WSBK Rules

Nice and easy question for a Monday morning - should there be a combined minimum ride/bike weight introduced as per MotoGP/F1 etc ?

Discuss...

Yes, but not super high.
Bautista is a bit of a freak at ~58kg and he also loses out in some ways, he can't apply the leverage that bigger riders can. At the other end of the scale, Hickman says he's closer to 100kg's fully kitted.

I don't know what a race prepped WSBK weighs at the moment. I think the minimum combined weight should be in the region of 170kg+64kg (234kg) or somewhere between 228 and 238kg's

165kg is the current minimum I believe.

I?m not entirely sure because I think adding ballast will be more difficult and detrimental to the lighter rider, especially when it?s someone as small as Alvaro. Maybe a reduction in revs that?s more aimed at an individual as oppose to the rider(team) as it?s probably not fair for example reducing the revs on Rinaldi?s bike.

But the rate of knots that Alvaro goes by them down the straight beggars belief, I think this just goes to show how well Toprak, JR and Redding were riding.

Toprak is on another level, just a pity how the season started especially with the technicals and JR wiping him out.

Wull said:

165kg is the current minimum I believe.

Maybe a reduction in revs that?s more aimed at an individual as oppose to the rider(team) as it?s probably not fair for example reducing the revs on Rinaldi?s bike.

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Yes the restriction/ruling must be based upon each rider IMHO as a team ruling would not favour others....there are some very clever ppl out there surely it wouldn't take much to come up with a rule.....and maybe try it in a race or even the sprint race ?
If this already exists in MotoGP why re-invent the wheel....its a starting place...Over to you DORNA !!

What about a frontal area minimum? Part of the benefit is aero.

JR didn't wipe out Toprak, Toprak just refused to ceed the corner when he blew it.

Nonsense, Toprak ran wide but didn?t even go off track, in fact he didn?t even go on the kerb, JR tried to go up the inside but because of the acceleration he ran wide out towards Toprak and wiped him out, at not one point did Toprak move back across. That?s exactly what happened and if anyone thinks different then they?re deluded as fook.

https://youtu.be/oEF1zcwwaFE

This clearly shows that Toprak doesn?t move back across and you can see JR running out wide towards Toprak, what?s Toprak meant to do when it?s up to JR to make a clean pass. I?m not sure if the onboard from JR?s bike is in that video but his clearly shows himself running out wide and hitting Toprak as well and shows that Toprak doesn?t move across.

OK...racing incident then. Like Toprak screwing Redding with another dive bomb.

alex said:

OK...racing incident then. Like Toprak screwing Redding with another dive bomb.

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how can it be the same when nobody went down? Silly comparison that.

and, I wasn?t talking about that so not sure why it was brought up but yeah you?re correct, definitely a racing incident, but when I say ?JR wiped out Toprak? it?s exactly the truth. When someone is oblivious to what happened I?ll more than happy correct them.

Disagree. If the run off wasn't there yesterday, Redding would have been down.

Not crashing doesn't mean its not a shitty move.

I won't change my view that Toprak and JR collided and it was a racing accident because neither ceeded. And the one rider that could have avoided it was Toprak.

Absolutely 100% correct. Toprak isn't squeaky clean....

alex said:

Disagree. If the run off wasn't there yesterday, Redding would have been down.

Not crashing doesn't mean its not a shitty move.

I won't change my view that Toprak and JR collided and it was a racing accident because neither ceeded. And the one rider that could have avoided it was Toprak.

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well that would be the wrong view.

It actually beggars belief that you see it any other way than what was described, which is in fact a simple case of ?what does the footage show????it 100% shows JR as being at fault and making a complete arse of the overtake.

Nobody is talking about whether Toprak is squeaky clean or not, we?re discussing the move at Estoril that JR tried to make on Toprak.

alex said:

And the one rider that could have avoided it was Toprak.

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that statement is comical, made me chuckle.

Its mental how fast that ducati is on the straight with him on top.

Well maybe WSBK will start penalising Ducati for Bautista's performance like they did with Kawasaki and Rea. You only have to look at the satellite teams to see that the Kawasaki is severely hampered. I've thought the R1 and the Duc have been the better bike to more riders for a few years now and it's just with how good JR is that he makes the ZX dance like no other can

Tbf the Kawasaki is noticeably faster than it was last year with the top speed data to back that up.

I don't know if anyone saw it but Hicky was weighed at the same time as Locatelli. 40KG's difference. That's a 50L barrel full for fuel and the handpump attached. Charlie lifted one...

Wull said:

https://youtu.be/oEF1zcwwaFE

This clearly shows that Toprak doesn?t move back across and you can see JR running out wide towards Toprak, what?s Toprak meant to do when it?s up to JR to make a clean pass. I?m not sure if the onboard from JR?s bike is in that video but his clearly shows himself running out wide and hitting Toprak as well and shows that Toprak doesn?t move across.

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Have another look at 18/19 in also 20/22...... clearly shows the gap between kerb and bike widening before impact 20/22 Raz disappeared from view for 2 secs before the clash. Rea was on the inside in front by at least a wheel when Raz hit him in the left hip? Both riders would have been looking into the corner so only one was in the position to make the decision? I have no favourites, both bloody good riders....

I think even if he does start to move across it?s such a small amount that it makes no difference because of the angle in which JR is moving across, it?s irrelevant whether or not JR?s wheel is in front when he is moving across at such an angle, when you see the onboard from JR?s bike it?s blatantly obvious, for some reason that footage is nigh on impossible to find but if you watch the actual race back you see it.

I still think the onboard from Toprak?s bike is enough to show that if there was anyone to blame then it?s clearly JR.

I personally agree that it?s a racing incident, it is what it is.