$500 (1st-3rd) in C-SS and C-SB, with the person that scores the most points during the season, and the GNF C-SS winner each getting a $5k bonus.

I would have to think there would be a lot of R6's sold in 2018.

 

It would be like when Honda announced the $30k bonus to the rider that won the WERA Superbike National
Championship on a new CBR1000RR (2008 IIRC). There were CBR's everywhere. I'm pretty sure Stokes took home the $30k.

I've always felt that a seasonal bonus benefits WERA more than the 1-off award at the GNF.

That GNF award will ensure the GNF grids are packed and people bring their A-game to the GNF; but it doesn't do much to help grids throughout the season.

How/when the award is given may be up to the OEM, but I'm just saying. That year Honda gave the $30k, it required a National Championship in the National Challenge series...which meant riders had to earn points all season.

 

That's why I decided to stick with my R6 instead of jump on a Triumph this year. I really wanted to build a Triumph and their program is a great program for allowing that at a reasonable cost, but they just didn't leave me enough time to do it. I had my R6 already refreshed and painted ready to rock before they even announced the continuation of their program.

 

Ive been around long enough to remember those days. Guys like Hunt, Stokes, Lynn, Jensen, etc would show up with multiple bikes because a win in C-SS and A-SS would pay like $3k (each).

That was some great racing. I remember a Roebling National race when Hunt broke the lap record, but didn't even finish on the podium (he was 4th IIRC). I think Jensen finished 9th in that race. Those were some seriously stacked grids.

As far as why the R3 thing isn't going like crazy, I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that it is because they are 300s, and people simply don't want to race little bikes...regardless of how much cheaper it is.

A full grown man doesn't stand much of a chance against kids on a 300. And since it is in SS, the motors can't be built to level the playing field. A 100lb bodyweight deficit is hard to overcome on bikes that only make 40hp.

But that's just a guess.

 

I've always felt award programs built on bikes would be more successful with a year's notice. Helmets, gloves, sure. But a whole bike is different.

Even if someone is sitting there with $20k in their hand, just waiting on which dealership to drive to, it still takes time to strip the bike and build it from scratch, especially if the motor is being built.

I know it is hard for companies to plan/budget a full year in advance, I'm just saying.

 

Why not do a minimum weight rule? Make those little kids haul around 50lbs of ballast and you might have some grownups willing to race them.

 

Not the old guys I know.

 

Winning to the kids is doable.
The weight difference is the issue however. MA has a weight rule on the KTM class and wouldn't be hard to imply in the R3 cup series if youd like to see a more competitive WERA class.

 

SB spec motors won't help, it's hard to outspend race dads (or be motivated about it enough to actually spend the money).