BSB: Series bosses commit to Supersport and GP2 future

Bennetts British Superbike bosses have made a commitment to the Supersport class moving forwards after renewed interest from manufacturers in the 600cc class.

With Kawasaki having just released a brand new ZX-6R, albeit outside the current Supersport regulations given its 636cc capacity, the future of the Supersport class in racing is certainly looking brighter.

Last year Yamaha introduced a new R6, which has wiped the floor with the Supersport class this year on both world and British stage, while there are also rumours even Honda could resurrect the CBR600RR in the next few years.

BSB bosses have pledged their commitment to continuing the Supersport class over the next few years, altering regulations to include the 636cc Kawasaki in a way that’s fair for all. They have also committed to the future of the Moto2-inspired GP2 category introduced at the start of this season.

“After an unclear picture regarding manufacturers intentions it is encouraging that Kawasaki are maintaining a presence in the middleweight category with the recent launch of the new ZX-6R,” read an MSVR statement.

“As new models populate the Supersport motorcycle sales sector outside of the 600cc 4-cylinder tradition, MCRCB and MSVR will develop balancing and equalisation methods to ensure parity in both the Supersport and Superstock 600 classes.

“British GP2 has had a satisfactory debut season, highlighted by two overall race wins and three podiums for the RS Racing team Kalex ridden by Josh Owen and Kyle Ryde. With the Moto2 World Championship evolving to Triumph 765 power we fully expect more chassis hardware to become available this winter, similarly Externpro, the official Moto2 engine supplier have announced they hold stock of redundant 600cc Honda engines for sale at 1950 Euro per unit. The British GP2 regulations as published form the base of stable regulations for 2019 and 2020.”