VOL. 54 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 19, 2017 P159
October 24, 2017, the Superbike
Commission dictated some
rather comprehensive techni-
cal changes for the 2018 Motul
FIM Superbike World Champi-
onship—changes that very well
could, in some ways perhaps,
trip up the omnipotent Kawasaki
WorldSBK works effort.
"We will have new motivation
for 2018," says Rea. Dorna has
come with a new set of regula-
tions to try and balance the field
a lot more, so there is a lot of
motivation to try and win under
the regulations. After that, we'll
see. I think next year is probably
going to be the most difficult
season to date, so we have to
be ready. But I've got a good
crew around me and I feel more
motivated than ever. My sup-
port crew around me is pretty
strong, so I'm excited for the
challenge.
And of the said FIM changes
that Rea and the entire Ka-
wasaki Racing Team will have
to address and counterattack
upon, Rea talked about what
they'll be up against, stat-
ing, "Basically, with the new
regulations, the biggest differ-
ence is an rpm count on each
manufacturer. Right now our
bike is revving higher than the
proposed limit, so we have to
change our engine character
and strategize to adapt to that.
I think that transition period is
going to take some time. Also,
the riding style of the bike is
probably going to be a little bit
different. But the crew here is
incredible and there are a lot of
good engineers and hopefully
we can hit the ground running.
Also, there is a balancing rule
in place that if you start domi-
nating the championship like
we have in certain races this
year that the organizers can
take even more rpm off you. It's
going to be a very difficult year
to have the same level of domi-
nation that we've had the last
three seasons because they're
making it more difficult on the
factory supported teams, but at
the end of the day I feel like I'm
(Below) Despite being fierce
competitors on the track, Rea and
his teammate Tom Sykes maintain
a cordial and friendly relationship
off the track.
