Redding poses question of WorldSBK weight limits

At more than six feet tall and 90kgs, WorldSBK’s heftiest rider Scott Redding has given his thoughts on whether the series should impose a combined rider and weight limit.

Alvaro Bautista claimed his 14th victory of 2022 at San Juan last weekend. With 30 podiums to date from the diminutive Spaniards’ returning season on the Panigale V4R, the debate about rider weight advantages, alongside the recently discussed super-concessions, has been brought to the fore - especially following the Ducati rider’s six-second dominance of Saturday’s opening bout in Argentina.

Posing the question via his Instagram account on Wednesday morning, Redding - who rode the Ducati in question for the past two seasons, claiming second and third in the championship standings before switching to BMW - had this to say.

“YES OR NO? Should there be a rider minimum weight limit for 2023?” Redding quizzed his fans alongside an image of himself and Bautista with ‘93kg vs 66kg’ added. “The WorldSBK Championship has done a great job at creating some of the best motorcycle racing in the world but, why is there not a rider minimum weight limit? I can speak on this subject as I am not a championship contender this year, those who are will not speak up about it because they get criticised by fans and social media ‘experts’. As you will see when you swipe through the videos you will see the clear advantage that a extremely smaller rider will gain on a straight, typically 0.2-0.4 of a second, this may not seem a lot to many of you but when 10 riders are covered by one second, this “0.2” on one straight is a beautiful safety net.

“Besides the speed gain, a lighter rider will not consume as much rubber off the tyre as a heavier rider. Therefore at the end of the