WorldSBK announced earlier this week that a new entry class will be implemented to replace the current World SSP300 junior series from the 2026 season.
The FIM Supersport 300 championship has been the junior category since 2017 and has achieved its objective of providing a lower barrier to entry opportunity for riders to start their careers on two wheels.
Dorna’s next step is to “further enhance the sporting and commercial relevance of the entry category”.
With this goal in mind, the aim is to provide riders with a “seamless” transition into WorldSSP, the intermediate class in the Superbike series.
This transitional period aims to provide young riders with the tools to prepare for the next step up the SBK pyramid, by closing the performance gap between classes with new regulations.
The new class will have more powerful engines, with the SBK Commission choosing to announce more details over the course of the year.
These changes to the bikes is to help attract wider interest from manufactures to participate in the junior series, with the start date of 2026 to allow manufactures time to prepare for the transition.
SBK’s press release stated that manufactures joining will allow “all stakeholders to adapt to the new technical and sporting regulations”. The importance of wider manufacture entry will provide the SBK Commission the ability to showcase machinery “that reflects a growing market segment”.
Notable Dutch rider Jeffrey Buis is a prime example of how big the jump is between the junior and intermediate classes.
The two time champion of the WorldSSP300 series in 2020 and 2023, but when he received a promotion to WorldSSP in 2022 he was unable to secure a single point all season before being replaced by Tom Booth-Amos.
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