World Superbike Considering Supersport 300 Racing Series

This is no surprising move, as we sort of saw this coming, especially after the talks and interviews we had at EICMA 2014 with representatives of brands such as BMW, Kawasaki, EBR or KTM. None of these officials have tried to hide the falling interest in the middleweight sport bike segment, compensated by their efforts in the small-displacement class.

An advent of small-displacement machines

We also published and analysis on what the future may bring for the Supersport-class segment and why the 600-700cc sport bikes are no longer an enterprise as successful as it was a decade ago. However, it looks like the economic crisis has made the manufacturers realize that “bigger and more expensive” is not the most profitable direction, and “smaller and cheaper” can in fact turn out to be a much more reasonable approach.

The reasons for such a class are really strong

With Dorna’s efforts to extend the base of motorcycle racing to regions and countries with great yet untapped commercial potential, trying to provide the right environment is a natural move. The creation of the Supersport 300 class is a smart, profitable move for at least three reasons.

First of all, the Supersport 300 class is a feeder class for the Supersport (600) and the WSBK. Of course, jumping from WSBK to MotoGP cannot be dismissed. Having a feeder class in the parallel series will attract more riders and a bigger younger demographic means better competitiveness in the championship.

Then it’s the costs involved by racing. The 300cc-class bikes are smaller and cheaper, and this will allow more people to start thinking about putting up a racing team. Obviously, multiple FIM-sanctioned national series will be run around the world, contributing to popularizing the sport and helping local markets selling more bikes, too.

Street competition moves to the track

Several bikes are most likely to be the first to enter the Supersport 300 series, if everything plays out well. We can expect to see Kawasaki Ninja 300, KTM RC390 and Yamaha YZF-R3 as the first official Supersport 300 machines. Surely, with Dorna saying that varied capacities and engine configurations will be allowed in the new series, the door is open to almost any manufacturer in search of FIM glory, and this is a good thing, too.

With small-displacement machines expected from EBR, BMW and even more, Supersport 300 would definitely become a fierce battleground. And then there are the Indian makers who are eyeing top-level motorcycle racing as well…