2023 WSBK/WSS Discussion Thread

There's been some great racing here and there, but I find myself less interested each weekend considering how the rider's championship has gone so far. I miss the 2021 season - that was quite the spectacle for the viewer...
 
Great race weekend at Czech Republic.

Race 1: Mixed conditions + three different types.of tires had me breaking out the calculator trying to figure out lap times and finishing order.

Race 2: Amazing battle between Toprak and Bautista. Though I wanted to fast forward 1:30 every lap to see how the next Turn 1 showdown woulld play out. Superhuman braking effort from Toprak. Gutted that his race was ended by a delaminated Pirelli. Looked like he had already broken Bautista with 7 laps to go.

Also... Go Petrux!!!!
 
Shakeup!! There's been rumblings of discontent around JR for a while, probably due to next year's ZX10R being already known to be unchanged from this year's already-outdated model. JR still wants to win, and it's clear that it won't be on an unchanged Kawasaki. Toprak leaving Yamaha for BMW is the one I didn't see coming, but I suppose that freed up a premium seat at Crescent Motorcycles for JR to fill that seat.
 
Is Kawasaki getting money-spending shy again? Looks like both Ducati and Yamaha have both put more money into WSBK, and/or their superbike product offerings themselves. BMW signing Toprak must also signal they are putting more resources into their program (time will tell on this one).

Feels a bit like the reasons why they left MotoGP is now manifesting themselves into WSBK.
 
The money-spending unwillingness is probably not on JR's contract (he's leaving with a year still left on it!!) but rather on lack of development of the ZX10R itself. The bodywork-redesign and minor engine update of a couple of years ago did not do what was needed.

Why do you leave a contract with a year still left on it (evidently by mutual agreement)? Only thing I can see is that JR still wants to win, and the bike doesn't do what he needs it to do. I'm not sure the Yamaha does, either, but it's closer. Toprak's move is a puzzle, although it smells like money. It's going to be interesting to see if BMW can capitalise on that.
 
Brian P said:
The money-spending unwillingness is probably not on JR's contract (he's leaving with a year still left on it!!) but rather on lack of development of the ZX10R itself. The bodywork-redesign and minor engine update of a couple of years ago did not do what was needed.
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Do those changes have to be done on the stock bike, or can they be done on the WSBK spec?

I don't know the homologation rules very well.
 
Chaos said:
Do those changes have to be done on the stock bike, or can they be done on the WSBK spec?

I don't know the homologation rules very well.
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The WSBK-spec has incredible leniency for modifications. The race series is classified as "silhouette racing" so pretty much every single part on the race bike will be heavily modified or upgraded vs the homologated version in showroom floors.
 
There are still constraints, though. It has to retain the production bike's fundamental layout, certain key dimensions, features, and parts. The Panigale V4 uses a reverse-spinning irregular-firing-order V4, and that same description applies to their MotoGP bike. The Yamaha is irregular-firing but lacks the other features. The Kawasaki (and BMW and Honda) lack all of those. I also suspect that the Kawasaki's air ducts built into the fairing aren't as effective for downforce as everyone else's extravagant front wings.
 
Nicolo Bulegais moving up to WSBK alongside Bautista, I didn't see that one coming, I thought Bassani was a shoe in there.
 
Wsbk like usual is always spectacular to watch..Toprak is the Man!! Race 2 was amazing was amazing to watch especially those two Torapk and Rea!!
 
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