Despite the new arrangement that cut the rotation regime of the reds and raised that of the most dangerous rivals, the Spaniard and the red dominated. Here because
– montmelo (spain)
The old adage “the players change but the music is always the same” can be used, here referring to bikes and riders, also for this 2023 world SBK championship, now in its first third of the championship made up of 12 appointments with 36 races. In the last round on the Spanish circuit of Montmelò, with the 250 rpm of the Ducati engine removed due to the questionable and discussed regulation and the Kawasaki engine increased by 250, nothing changed on the track. In fact, at the summit, the same results were recorded as Phillip Island, Mandalika, Assen with the triumphal en plein of Alvaro Bautista on the Red. Bautista and Ducati, so far already 11 victories out of 12 races, unstoppable: they don’t win, they win hands down, each time setting a pace on the track that no other rider can keep up. Even for champions like Rea and Razgatlioglu, all that remains is to acknowledge and bow down to this reality. For Alvaro it is truly the “magic moment” of a long career, which began in the 125cc world championship in 2022. The Ducatis, starting with Rinaldi’s other factory one and Bassani’s and Petrucci’s others, are all strong, but winning is until now only and always that of Bau-bau. We will see it in the next and eagerly awaited round of 3 and 4 June in Misano, a technical circuit, very different from the other four where this year has already been raced, if there are any changes.
change your driving style
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If the almost 39-year-old Alvarito were to hit yet another three of a kind, the Spanish champion and the bike from Borgo Panigale would have a smooth path, flying towards the encore of the 2022 world championship. And here the question of engine revs is once again topical. The current SBK regulations provide that every three rounds, based on the results of the riders of each manufacturer, the engine revs are changed to level the performance of the bikes according to the show on the track and make SBK more attractive to the public and sponsors. In the past, 250 laps had already been taken from Ducati in 2019 and “super concessions” had been given to Honda and BMW, in that case to modify the frames. From a purely technical point of view, adding or decreasing a “handful” of engine revs does not distort the values in the field even if it modifies the behavior of the bike with a different gear ratio, therefore an update on track riding for the rider.
the basics
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This time the FIM and Dorna had only communicated on Friday afternoon, just on the eve of the Montmelò race weekend, the decision to lower (all) the Ducati Panigale V4s by 250 engine revs and to allow all the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10 RR 250 rounds more. On what basis are these decisions by Dorna and the International Motorcycle Federation made? A complicated and expensive algorithm, available only to the WSBK promoter and the FIM, analyzes and translates the performance and results of all the participants in the championship, starting with the classifications of practices, qualifications and races, top speed, lap times and on the distance, from the riders of every make and so on in a labyrinth to which “outsiders”, first and foremost the team houses and riders, are not allowed access.
reliability
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Beyond the method and the ever-hot controversy, the basic question remains: do these 250 rpm less and more really change the values in the field and really affect the results? After Montmelò, one cannot fail to express strong doubts because essentially nothing has changed: Ducati with Bautista continued to dominate even with the reduction of 250 rpm. Indeed, there is also a positive fact: by running at a lower speed, the engine has less chance of breakdowns and lasts longer. On the other hand, the 250 extra laps didn’t push the Kawasaki forward enough to recover the previous gap even if the top speed was higher. The problem is another. The engines have all already been hallmarked at the start of the championship. Therefore there is no possibility of reopening them and remodulating them at the new rpm. It’s not a matter of goat wool. It applies to everyone. Starting with the Ducati fine-tuned before the start of the championship with an engine with a maximum speed of 16,100 rpm, with the gearbox (and more) adapted to this type of rotation.
impregnable
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The 250 laps less can unbalance the initial set-up work but after seeing the Ducati triumph in Portimao it means that the team and rider have also been able to manage this new situation to the top. Well done! Could something change starting from Misano? In Barcelona, it must be reiterated, the values in the field remained substantially unchanged, with Bautista’s Ducati as uncatchable as and more than before. The FIM/Dorna’s decision to intervene on the engine revs of the Ducati and Kawasaki did not cause any damage to the Bolognese manufacturer, in particular to Bautista’s racing car, and did not allow the greenbacks to recover the previous gap. Obviously there is something to review, not so much and not only with respect to the regulations and technical details. Perhaps there is a need to rethink the “philosophy” that animates the FIM and Dorna, regarding what these races are today and what they could or should become. And if we put an end to these “conundrums” of the halter regulations, allowing, as has always happened in the past, the best rider (because he is better) to win with the better bike, i.e. more powerful and faster?
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