In the latest edition of his 'Simon Says' newsletter, PTR boss Simon Buckmaster gives his views on the possible changes for
WSBK and WSS under its new Dorna-run leadership...
“We recently had a meeting in Geneva with Dorna and all teams to discuss the way forward for Superbike and Supersport now Dorna runs both WSB and MotoGP. Obviously everyone was eager to hear what Dorna had to say with all the rumours of what they may or may not have in mind.
“It appears Dorna want our opinions before making any decisions. We all know that they are in a difficult position here as we all have our own agendas and you cannot please everyone.
“I think we all know we will be going to a control ECU; how can we not when Moto 2 already run under this and
MotoGP seems to be going that way, albeit with some compromise from Dorna for the big manufactures.
BSB does this very well though, with Motec for both Superbike and Supersport.
“If Motec were the chosen control ECU it would be a good choice as many Supersport teams already run Motec and the desire to have a more common rule for Superbike across the world would at least match
BSB and WSB, making the wild card rides that have been such a positive feature over the years and produced such thrilling races a more realistic possibility for the
BSB teams and even world teams in
BSB races.
“What we do all need to be aware of is this is not the massive cost saving some people think, well not in Supersport anyway. For instance if it went the way of the fashionable Magneti Morelli it may indeed be a higher cost, something none of us need. In reality we will still need a data technician to make sure we get the best out of the rules whatever they end up being.
“The biggest cost is actually the logistics of racing, I.E. freight, staff and travel. Anything that reduces this would be a very good way forward. In our case restricting staff would not help us because with five riders we only run two mechanics per rider which works well if you work as a team unit. In this case we did our own cost cutting.
“However teams with big staff would gain if they were only allowed a given number of mechanics. It would also make it harder for the Italians as it seems to take more of them to do the job if you look at the fully Italian teams... Only joking so please do not get offended.
“In the 90's we were allowed a certain number of flight tickets and hotel rooms for the flyaway races and restoring this if possible would be a positive investment by Dorna in the championship as a whole.