Superbike: Supersport-style rules to rein in Ducati? BMW also opposes

Zambenedetti had already expressed his disagreement with the idea of applying the SSP rules: Gonschor is taking his side as well.

It’s clear to everyone that the Panigale V4 R is the best bike on the Superbike grid. Nicolò Bulega has won all 15 races of the 2026 championship, his teammate Iker Lecuona is coming off 12 consecutive second places, and we have also seen other Ducati riders on the podium such as Yari Montella (5 times), Lorenzo Baldassarri (2), Sam Lowes (3) and Alvaro Bautista (1).

As for the other brands, BMW has stepped onto the podium on 4 occasions with Miguel Oliveira: in all the races at Portimao and then in Race 1 at Balaton Park. Bimota remained at the 3 podiums achieved in the first SBK round at Phillip Island: 2 with Axel Bassani and 1 with Alex Lowes. Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Honda have not managed to get there so far.

When a brand dominates, it’s normal to think the others should work harder to close the gap. But there are also those who consider it appropriate to review the technical regulations to try to make the situation more balanced. After shelving the rule that provided for reductions and increases in engine revs, in 2025 a rule concerning reductions and increases in fuel flow was introduced.

For example, in the last round at Most the Panigale V4 R received another 0.5 kg/h penalty, bringing its maximum value to 44.5 kg/h. Meanwhile Yamaha was able to count on 0.5 kg/h more for the R1s, thus moving up to 47 kg/h. The situation on track did not change.

The system introduced has proven ineffective at producing the envisioned balance. Among those left chasing from a distance, there are some who would like a balance-of-performance system similar to that used in the Supersport World Championship, to help the brands struggling the most and make the races more hard-fought. A proposal completely rejected by Marco Zambenedetti, Ducati Superbike technical coordinator, before Most: “I’m not interested in this type of method. We are willing to discuss the rules, but the other manufacturers must work harder. Performance should not be handed out: it wouldn’t be respectful towards Ducati and BMW, who are working and investing more.”

Chris Gonschor, BMW Motorrad technical director, is aligned with Zambenedetti: “I don’t see the necessity,” he told Speedweek. “In the last two years a Bavarian bike has won the championship. This year an Italian bike leads the championship. Furthermore, there is another manufacturer, Bimota with a Kawasaki engine, that is competitive. We have a competitive championship with strong manufacturers; there is nothing to question.”

Gonschor does not consider it sporting to penalize those who have worked better and also cites the case of Bayern Munich, a team that has long dominated the top German football league: “I am an engineer through and through, but even more so an athlete. In the Bundesliga there are 18 teams: when the rules of the game are defined, you certainly don’t turn to the 16th, 17th, and 18th in the standings, who are relegated, while Bayern Munich wins. You don’t take away Bayern’s budget or players. That’s why I say: you have to work hard to move forward. That’s the rule in every sport.”

The much-debated fuel flow rule is not viewed negatively by the BMW executive, who does not consider it necessary to change the SBK technical regulations again: “If two manufacturers are ahead of the others, then you get the mathematically correct reduction in flow. It has worked in recent years and it will work this year as well. We are all subject to the same regulations. It is stable and that is a positive thing. The fuel flow limit was planned for 2024 and implemented in 2025; since then we have had a constant. Every manufacturer knows the conditions and there are no surprises. It is a regulation that everyone must adhere to.”

It should be remembered that the M 1000 RR also suffered fuel flow cuts during 2025, due to Toprak Razgatlioglu’s fantastic results. It dropped to a maximum value of 45 kg/h and carried that into 2026, a year in which the results are different from those achieved by the Turk.

This weekend the Superbike World Championship stops at Aragon for the sixth round of the 2026 calendar. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad team will have to do without both of its factory riders: in fact, both Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci will be absent due to injuries suffered between Balaton Park (the Portuguese) and Most (the Italian).

They will be replaced by Michael van der Mark and Hannes Soomer, both of whom were in action in the recent test at Misano Adriatico and are also competing in the Endurance World Championship in 2026. The Dutchman had already replaced Oliveira in the Czech Republic and has already raced in SBK with BMW for five years, before becoming a test rider. Meanwhile, the Estonian rider has made only two appearances in the premier production-based championship: at the Most and Magny-Cours 2023 rounds as a substitute with the Petronas MIE Honda team.