Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK team principal, Guim Roda, speaks of the departure of Jonathan Rhea of the team after 9 years and 6 championships.
About Manuel Pecino / Motosan.es
We discussed with Guim Roda on my chain, and he gives his views on not having his best driver after 2024. Jonathan Rea leaves Kawasaki in green to join Yamaha in blue. Guim also gives his opinion on the technical imbalance produced by the regulations in force until this year. He also gives his opinion on the changes envisaged by the Manufacturers' Association, which could make Japanese brands competitive again.
The first thing that gives Guim Roda is his 2023 assessment: “We have failed to introduce the changes we hoped to take a small step forward. The reality is that with the rules as they were, we had little room to maneuver and the things we tried to improve didn't give us the performance we wanted. And the others took a small step forward, which prevented us from being present in every race and fighting consistently.”
New WorldSBK regulations
Roda's many years of experience in Superbike allows him to make a comparison between the current regulations before and after Dorna's arrival: “The trend since the arrival of Dorna has been to look into the issue, from 2002-2003. When Dorna came with four-strokes and the concept of road bikes and racing bikes, prototypes and production bikes appeared, whereas previously it was two-strokes and four-strokes. . Based on the road bike, you did what you wanted. Today, the base is the road bike, but to be able to equalize the mechanics, the regulations allow themselves such freedom that in the end, they are all equal, and it is thanks to the regulations. If you make them too standard, you are very limited to the performance of the standard motorcycle. Depending on the developments of each year and each brand, you always have a reference motorcycle.”
From 2024, a new regulation will come into force, and Guim explains: “The standard base is fine, but now we need to allow some sort of 'balancing' or 'upgrading' that should make the bikes equal. He changes the combined weight, the net limit, the fuel flow control (21 liters), the rpm calculation… All this is a desire to be able to influence.”
Principles of the new regulation
According to the KRT Team Manager, these new regulations for 2024 have only two principles: “Being able to create a better balance in the category so that everyone has a greater chance of winning, and this clearly influences the sporting part. The weight in all categories and the engine as a whole are a fundamental part of this. Except in MotoGP and Superbike, in the other categories it’s like that, and in cars it’s like that… “.
Once again, the weight controversy
Regarding weight, which is emerging with the new regulations, Roda gives his point of view:
“Weight not only affects motorcycle performance, but also tire wear. This will give you the power to extend the performance of the bike more or less and we see that in many racing situations with high temperatures and little grip on the track, being able to use the grip of the tire makes the difference ".
Of course we had to comment on the case ofAlvaro Bautista, who is the most talked about driver in terms of weight. Guim says: “Álvaro Bautista, with his limited weight, obtains an advantage that is impossible to achieve, to counter. In the Superpole we are there, and in the Superpole Race, until the 10th lap, there is a fight. But it's in the long race that you see the difference because it depends on the weight and the grip you have on the tire, because you don't wear it as much. It’s not enough to be small or not, it depends on the type of tire, whether it’s Pirelli or Michelin.”
Jonathan Rea says goodbye to Kawasaki, why?
The end of 2023 marks what Kawasaki called
"end of a wonderful relationship" following the departure of Jonathan Rhea after 9 years within the team, on which Guim Roda concludes:
“The relationship with Johnny will continue to be wonderful. What happens is that Johnny wants something new and different, which can clearly make a difference and allow him to reach the top. Currently, with the bike we have at Kawasaki, there are no plans for anything new. »
Read the original article on Motosan.es
Manuel Pecino
