WSB: The solution

Right, here's a message to all those WSB rule makers: This is how to create a set of simple regulations that will revive the series, slash costs and improve the racing.

No need for extensive rule books and the loopholes they inevitably have, just three simple sections.

Section one: Eligibility.

The series would open to production motorcycles costing less than, say, €20,000. To prevent homologation specials, there must be a dealer with the same bike in stock within, say, 50 miles of each circuit. No limit on engine size, configuration – anything goes.

Section two: Permitted modifications.

1: Tape up the headlights.
2: Fold back the mirrors.
3: There is no 3. Just go racing.

Section three: Cost saving measures.

To save money and prevent the rules of either Section one or Section two from being broken, the race organizers will source and supply the bikes for each round by borrowing them from dealers at random in the country where the race is held. After the race the bikes will be returned to the dealers and the entrants will cover the cost of any damage or depreciation. No transport costs, no need for huge teams of mechanics to fettle the bikes. No need for fleets of lorries or dedicated race workshops. Sorted. At most a team would have to pay the full cost of a bike if they've written it off, but that's probably less than a set of race forks costs in WSB at the moment.

And that's about it. Yes, lap times will be much slower than they are today. So what? As long as there are good riders – and with the cost savings they could be better paid than they are today, potentially making it more attractive – there should be good racing. Private teams would have just as much chance of winning as manufacturers, far fewer sponsors would be needed and the glory reflects directly on the manufacturer of the winning bike rather than reflecting which team has spent the most money transforming a road bike into a pure racer.

Sure there might be some safety issues to consider – lockwired sump plugs etc – but all that should be easy to overcome. Manufacturers might be tempted to make their bikes even less usable on the road, and more suited to the track, but the fact they'd have to stock the machines so widely would be a huge disincentive to any attempt at selling a loss-making racer-in-disguise just to homologate it for the series.