Regulatory shock from the WSBK round in Barcelona: Ducati will have 250 rpm less, and Kawasaki 250 more.
De Paolo Gozzi de Motoracing
Ducati just had time to toast the 2024 renewal ofAlvaro Bautista, that the engine speeds were cut for his Panigale V4R. From this weekend's round in Barcelona, all Panigale V4Rs on the track (so not just the one that wins everything...) will have to position the limiter 250 revs lower, i.e. at the threshold of 15. Conversely, the Kawasaki of Jonathan Rhea wins as many and also those of the drivers of the same brand, obviously, who will be able to go up to 14. On one of the fastest tracks on the calendar, due to the main straight line of one kilometer, this will be enough will he put the Greens back in the game? We will see it from the first test sessions scheduled for Friday May 850.
The decision was communicated by Dorna and the FIM on the basis an analysis of the performances of the five manufacturers involved in World Superbike. We remind you that many factors are taken into account: top speed, lap time and distance, current and previous ranking of each driver, number of drivers lined up per brand, and much more. Monitoring the overall rating is a complicated algorithm that has become increasingly complex (and hopefully reliable) over the years. Ducati was penalized based on this response, while Kawasaki was able to increase the rounds by exploiting five of the nine concession points “earned” since the start of the season.
Will this change anything in WSBK? Response this weekend in Catalonia
Sale and his companions have also come close to entering the concession regime itself, which starts from ten points. In this case, they could also have replaced engine components among those approved at the start of the season. Didn't you understand anything? Rest assured, even the engineers of the best Superbike teams have great difficulty untangling the tangle of rules, points, tokens, etc. what has become of the technical regulations.
The results of the first nine races of the season, on very different tracks from each other (Phillip Island, Mandalika and Assen) speak of 8 victories in 9 races for Alvaro Bautista. The others were left with crumbs, with Toprak Razgatlioglu on the Yamaha in the sprint race in Indonesia, conditioned by the fall of Baptist, the only mistake made so far by the reigning champion. Yamaha et Kawasaki paid, just like the others Ducati on the track, starting with the Panigale twin from Michael Rinaldi that holds the top spot. " You say I win because the Ducati is a missile, but where are the other missiles? » asked Bautista. It is conceivable that the modification will level performance slightly on the straight. But the result is influenced by something else (acceleration, corners, tire management) so we will have an idea on Sunday afternoon. Maybe.
From Barcelona and at least for the following rounds scheduled for Misano (June 10-11) and Donington (July 1-2), there will be no change to the Yamaha, BMW and Honda limiters compared to the start of the championship : Ducati Panigale V4 R 15 rpm (-250); Kawasaki ZX-10 R 14 rpm (+250); BMW M 1000 RR 15 500 ; Honda CBRRR 15.600; Yamaha YZF-R1 14 950.
