A brand new four round championship called The Zip Support Challenge has been announced to run alongside selected British Championship rounds in 2016.
The Zip Support Challenge will be open to any Pro or Pro Am level rider in the UK who is not already entered in the British Championship and will run at Cusses Gorse (April 3), Fat Cats Moto Parc (May 29), Pontrilas (July 17), and Dean Moor (July 23-24).
Trophies down to third place per round will be awarded and all rounds will count. There will also be cash awards to the top three finishers in the final points standings with £300 for first, £200 for second and £100 for third.
The series has been devised because so many riders have signed up to race in the NORA Pro/Am class that it is no longer viable to run the class within British Championship races at NORA meetings, which has been the case for the last two years.
With 34 rides registered for the 2016 British Championship it means only six Wildcard places are available at each round, not nearly enough to accommodate the number of NORA Pro riders who have not entered the British Championship.
As a consequence the NORA MX Pro Championship will now be contested over six rounds, rather than the original nine. Those rounds will be West Meon (March 20), New Culham (April 17), Grittenham (May 15), Milton Park (June 26), Cusses Gorse (September 4), New Culham (September 25)
All other NORA MX youth and adult championships are NOT affected and will continue to run at all nine NORA MX meetings in 2016.
NORA MX club chairman Stuart Walker said: “With entries so high in the British Championship and the NORA Pro/Am class this year, we were faced with the situation of having to turn away entries, which absolutely nobody wants. So we have tried to come up with a solution which means everyone gets to ride on the same day, on the same tracks.”
“The Zip Support Challenge gives riders, who otherwise might not have had a chance to race, the opportunity to race for money and trophies, as well as be part of the British Championship meetings. It also means no one’s chances in NORA Pro championship will be adversely affected.”
ACU British Championship Series Manager, Rob McDonnell, said: “The NORA club has been brilliant in trying to find a constructive solution to a problem we never expected to have. What NORA has effectively created is a British Championship support series, though we can’t officially call it that at this late stage. However it’s as good as one!”
“Hopefully riders from all over the country will support it because it actually has the potential to be a brilliant series, on some cracking tracks, at first class race meetings, with the added bonus of some of some cash and trophies to race for.”
The Zip Support Challenge will NOT have rounds at the second British Championship round at Desertmartin, or the final round at Canada Heights.
Riders who wish to enter the Zip Support Challenge should email NORA MX on info@nora-mx.co.uk . Please note riders can enter on a round per round basis and do not have to register for the whole series.