WorldSBK adopts MotoGP's 'Marc Marquez rule' on pit lane entry and exit
The move comes less than a month after MotoGP tweaked its own rules to prevent this happening again.
WorldSBK has become the latest championship to tighten up its pit lane regulations, with WSB introducing the same rule MotoGP adopted earlier this season. The MotoGP rule change followed Marc Marquez's controversial pit lane entry shortcut at Jerez.
The wording, which comes into force immediately, is almost identical to the regulation introduced in MotoGP after Marquez exploited a loophole during the wet Sprint race at Jerez. Having crashed at the final corner, the Ducati rider crossed the grass and entered pit lane outside the designated route before switching to his wet bike and going on to win the race. While perfectly legal under the rules at the time, the incident prompted officials to rewrite the regulation to remove any ambiguity.
The new WorldSBK rule states that in all sessions, including races, riders must enter and leave the pit lane via the designated entry and exit route, following the broken white line, using the full pit entry road and crossing the official timing point. Riders who fail to do so can now be penalised by the FIM Stewards.
The similarity isn't a coincidence either, as the FIM governs both MotoGP and WorldSBK, and the wording adopted by the Superbike Commission mirrors the Grand Prix Commission's revised regulation almost word for word, closing the same loophole across both championships.
The pit lane clarification was one of several rule changes approved during the Superbike Commission meeting at Donington Park. Officials also confirmed that any rider who is two or more laps behind the race leader and enters pit lane during a race will no longer be allowed to rejoin, preventing backmarkers from affecting the outcome or disrupting riders attempting late-race tyre changes for fastest laps.
Looking further ahead, the Commission also confirmed elements of its 2027-2030 technical roadmap, including manufacturer-specific rev limits combined with fuel-flow restrictions from 2027, a single fuel supplier, reduced noise limits and, from 2030, an increase in the maximum four-cylinder engine capacity to 1,200cc.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
