1200cc chance for WSB

World Superbike organiser FG Sport has come one step closer to saying that 1200cc twins could compete in WSB.

There has been rising pressure on the series to let the larger capacity twins – currently restricted to 1000cc along with four-cylinder bikes – to race in the series. MCN has reported on manufacturers such as Ducati, KTM and Moto Guzzi developing v-twin engined bikes around the 1200cc mark that they want to race.
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FG Sport and the FIM (the world governing body of motor sport) now believe the series must reflect the kind of bikes being sold in dealers.

“It is the common opinion of the FIM and FGSport that the Superbike category should be a mirror of real-world marketplace reality,” stated the press release.

“In other words, both the FIM and FGSport believe that racing Superbikes should, effectively, be derived from the bikes sold in the global marketplace, and not from models built solely to meet Superbike homologation regulations.

“In that sense, should the market of the future be characterised by changes, in particular where the capacity of what are effectively regular showroom models is concerned, FIM and FGSport believe that these changes should be mirrored in the Superbike World Championship technical regulations.”

Opposition to the 200cc increase in capacity has been strong from the Japanese manufacturers but the current WSB rules are already biased towards the twins with inline-four cylinder engines seriously restricted on the amount of tuning that can be carried out on the engine compared to twin cylinder machines.

Ducati argues the rule change would even the playing field by reducing the allowed tuning on twins to the same as the fours, reducing the cost of competing in the series and paving the way for much more even racing.

As reported in MCN this week (April 19) British Superbike director Stuart Higgs has already said that he would consider allowing 1200cc twins in to the series if the were brought in to production.