race two really kicked ass.

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July 29, 2002

racing update.
I'm finally getting caught up on the AMA Superbike and World Superbike races that are taking up space on Peter's Tivo. Last night we curled up on the couch and watched race 2 of WSBK from Laguna Seca. Holy crap, what a good race. That was easily the most exciting race I've ever seen.

We tried to watch the AMA Superbike race 1 from Lexington, Ohio after that, but thanks to the 45-minute rain delay, we missed the last 15 minutes of the race. How annoying -- 25 minutes of watching Eric Bostrom diddle around with his 7 second lead, and just as Nicky started shaving off the distance, the Tivo recording ended. Argh! Fortunately, Speed Channel is replaying the race tomorrow night, so we'll get to see the (edited) end then.

After that horrible experience, I set the Tivo to have a half-hour's worth of padding after the race. I don't care if it means Peter can't record as many episodes of COPS. Sorry, babe. Priorities, y'know. Maybe I should eventually buy my own Tivo and make it the motorcycle racing-only Tivo. Hrm.

cheat sheets.
OK, this one's for Peter (I figured I'd better kiss up after the COPS thing). He keeps asking me about points and rules during the races, and I finally had to 'fess up that I had no idea. Usually I just make up stuff, but it was late at night and I couldn't come up with any bullshit at the time. So, this morning, I ran the names of the various organizations through a search engine and eventually found their rules pdf files. This is an exercise I really can't recommend to anyone, since (a) the AMA pro racing site's layout makes me want to eat my own face off and the SBK's rules were next to impossible to find anywhere (I sure couldn't find 'em on worldsbk.com), and (b) the pdfs are 65 pages and 170 pages long and it takes about three days to find what you're looking for. Therefore, I'm giving y'all your own little racing cheat sheets.

ama championship points
The top 30 finishers receive points for Championship races. First place gets 36 points, second place gets 32, third place gets 29, and fourth place gets 27. Each place after that receives one less point, down to one point for the thirtieth place finisher.

The fastest qualifier (pole position) receives one bonus point.

The rider who leads the most laps in the final event receives one bonus point. If there's a tie for the rider leading the most laps, the point goes to the rider who was last in the lead.

If there's a tie for the Championship, the tie will be broken based on the number of wins in the series. If that doesn't break the tie, the number of second-place finishes will be compared, and on down the line.

ama bike restrictions
Superbike bikes have the following displacement restrictions:

  • 4-stroke four cylinders: 551cc - 750cc
  • 4-stroke three cylinders: 551cc - 900cc
  • 4-stroke two cylinders: 551cc - 1000cc
There are also a limited number of changes that the pit crew can make to the bike to change it from its stock setup. For example, the number of valves that the engine has cannot be changed, and fuel injection is allowed only on bikes for which it is standard equipment. The maximum rear wheel width is 6.25". Shock absorbers can be relocated or changed, but the original suspension setup (dual shock or single shock) must be retained. There are many other such restrictions; if you care, you can look 'em up on AMA's web page.

SuperSport bikes are restricted to a very specific list of permitted modifications from showroom stock. Any displacement within 0-600cc for 4-stroke four and twin cylinder engines is permitted in 600 SuperSport; for 750 SuperSport, it's a little more complicated:

  • 4-stroke four cylinders: 0 - 750cc
  • 4-stroke liquid-cooled twin cylinders: 600cc - 750cc
  • 4-stroke air-cooled twin cylinders: 700cc - 1350cc
Most cosmetic parts can be replaced with aftermarket parts, provided that the showroom stock setup is retained. There are many other rigid restrictions to what can be modified on a showroom stock bike for SuperSport; again, I'll leave the details as an exercise for the interested reader.

Formula Xtreme bikes are restricted to those produced for street use and available through retail dealers. Any engine displacement above 745cc is permitted, provided that the bike has a 4-stroke engine. Engine cases, cylinder heads, and cylinders must not be modified from stock. A minumum bike weight of 365 pounds is enforced.

world superbike championship points
The top 15 finishers receive points. First place gets 25 points, second place gets 20, third place gets 16, fourth place gets 13, and fifth place 11. Each place after that receives one less point, down to one point for the fifteenth place finisher. In case of a tie, the riders in question will be ranked in order of the best lap time made during the race. There are no bonus points.

If there's a tie for the Championship, as in the AMA, the tie will be broken based on the number of wins in the series. If, however, there is still a tie, the date of the highest-placed race for each rider will be examined, and the rider whose win occured earliest in the series will be named the winner.

world superbike bike restrictions
Superbike bikes have the following displacement restrictions:

  • 4-stroke four cylinders: 600cc - 750cc*
  • 4-stroke three cylinders: 600cc - 900cc
  • 4-stroke two cylinders: 750cc - 1000cc
* - For 2003, the displacement restriction for four cylinder engines will be increased to 1000cc, with air-restrictors fitted. These bikes will have a minimum weight limit of 168 kg, and the sizes of the air restrictors will be 26.3mm for bikes with a single intake for the airbox, and 18.7mm for those with a dual intake system. Rules for twins and three-cylinder engines are unchanged.

The minimum weight allowed is 162 kg for all bikes. The rules go on for about twelve pages about what can/cannot be modified from showroom stock for SuperBike. Suffice it to say that it's really anal-retentive, and let's move on. Any manufacturer wishing to submit a SuperBike bike for the first time must produce a minimum of 150 motorcycles during the year in question. Manufacturers who already produce more than 100k motorcycles per year must produce a minimum of 500 units with the same specifications as the bikes provided for competition.

SuperSport bikes have the following displacement restrictions:

  • 4-stroke four cylinders: 400cc - 600cc
  • 4-stroke two cylinders: 600cc - 750cc
The minimum weight allowed is 167 kg for four cylinder bikes, and 172 kg for twin cylinder bikes. With about ten pages of exceptions, the bike must otherwise be showroom stock. Manufacturers must produce a minimum quantity of 1000 units of a SuperSport bike before the date of homologation.

The general technical rules for bike inclusion in SBK are so amazingly anal-retentive that there's no way that I'm going to even summarize them here. Here, though, I'll give you an example: "All handlebar levers (clutch, brake, etc) must be in principle ball-ended (diameter of this ball to be at least 19mm). This ball can also be flattened, but in any case the edges must be rounded (minimum thickness of this flattened part 14mm). These ends must be permanently fixed and an integral part of the lever."

If you're really bored, the rules in their entirety can be found here:
AMA Pro Racing
Superbike Championship (aka World SuperBike or SBK)