Plans for 2023 – Revised January 2023* 

The last two years have been a real challenge with the pandemic and now there's a further challenge to come with the tightening of our finances all round and the potential for a real recession to kick in.

Firstly, we want to thank all of our Members for their continued loyalty to the club and support of our events in recent times. We are well aware that you work hard and spend pretty well every spare penny on your racing. Huge thanks also to our Marshals and Officials who spend their own money to support the sport and the club.

We're very conscious therefore that our planning for 2023 has to focus on affordability for our Members but also viability for the club.

Circuits 

Some difficult decisions have to be considered with regard to the circuits we have traditionally travelled to and the makeup of our class structure.

Huge events like Brands GP and expensive circuits like Oulton Park have remained on our calendar with their financial outcomes supported by surpluses from other events during the year. Remember - the club operates as a mutual organisation - a Members Club effectively and as a non-profit we don't seek to make significant surpluses each year. Where we do that's ploughed back into Club resources, things like the Dyno, radios, medical equipment, web development.

With recessionary pressures approaching in 2023 we have been forced to be careful about continuing with loss making events.

As an example, for Brands GP to have broken even, based on the rider numbers that attended this season, the entry fee would have had to be £480 per rider. The increased cost on events is sobering.

We have finalised discussions with circuits on an appropriate mix for 2023 and we're keeping with Brands on the Indy circuit, we will go to Donington in mid-season, Cadwell, Snetterton twice but we will drop our Silverstone event and instead return to Pembrey. Economically there's no room for Oulton Park (still just one day of racing over Friday-Saturday in a normal year) and Brands GP, which has sadly now priced itself out of consideration for the time being.

Classes

Continued viability for the club has focus on filling grids wherever possible. 

With this in mind some changes are proposed to grid makeup and classes in 2023 to ensure we have as many filled grids as possible....

Dedicated two-stroke grids:

MZs and all Blue Haze GPF machines combine onto a single grid as we have this season. A separate Blue Haze GP grid sharing with F400s will also feature. The separate championships for each will be maintained.

Thunderbike Sport & Extreme:

The Sport class will continue but we will add a NEW Bemsee Super-Twin class to this grid.  (Regulations now on bemsee.net)

MRO 600 & Clubman 600:

Spare grid capacity will be taken up by the expanding experimental class launched this year, in conjunction with Tony Scott Motorsport the GP2/Evo class. 

MRO Powerbikes & Clubman 1000 and Thunderbike Ultra

These two classes we plan to separate - provided there are sufficient entries to run separate grids

That means the Powerbikes/Clubman 1000 will continue with the longer 3 x race format that has been in place in recent seasons.

Thunderbike Ultra will run a 4 x race format

If entry levels mean these classes are combined, then the 4 x race format will be used

 

All other Bemsee classes stay as before:

BMCRC Rookie 600 & 1000

BMCRC F1 & F2 Sidecars

ACU Team Green Junior Cup & Senior Series

MRO Minitwins & Rookie Minitwins 

DFDS Yamaha Past Masters

This plan enables us to ensure that all Bemsee classes come to every round – but replicates the number of classes per round as 2022.

 

Mike Dommett CEO

On Behalf of the BMCRC Board