News 16 Apr 2018

Yamaha calls for added parity in WorldSSP300 ranks

Lower-capacity YZF-R3 unable to contend under current circumstances.

Image: Supplied.

Yamaha Motor Europe has called for Supersport 300 World Championship (WorldSSP300) organisers to level the playing field in the class following a difficult opening round of 2018 at Aragon.

Supporting no less than five Yamaha R3 bLU cRU Challenge riders, the leading pack was dominated by Kawasaki and KTM riders who went near five seconds beneath last year’s lap record.

Top of the Yamaha finishers was Daniel Valle (BCD Yamaha MS Racing) in 13th position, with the leading bLU cRU-supported entrant being Galang Hendra Pratama (Biblion Motoxracing Team Yamaha) in P16. The regulations are designed to guarantee parity, however Yamaha officials are seeking updates to the rules prior to round two.

“All of our Yamaha riders, and especially the bLU cRU guys, have done a fantastic job during the winter,” explained Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe road racing project manager. “It is obvious to everyone the results of this hard work because all of them were able to go under the fastest time set by a Yamaha last year – some by two seconds.

“This shows the job done during the winter started to pay dividends and we are very proud of them all. Unfortunately, they were up against unfair competition due to the incorrect levels of performances between the manufacturers, when the technical regulations are designed to provide a level playing field.

“For this reason, our guys who have all done a fantastic job were prevented from being able to fight for the positions they deserved all weekend. The organisers – Dorna and the FIM – understand the situation and we strongly expect them to make changes before the next race.”

Yamaha Motor Europe is expecting the FIM and Dorna will ‘balance’ the regulations ahead of Assen, Netherlands, on 20-22 April, in a bid for the Yamaha to remain competitive among the higher-capacity Kawasaki and KTM machinery.

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