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Gregorio Lavilla has defended WorldSBK’s combined minimum weight rule.
WorldSBK’s technical boss Gregorio Lavilla defended the championship’s combined minimum weight rule, which was blamed for Alvaro Bautista’s recent decline in performance. The rule affects riders under 80kg and bike-rider combinations below 168kg, with ballast added for each kilogram below the limits. Introduced in 2024, it aimed to level the playing field after Bautista’s dominant seasons. Despite his struggles in 2024 and 2025, Bautista criticized the rule as “discrimination,” feeling disadvantaged by the added weight. Lavilla maintained that the rule aims to equalize averages, not target specific riders, acknowledging Bautista’s continued competitiveness.
