Post-race weights released for Monday's Donington Park round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship have confirmed that double race winner Shane Byrne was - on average - just 1.85kg below the future twin-cylinder minimum weight.
Byrne's participation in the Donington weekend had been thrown into doubt after a performance review by the championship organiser's came to the conclusion that "the twin cylinder machines have enjoyed a competitive advantage" and raised the minimum weight for the Ducati 1098R (the only twin cylinder machine in the series) by 10kg.
Shakey's Airwaves Ducati team threatened to withdraw on the grounds of safety, having not previously tested at the new weight. After confirmation of potential danger from Ducati Corse, the new weight limit was amended so that only a 5kg increase was in place for race day at
Donington.
This temporary 170kg limit posed no problem because, as race director Stuart Higgs told
Crash.net last week, the average post-race 1098 weight prior to Donington had been 170.46kg - meaning the twin cylinders had already been comfortably over the old 165kg minimum weight. The four cylinder minimum weight remains at 165kg.
Donington post-race data released by Higgs reveals that Byrne's bike finished race one at a weight of 172.80kg and race two at 173.50kg. Byrne's nearest rival in each race, HM Plant Honda's Leon Haslam, recorded weights of 167.70kg and 167.40kg.
Even if the full 175kg limit is applied in time for round five, at
Snetterton June 15, Byrne will thus need only a couple of kilograms of extra weight - depending on the margin of safety - an amount unlikely to have a significant performance impact.
Nevertheless, with the next best Ducati rider - Byrne's team-mate Leon Camier - finishing fifth in race one and fourth in race two, Byrne and Airwaves Ducati could well argue that no further weight increase at all is needed.
