Changes to the World Superbike regulations were recently announced, introducing a minimum weight for the bike/rider combination in 2024. However, Scott Redding believes that lighter riders will still have some advantage.
The British rider, who will be competing for Bonovo Action BMW, was quoted by GPOne.com as saying that there is one particular aspect of the regulations that led him to this belief:
– In 2024 the weight limit will be introduced and I am glad they clarified the issue, but when I read the regulations more thoroughly, I discovered that the minimum weight limit will be 80kg with all equipment. So, it seems to be in the perfect middle ground. However, upon further reading about the new rule, I realized that if you weigh less than 80kg, you still have an advantage because for every kilogram you are under, you only have to add 0.5g. That’s an interesting part.
E Redding exemplified: ‘If a rider weighs 60kg plus 8kg of equipment, therefore, 68kg in total, they would only need to add 12kg to reach 80kg. But in this bizarre situation they only need to add six, which means that for this rider the minimum weight limit is 74kg and not 80kg. A rider weighing 92kg with all the equipment would be 12kg above the 80kg limit, not 6kg. I really appreciate that WorldSBK has made this change, but it still favors the lighter riders. It’s better than nothing, yes. But it’s still not fair, is it’.
