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/188118
P32 IN THE WIND rules have to be fair and we will fight to have fair rules. People say our bike does not do so well in Superstock, but not really. We do not have a proper team in Superstock. The other ones have an official team and it is different strategies. We invest all the money in Superbike project, but the other ones make something different. I think our Superstock bike, in the right team, still has potential. I think our bike has potential no matter what." Paul Denning: Fixi Crescent Suzuki Team Owner: "You need to re-read the press release and the important bit, which is that further study will be made, to allow all machines to be competitive. I did mention to Dorna that the wording of the press release was quite unhelpful, for us, Honda maybe, for Yamaha's, future consideration. Production bikes are built with different philosophies by different manufacturers and World Superbike has to be very careful to avoid the situation where it becomes a one-make championship as Superstock almost is at the moment. I think the key point is that sentence in the press release and there is clearly going to be a lot of further discussion about how far engine tuning is allowed to go. I think the important point within that is that the Evo regulation has very much restricted electronic controls. However, that runs out in the future – a spec ECO or more heavily controlled electronics on the bikes – done right, that could be an important cost saving. Done wrong, it could be a minefield. It does not matter what you say about maximum cost, the clever electronics engineers will hide everything away, hide everything under layers and layers of code, layers and layers of hardware and you will never get to the reality. The engine regulation being Evo means we could not be here full stop. "You cannot have a regulation to allow one manufacturer to tune their engines and another to not tune their engines. If you look at something like BSB, which is essentially a stock engine with cylinder head and camshaft modifications, very cheap straight forward tuning, something like that should be a target. Focusing on bull like whether you should be allowed to change a piston or a camshaft the cost is zero com- KAWASAKI IN TWOTWO MOTORSPORTS' FUTURE? I t's kind of looking that way. The TwoTwo Motorsports team was openly spotted testing a Kawasaki KX450F at the Pro Circuit test track located on the Glen Helen Raceway facility recently, and at the controls of the KX, fitted with all-white plastic, was most pared to employing one member of staff. It is nothing. A little bit of the wrong stuff is being looked at in my opinion. Another question I asked is on the testing. I think the days after the races is a great thing and Dorna is helping a lot by hiring the track and providing the tires free of charge within the Pirelli contract, that is all positive. But it does not allow testing for contracted riders and teams. Of course, they cannot restrict a manufacturer from developing a bike - Kawasaki can test in Japan, Aprilia can test every weekend in Mugello, Ducati can do their own thing, but we do not have a test facility in Japan. We are not a manufacturer-supported team, so I am assuming that we are allowed to do some testing, with a non-contracted rider, to develop the bike. That is something a little bit grey and needs to be defined. The overall approach is sensible, but for me it is also important that this is the World Superbike Championship, not the World Superstock Championship, and that the word Evo disappears as quickly as possible." Gordon Ritchie certainly the team's owner/racer Chad Reed. Reed also posted on Instagram recently a close-up photo