A meeting at this weekend's Catalan Grand Prix has ended with the MSMA (Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers' Association) responding to Dorna's proposal for a new four-stroke class, to replace 250GP from 2011, by naming 600cc four-cylinders as its preferred c♛hoice.

The decision was reached by a majority verdict and follows previous suggestion๊s that 650cc or 500cc twin-cylinders should succeed the quarter-litre two-strokes.

The 600cc proposal will now be examine꧟d further by the other members of the Grand Prix Commission - FIM, IRTA and Dorna - with the next meeting to be held at the Dutch TT later this month.

The main difficulty for the new class will be to avoid conflict with▨ the World Supersport Championship - which believes it has exclusive rights to the use of production-based 600cc machines in a world cღhampionship - whilst keeping costs for the new class as low as possible.

During an FIM Press Conferenꦺce in May 2003, chaired by then president Francesco Zerbi, the following differences between MotoGP and WSBK were highlighted by Zerbi in an effort to prove that there 👍was room for both championships to continue, despite MotoGP having switched to four-stroke machinery from 2002 onwards.

"World Superbike represents the competitive tradition of 𒁃the products on sale and therefore, the tool to promote specific models tꦇhrough racing which, although technologically sophisticated, maintain a direct link with the excellence of sports production;

"MotoGP re🌜presents the peak of technology, encouraging development and promotiౠon of the manufacturer's image through the exclusive use of prototype bikes," Zerbi declared.

FGSport reacted positively to those words and, in a statement li🍎sting the implications of this distinction, made the following reference to World Supersp🔴ort:

"The World Supersport Ch𒐪ampionship will continue to remain an exclusive property of FGSport. Should new categories be introduced into other World Championships in future, substituting existing classes, the machines competing would nevertheless be pro🎶totypes not derived from the production machines."

In order to avoid conflict with FGSport, it w🐼i✃ll thus be necessary for the new 600cc grand prix class to prove that it will use "prototypes not derived from production machines" - no easy task if costs are to be kept as low as possible.