News 16 Feb 2023

Minimum combined weight ruled out in 2023 for WorldSBK

Supersport category technical rules maintained for the upcoming season.

Image: Supplied.

A minimum combined weight has been ruled out for the Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) category in 2023, with updates to the technical and sporting regulations released ahead of the upcoming season.

There were calls by some to introduce a minimum combined weight for 2023, inspired by the performance of the small-in-stature Alvaro Bautista last year onboard the Aruba.It Racing Ducati V4 R.

However, the latest technical updates dismiss that possibility for 2023, and also confirm Supersport and Supersport next generation category technical rules will be maintained following heavy updates to the class ahead of last season that enabled models such as the Ducati Panigale V2, MV Augusta F3 800 RR and Triumph RS 765 to compete.

At the end of the 2023 season, a study establishing the performance balancing results will be drawn up in order to establish the performance balancing in this series for 2024.

Notable updates on the sporting side include a testing restriction that prohibits Supersport World Championship (WorldSSP) and Supersport 300 World Championship (WorldSSP300) competitors to test, practice or race at the same location as a Superbike World Championship event during the 11 days preceding the day of first practice of an event at that circuit.

For all classes, including WorldSSP 300, flag-to-flag races will be in place, meaning a race will not be interrupted for climatic reasons except for extraordinary events. Riders who wish to change tyres or make adjustments will have to enter the pits during the race.

A full list of the latest decisions of the SBK commission has been released, with the opening round of the 2023 season to take place at Phillip Island between 24-26 February.

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