In a recent interview with Motorsport-Total.com, Gregorio Lavilla, Dorna's sporting director for Superbike, expressed his enthusiasm for the success of the new Supersport World Championship format, which has revitalized the competition by integrating higher displacement motorcycles. This development could potentially be applied to the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) to further enrich the spectacle and the diversity of participants.
« Since the introduction of the NextGen format in Supersport, which allows larger displacement motorcycles to compete, we have seen a more competitive and diverse dynamic, " said The Villa. This initiative made it possible to break the quasi-monopoly of the Yamaha R6 by introducing competitors such as Kawasaki, MV Agusta, and Honda.
Envisioning a similar future for WSBK, The Villa revealed that he had already proposed a change to the current rules a few years ago that limit the displacement of four-cylinder engines to 1 cc. “ Three or four years ago, I suggested relaxing this limit, but manufacturers were not ready for such a change at the time,” he explained. Now he thinks the timing might be right, especially with advances in technology allowing fine-tuning of performance via electronics.
Towards an evolution of the WSBK Superbike regulations? “ We are clearly opposed to relaxing the current format » comments BMW
The Villa noted that the experience accumulated in Supersport could facilitate a similar transition in WSBK. “ With electronic adjustments, it's quite easy to maintain balance between different engine configurations. This could open the door for manufacturers like Aprilia to come back in force with models like the RSV4, currently equipped with a 4 cc V1 engine."
He also recalled that when the issue was raised previously, there was no guarantee of commitment of new builders, which had slowed down the proposal. “ At the time, I had no assurance that Aprilia or others would be actively involved, which tempered my insistence."
However, despite the opening of The Villa to this innovation, BMW, through the voice of its motorcycle racing director, Marc Bongers, expressed strong opposition to a change to the current rules. “ We are clearly opposed to relaxing the current format, " said bongers. He believes the current field, made up mostly of 1cc bikes, is robust enough to maintain a healthy championship.
