Beginning in April at Nutts Corner and ending in September at Bishopscourt the Avon Tyres Formula 1 Era SBK Series consisted of a total of six races with riders going head to head on a range of classic superbikes from the golden age of modern superbike racing.
With a real lack of electronics and rider aids, it was down to the competitors themselves to make the real difference in some closely fought battles on the track, and with a total of eight wins and two second place finishes during the season it was Stephen McKeown who took the series title riding his Aprilia RSV1000 Mille riding on 3D Ultra Xtremes.
Second place in the series went to Chris Campbell on his Kawasaki ZX-7R with third place going to Mark Murphy also riding an Aprilia in a closely fought contest.
With a 20 bike field at the start of the season there was a real mix of classic superbikes from the 80’s and 90’s that would have had racing purists going weak at the knees including:
- Honda RC30 & RC45
- Yamaha YZF750 & OW-01
- Ducati 916 & 996
- Kawasaki ZXR750 & ZX-7R
With Avon Tyres as title sponsors and the field consisting of bikes seen back in the days of Joey Dunlop and Carl Fogarty the series has proved to be a real success. With more machines already registered for the second season of the series in 2014 it is hoped that it will continue to grow in popularity.
The technology which goes into the development and manufacturing of the 3D Ultra Xtreme can also be found in the Avon 3D Ultra Sport and Supersport tyres which are the road versions in the 3D Ultra series.
