500cc four-stroke class to join World Superbike schedule?

A non-world championship category for 500cc four-stroke machinery could join the World Superbike schedule from 2015 onwards.

With MotoGP rights owners Dorna now controlling World Superbikes too, plans to drastically reduce costs and the technical specification of machinery in WSB and World Supersport means the European Superstock 1000 and 600 classes look certain to be cut off the schedule in 2014.

Dorna wants a team to be able to buy a bike off a factory in 2014 for a maximum price per season of 250,000 Euros (£207,000) in World Superbikes. A target maximum price for a bike per rider for a full season in a revamped World Supersport class will be around 100,000 Euros (£83,000).

And Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta told MCN: “There will be no place for both (European Superstock classes) because we will have something in World Supersport where you can race for around 100,000 Euros per season for one bike.

So there is no reason to have something that is very similar to Superstock. It is much better to have a big Superbike and Supersport grid than to have Supersport and Superstock.

We are thinking to make another support class like a one-make championship. For example now the manufacturers are interested in 500s, which is possible to make for 2015. It will not be a world championship but a 500 four-stroke class could be a good solution.”