WSB to change rules!

Well, even I was surprised about WSB's announcement today. Unbelievable
stuff, and here's what Paulo Flammini had to say:

"Today's events in the British Superbike series at Brands 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."

Unbelievable, crazy stuff...

"Mark N" wrote in message

 > Well, even I was surprised about WSB's announcement today. Unbelievable
 > stuff, and here's what Paulo Flammini had to say:

It's about time. We've known this situation to be probelmatic for a while.

 > "Today's events in the British Superbike series at Brands 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.

Ah, so something is to be done about Ducati??

 > "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.

Oh...wait. "Startling"?

 > 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.

"Only"

 > "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.

OMG! NO! What is Suzuki thinking? LEADING Races? FINISHING? On the
PODIUM!?? Don't they know how this works? Don't they understand? Something
Must Be Done! They've been found out!

 > 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.

Yeah, the Suzuki is on the cusp of just breaking free and running away with
the rest of the series. On the verge of finishing not just on the podium,
not just at the top of the podium, but alone on the podium as no other rider
wants to be up there with Lavilla after he puts them down 5 laps. Serious
power in the Suzuki. This Is A Real Problem.

 > "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.

Won't matter, Suzuki will use special titanium tipped plugs coated with
Strontium-90. Once they work out the bugs, they'll be able to work with just
one plug. I wouldn't get behind it, though.

 > 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.

This won't work either. Factory Suzuki teams practice routinely at Suzuka
using modified 125 GP racers stuffed with the GSXR 1000 motors. They find
that if they rub a glue stick on the tire before the race, that they can get
50+ hard laps out of Suzuka. These aren't record setting laps because
they're unofficial, but the times are there. Heck, all the extra weight of
these big meaty tires is just holding the Suzuki back. We all know this.

 > 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.

It's only a safety issue for those who don't train in it. In those Suzuka
sessions, they routinely dump old motor oil on the track to keep the riders
on their toes. But only at night, when they're practicing without
headlights.

 > We are considering allowing them to run
 > only 85 octane pump gas, and only two gallons of it per race.

It's about time. They've been wanting to take the extra weight of the 2
gallons of gas that they don't need and move it to the bottom of the bike as
lead ballast.

 > 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."

It's nice to know that They're On It. That they won't let the series just go
to pot because of an upstart manufacturer abusing the rules. This is a Great
Thing. I'll be excited to see where it takes us.

Go Paulo Go!

Regards,

Will Hartung
(willh@msoft.com)