Trophy naked bikes: FUCHS Silkolene oils guarantee the highest performance
They are aged between 32 and 64, mostly Portuguese and reach speeds of up to 291 km/h on their naked bikes. The riders of the Tuonocup, S1000R Cup and Triple Cup trophies have nerves of steel and a strong heart. In each race, they reach heart rates of 175 and 178 per minute. "And this for about 20 minutes," says Paulo Vicente, who has been organising the trophies since 2016. "I've measured the bpm of several participants and they're all the same. People, depending on their preparation, at rest have around 70 bpm. On the track, when the traffic lights go red for the start, the heart rate immediately rises to 150. And after the start, it increases rapidly to the maximum rate." He emphasises that this is a special feature of motorsport, and especially motorcycling: "Because we are always fighting with the brain, which appeals to our reasonableness. The brain says: you should have braked by now! But our experience and our skills challenge it: No, you can brake even later. And then this stress, this permanent conflict, makes us always walk with 175 to 178 bpm."
The businessman knows what he's talking about, as he's been racing since he was 16 and also takes part in the three trophies he organises for the Portuguese Motorcycling Federation. "None, because inside I'm just another participant like any other. In fact, I organise and define the regulations, but then I, like everyone else, have to comply with them, and in sprint races it's simple: whoever crosses the finish line first wins. Then comes the second, the third and the others." Crucial to racing at speeds of almost 300 km/h and with tarmac temperatures that can go above 60ºC are bikes in excellent condition. To ensure maximum performance over the ten laps on average from start to finish, the BMWs, Aprilia and Triumph race with FUCHS Silkolene high performance oils. "Silkolene oils are of excellent quality. They have never given any problems," confirms Paulo Vicente. The mechanical engineer proposed the partnership to FUCHS Lubricants in late 2019.
"We are very pleased with the partnership that we started in 2020, as the bikes participating in the three cups are road bikes, which gives us the opportunity to show that our Silkolene oils make the difference, that they are oils for all true motorbike lovers, those who want to enhance and protect their machines with high-tech lubrication", informs André Castro Pinheiro, the Automotive Director of FUCHS in Portugal. The naked bike trophies organised by Paulo Vicente are having an increasing impact. In the 2022 season, they achieved the largest presence of BMW and Aprilia in the National Speed Championship (CNV) and more: they won second place in the ranking of the most participated categories of the CNV Moto.
Each year, FUCHS provides around 200 litres of Silkolene oil to lubricate the participants' bikes during races and training sessions. Each motorbike needs three oil changes per season. In 2023, there are 17 riders registered for the full season with 14 races over seven weekends in Estoril, Portimão and Jerez/Spain. "The 2023 season is particularly interesting for FUCHS because of the new Triple Cup trophy," says the FUCHS official and points to the international proximity of the workshop brand to Triumph. "The Triple Cup only accepts Triumph motorbikes," says Paulo Vicente and explains: "Our trophies are named after the models. With Aprilia, the bike model is Tuono, which means thunder in Italian, so it's the Tuonocup. The S1000R Cup is for BMW S1000R motorbikes. In the case of Triumph, the models allowed are called Street Triple and Speed Triple and we summarise for Triple Cup. However, there are always other motorbikes participating that do not fit into the trophies. So there is an overall classification."
The main requirement for a bike to take part is that it is a naked bike. When he set up the competitions in 2016, the entrepreneur chose this category because "naked bikes are simpler than racing bikes and so it's easier for people to get started or get back into racing."
The organiser himself is racing this year with a bike outside the trophies, a BMW M1000R. "I'm preparing this bike for next year. Then I'll upgrade the BMW Trophy to this more powerful model."
