"Today's events in the British Superbike series at Brand Hatch bring into sharp focus issues with the current rules regarding machine eligibility and allowable modification in the Superbike class, in World Superbike as well as some of the prominent national championship series. It has become clear that the balance has shifted in recent years toward one class of machinery, and that is having a significant effect on the viability of these series as Superbike true to its tradition as a class, which was in the process of establishing itself as the premier roadracing class from both a fan and manufacturer's perspective.
"The concern is the performance of the new 1000cc four cylinder machines, and the Suzuki win at Brands today points out the dominance that machine has shown this year, its first in Superbike. That win was the fourth for a four cylinder machine in BSB in the last year and a half, a startling level of
domination. Ducati, who has supported Superbike everywhere since the beginning, has won only 55 of the last 60 races in BSB over the last three years. That could be excused because of the lack of participation of the other twin manufacturers in that series, but that glosses over deeper
issues. In the AMA, where a twin has won only once this year and where Ducati has been banned from the series in the last week [ed. - denied by the AMA] , it is clear what can happen when the rules become terribly out of balance.
"In World Superbike this year the situation has slipped tenuously close to falling into the same trap, with the new Suzuki actually leading races on occasion and finishing on the podium. One could hide one's head in the sand and state that Ducati has won every race this year, that twins have won over 50 races in a row and every race but one over the last two and a half years, but that would be denying the very real issues that lie just under the surface. It was expected that the experiment with restrictors this year would show that a competitive balance could be maintained in this manner, but now we have serious doubts about that.
"It is our intent to revise the rules that will govern World Superbike next year and beyond. There have been many ideas proposed, and none have been finalized to this point. Among those that have merit in my eyes are the proposition that all modifications to all engine configurations are to be allowed equally, but that all engines will be allowed to use only two spark plugs in total. Another idea is to restrict tire usage, allowing four cylinder machines to run only narrower tires, perhaps no more than 120mm in width on the rear. It has also been suggested that fours should run rain tires in dry conditions and slicks when it's wet, and that idea has merit but presents certain safety issues. We are considering allowing them to run only 85 octane pump gas, and only two gallons of it per race. There has been discussion of requiring one rider per two cylinders on each machine, making it a requirement for the fours to carry a passenger. But this has created issues for the Foggy Petronas team. The proposed rules would allow three cylinder machines to carry a dwarf, but Fogarty has claimed cultural issues with this solution in his native Britain, something that would surface with predictably negative results after the first highside.
"WSB will finalize its decision on proposed rules shortly, and then they will be reviewed and voted on by the teams shortly after. To maintain viability of the process, each manufacturer currently involved on the series will get one vote per rider currently entered in the entire series. That will allow two votes for Suzuki, two for Foggy Petronas, one for Yamaha, two for Kawasaki, and twenty three for Ducati. We promise to fix Superbike, at the world championship level and below. That is our mission."
"The concern is the performance of the new 1000cc four cylinder machines, and the Suzuki win at Brands today points out the dominance that machine has shown this year, its first in Superbike. That win was the fourth for a four cylinder machine in BSB in the last year and a half, a startling level of
domination. Ducati, who has supported Superbike everywhere since the beginning, has won only 55 of the last 60 races in BSB over the last three years. That could be excused because of the lack of participation of the other twin manufacturers in that series, but that glosses over deeper
issues. In the AMA, where a twin has won only once this year and where Ducati has been banned from the series in the last week [ed. - denied by the AMA] , it is clear what can happen when the rules become terribly out of balance.
"In World Superbike this year the situation has slipped tenuously close to falling into the same trap, with the new Suzuki actually leading races on occasion and finishing on the podium. One could hide one's head in the sand and state that Ducati has won every race this year, that twins have won over 50 races in a row and every race but one over the last two and a half years, but that would be denying the very real issues that lie just under the surface. It was expected that the experiment with restrictors this year would show that a competitive balance could be maintained in this manner, but now we have serious doubts about that.
"It is our intent to revise the rules that will govern World Superbike next year and beyond. There have been many ideas proposed, and none have been finalized to this point. Among those that have merit in my eyes are the proposition that all modifications to all engine configurations are to be allowed equally, but that all engines will be allowed to use only two spark plugs in total. Another idea is to restrict tire usage, allowing four cylinder machines to run only narrower tires, perhaps no more than 120mm in width on the rear. It has also been suggested that fours should run rain tires in dry conditions and slicks when it's wet, and that idea has merit but presents certain safety issues. We are considering allowing them to run only 85 octane pump gas, and only two gallons of it per race. There has been discussion of requiring one rider per two cylinders on each machine, making it a requirement for the fours to carry a passenger. But this has created issues for the Foggy Petronas team. The proposed rules would allow three cylinder machines to carry a dwarf, but Fogarty has claimed cultural issues with this solution in his native Britain, something that would surface with predictably negative results after the first highside.
"WSB will finalize its decision on proposed rules shortly, and then they will be reviewed and voted on by the teams shortly after. To maintain viability of the process, each manufacturer currently involved on the series will get one vote per rider currently entered in the entire series. That will allow two votes for Suzuki, two for Foggy Petronas, one for Yamaha, two for Kawasaki, and twenty three for Ducati. We promise to fix Superbike, at the world championship level and below. That is our mission."
