SBK | Kawasaki shock: says no to the granting of engine revs

Cutting Ducati’s engine revs has been the theme of the Imola weekend up until now. FIM and Dorna have decided to remove another 250 rpm from the Panigale V4 Rs, instead granting the same number more to Kawasaki, which from this weekend would have had a useful increase, on paper, to be more competitive.

Yep, on paper. In total, the ZX10RR has 500 more total engine revs, considering those already allowed from the Barcelona round. In fact, according to the regulations, 250 rpm had been removed from Ducati in the Catalan appointment and granted to Kawasaki in order to balance the grid. However, Jonathan Rea turned up his nose on Thursday at Imola arguing in a very critical way that this concession is totally useless.

Shortly before the start of Race 1, Kawasaki issued a press release in which it announced that it will not use the concessions and will not exploit the extra 250 rpm granted by the FIM and Dorna. “Following the announcement by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and the Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) that the rev limits will be changed following the analysis of the relative performance of the bikes over the last six rounds, the maximum rev limit for Kawasaki it will be increased by an additional 250 rpm starting from the Imola round, for a total of 500 rpm since the start of the season”, reads the press release released today by Kawasaki.

“At the moment the KRT is not using these 500 rpm and is waiting to introduce at the third check point the elements named in point 2.4.3.3.ci Since the beginning of the season, Kawasaki is the manufacturer with a lower rpm than that allowed, according to the way the rules are built on the basis of production motorcycles. (1,500 rpm less than Ducati, for example)”, continues the press release, which clarifies the position of the team, which has decided not to exploit the concessions.

Furthermore, the note released by Kawasaki supports the reasons why it was decided not to exploit them. At the base there is a refusal by the FIM of a homologation of the engine specification brought by the team: “The series of elements requested by KRT using the concession points, are the same ones that the FIM has not allowed Kawasaki to homologate in the 2021 ZX-10RR iteration due to a different interpretation of ‘reengineered engine’. KRT hopes that this clarifies the situation and the doubts of many non-experts on this complex rule, created to help manufacturers improve the performance of their bikes during the season”.