Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/145534
P30 IN THE WIND put a lot of input into I am able to do a lot more of what I want with the bike and show it on track, and fight with World class riders. That has given me the opportunity to sign early. This is by far the earliest I have ever signed." For Sykes, like every aspirant top rider, a full factory MotoGP ride has to be a final goal, but if that goal is blocked for any reason then for Sykes there was only one he wanted in World Superbike racing - Kawasaki. "I have made these feelings clear to Kawasaki and the only other possibility I would have considered was one of the top Moto GP rides," Sykes said. "At the mo- ment there is a good four rides there and potentially four extra others, but realistically those are taken by very deserving riders. It will be very difficult for the doors to be open to a current Superbike rider, so why change? I made that clear to Kawasaki, doing what I am doing now is fantastic. I have a good relationship with all the guys in Japan, at KHI headquarters, and next year will be my fifth year with Kawasaki – amazing how time goes by. Before you know it maybe I will have done the rest of my career with these guys." Sykes even signed before a rules package was in place for next year. "Kawasaki and myself had this discussion about the rules and in fairness it was a big commitment from both parties to sign before the final rules had been set and it is a big reflection on, let us say, our views about each other," Sykes said. "They have committed to me without the rules and likewise I have committed to them. We might be racing scooters yet for all we know. I think I am confident in the rules that Kawasaki can give me a great package to work with and that I will be able to ride the bike to its best potential. There is a great feeling of mutual respect." Gordon Ritchie PHOTOGPAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE RULING PLEASE T he endless saga of the shape and size of the 2014 World Superbike rules dragged on through the Steppes of a Russian plain and still no official word came Everyone is waiting for the forth this past weekend. new World The most current read of the situaSuperbike tion is that the absolutely final MSMA rules package proposal has been recently given to Dorna, regarding the 'full factory' World Superbike class. That is bikes that will be supplied direct from the manufacturers, either as direct works or satellite machines, for a fixed cost of 300,000 Euros per year, including the eight-engines-per-rider limit. Six is the minimum Dorna wants the manufacturers to be able to supply, but with top factories like Aprilia, for example, it seems impossible to do this with current technology unless it is done at a loss for the manufacturer. These costs do not include crash damage. The Evo class has been approved, but it is seen as a class that Dorna will nurture, not the manufacturers. The manufacturers appear to want four bikes of factory spec now, not six. Front fork maximum prices will be set at 10,000 Euros, shocks something around 6000, but the biggest drop in prices for parts will come for brakes, which will retail for less than the current cost of top level equipment. Gordon Ritchie