The Superbike Commission has announced several major changes from the 2024 season, including the introduction of the combined motorcycle-rider weight and the reduction in fuel tank capacity, two measures finally capable of redistributing the cards in a championship currently crushed by Alvaro Bautista and his Ducati, after having been there for a long time Jonathan Rhea and his Kawasaki.
Hopefully these decisions will be enough to provide Superbike races with as many different winners as in MotoGP. In any case, they are going in the right direction!
The Superbike World Championship having reached maturity, the FIM, Dorna and the MSMA have therefore decided to work on the long term and have defined some concepts on which this Championship will have to evolve. The Superbike Commission, composed of MM. Gregorio LAVILLA (Dorna, WorldSBK Executive Director), Paul KING (Director of the FIM Circuit Racing Commission), Biense BIERMA (General Secretary of the MSMA), coordinated by Paul DUPARC (Manager of the FIM Circuit Racing Commission – SBK Secretary of the Commission ), in the presence of Ludovic REIGNIER (FIM WorldSBK Technical Director), Dominique HEBRARD (FIM CTI Technical Director) and Roland BERGER (FIM CTI Director) met on numerous occasions in recent weeks and took the following decisions.
WorldSBK:
- Reduction of reservoir capacity
In 2024, the new maximum tank capacity will be 21 liters. - Introduction of combined weight
A combined rider and motorcycle weight has been defined for 2024, based on an agreement between the FIM, DWO and MSMA. - Changes to the rules relating to rev limits
In 2024, the rev limits will be defined before the start of the 2024 season based on an agreement between the FIM, DWO and MSMA and will not be reduced during this season (with the exception of the reduction intervention by the FIM and DWO in the event of exceeding the super concession). Article 2.4.2.2 (calculation of the balance) relating to regime reductions will be deleted. - Crankshaft and balance shaft weight changes
The crankshaft and balancer pin may be modified by +/- 20% from the homologated weight measured during the FIM homologation inspection, the corresponding parts “kit” having to be included in the list of parts selectable by the FIM. - Changes in the calculation of concession tokens and approval of the coin system
Starting in 2024, concession tokens will be calculated every two rounds, instead of three as is currently the case. The outline of the super concession and concession parts will instead be approved one month before the round and finalized in all details 14 days before the technical inspection day of each round, thus removing the need to describe the super concession parts in the FIM SBK regulations. Specific communication will be defined instead. - Fuel flow control
In order to encourage environmental guidelines and provide a framework for manufacturers to increase the development of their motorcycles, it has been decided that from 2025 it will be mandatory to use a fuel flow control system. In addition, two motorcycles from each manufacturer will have to install a fuel flow meter in 2024 and record the data during testing and racing, then set the values for 2025.
On Saturday October 28, a formal meeting of the SBK Commission will take place during the final round of the Championship. During this meeting, various sporting and disciplinary points will be raised and possible additional technical points could also be discussed.
