The combined minimum weight rule for both the motorcycle and the rider introduced this year in the World Superbike Championship is applauded by several riders, but also a source of controversy – especially by Álvaro Bautista, who feels he is one of the most affected considering he is one of the lightest in the field.
His crew chief, Giulio Nava, told GPOne.com that a rule like this in MotoGP would have to include all riders, using Aleix Espargaró as an example – a rider who weighs around 70kg despite being 1.80m tall:
– If they applied the same rule in MotoGP, they would have to add ballast to the entire grid. Let’s take Aleix Espargaró as an example. He is not smaller than [Jonathan] Rea, but he is incredibly compact. This is because MotoGP riders are much more compact than those in Superbike. And Aleix knows this very well because if he doesn’t want to lose something to others, he is aware that he has to take much better care of himself by adhering to training regimes and diets.