The Superbike Commission, composed of MM. Gregorio Lavilla (Dorna, WorldSBK Executive Director), Paul King (Director of the FIM Circuit Racing Commission), Biense Bierma (General Secretary of the MSMA), coordinated by Paul Duparc (Manager of the FIM Circuit Racing Commission & Secretary of the SBK Commission), in the presence of Jorge Viegas (FIM President), Ludovic Reignier (FIM WorldSBK Technical Director), Dominique Hebrard (FIM CTI Technical Manager) and Svetlana Nazarova (FIM CCR Coordinator) met at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on 28 October 2023, during the final round of the Championship.
Numerous electronic meetings were then held so that each party (FIM-DORNA-MSMA) could agree on the final decisions, the most important of which were the following:
NEW SCHEDULE: WorldSSP, WorldSSP300 and WorldWCR Superpoles move to Friday
A new time schedule has been decided for 2024, which will see the Superpole sessions for WorldSSP, WorldSSP300 and the new WorldWCR class moved to Friday afternoon. These Championships will have a single Free Practice session in the morning, with each Superpole matching their respective duration.
All three classes will now also have a 10-minute Warm Up session on Saturday morning and on Sunday morning, ahead of the races that day.
Meanwhile, the WorldSBK class will see two small changes compared to 2023. Free Practice 3 will now be scheduled for 20 minutes (rather than 30), and Sunday Warm Up will last 10 minutes (rather than 15). The standard schedule for Races and Superpole remains the same.
Check the full updated schedule for 2024 HERE.
GRID UPDATES: a new format for Race 2
In order to highlight outstanding performances, the SBK Commission decided that regarding the Grid positions for Race 2, the first 9 grid positions will be based on the fastest time recorded by the riders during Race 1, for the WorldSSP, WorldSSP300, WorldWCR classes.
AGE EXEMPTIONS: an opportunity for top under-18s
An exemption to the minimum age rules for the top 3 of the last FIM Supersport 300 World Championship, for the top 3 of the FIM European Moto2 Championship and for the top 3 of the last FIM European Stock Championship to compete in the 2024 FIM Supersport World Championship was decided, these riders having demonstrated their capacity and experience to be able to benefit from this exemption.
ENGINE ALLOCATION INFRINGEMENTS: start at back of grid, not pit lane
In case of an infringement of the engine allocation (before the race), the rider will start the next 2 races (Superbike Race 1 and 2 excepting Superpole race) from the back of the grid and will receive two long lap penalties (previously the rider had to start from the pit lane exit after the green light was lit on). This penalty seemed fairer with regards to the different lengths of the pit lanes.
CHASSIS COMPONENTS: updates in WorldSSP
For the WorldSSP Class, the chassis components rules will see some changes for 2024. The racing kit shall be made available by all the manufacturers and limited to only 1 homologated racing kit per racing season. The racing kit can be made of other OEM parts or specific made parts, this will be up to the decision of each manufacturer. A price cap of 1000€ (all parts together) was fixed. This will cover the following chassis parts list:
- Triple clamp upper and lower
- Steering stem (including bearings and relative bearing seats)
- Rear suspension linkage without swingarm
Furthermore, the rear suspension attachment points on the frame and on the swingarm must not change to avoid any potential changes on the frame and swingarm.
FUEL FLOW CONTROL: testing in 2024 ahead of an implementation in 2025
For the WorldSBK Class, with regard to the new fuel tank maximum capacity (21.0 litres re Superbike Commission decisions of 11 October 2023), to incentivise the environmental guidelines and to give a platform for manufacturers to increase their machine developments in these areas for the future, from 2025, it will be mandatory to use a fuel flow control system.
Therefore, in 2024, two bikes from each manufacturer will be required to fit a fuel flow meter and log data during both practices and races to validate the concept and define the value for 2025. A decision for a fuel flow meter has been approved. The FIM will introduce all related information into the 2024 FIM Eligible parts list for Competition accordingly.
As a reminder, the season 2024 will be a test season in order to collect data from the FFM sensors for analysis/evaluation for a potential official implementation from 2025.
SUSTAINABLE FUEL: 40% minimum for WorldSBK and WorldSSP
The SBK Commission confirmed the introduction of sustainable fuel for the WorldSBK and WorldSSP categories starting from the 2024 season, with a minimum of 40% sustainable fuel content. This E40 fuel should be compliant with the specification adopted recently in MotoGP.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: licence requirement from 2024
Alongside the Championships for Riders, a “Team Championship” has been decided. Consequently, a licence for teams in all classes has been created. The decision to obtain this licence rests with the team which is not obliged to obtain to participate in the Championship. In the absence of a licence, the team will not score points.
NOTIFYING DECISIONS: a new application
A specific application used by the FIM in various FIM Championships (including MotoGP™) will be used in 2024. This Application will allow, not only to notify a decision but also to make it public and will also give a legal value (within the framework of notifications and resulting deadlines for appeals).
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Source: WorldSBK.com