An offer made during a meeting held July 10 to tweak World Superbike rules via “local variance” to eliminate manufacturer objections has come back to haunt DMG President Roger Edmondson. Describing a meeting held July 10 at American Honda, Edmondson says he responded to American Honda Senior Vice President Ray Blank’s objection to the featured “Factory Superbike” class running under FIM World Superbike rules, by offering to use WSB rules as the basis but tweaking them to make them more like the 2009 AMA committee rules. According to Edmondson, Blank said at the meeting that he had budgeted for 2009 based on the 2009 AMA committee rules. Blank rejected the suggestion and insisted on the 2009 AMA committee rules, Edmondson said, even though Blank asked for a copy of those rules later in the meeting. Edmondson said that he came to the meeting with the proposal to run World Superbike rules made by the FIM, because Blank and American Suzuki’s Mel Harris had demanded that rules be made by a third party, not DMG. Edmondson says he committed to running the premier Factory Superbike class under FIM World Superbike rules for the duration. In response to objections raised by Blank and by Harris, DMG changed tack and announced July 19 that it would run the featured Factory Superbike class under the 2009 AMA committee rules. Blank has now said that the series should run under existing 2008 rules, even though Superbikes built to existing rules will be more expensive than Superbikes built to the 2009 AMA committee rules. In an interview with superbikeplanet.com’s Dean Adams and posted today, Blank objects to the “local variance” concept even though it was offered in reaction to his rejection of the World Superbike rules he admits (in the interview) that he originally asked for. Blank also claims in the interview that riders licensed for the American Superbike class will not be allowed to participate in the premier Factory Superbike class. In fact, in the face of objections from manufacturers, DMG has eliminated that restriction and will allow riders to participate in Factory Superbike, American Superbike and Daytona Superbike classes with one Factory Superbike license, Edmondson said. In reality, the World Superbike rules offered to the manufacturers July 10 were already slightly tweaked by “local variance,” to eliminate spec tires (which Blank and Harris vehemently oppose), in the Factory Superbike class, Edmondson told roadracingworld.com this morning. Blank also complains in the posted interview with Adams that the featured Factory Superbike class will not include enough riders on the grid. In the July 10 meeting, Blank also complained about lapped riders getting in the way in current AMA Superbike races, in which the leaders have lapped into the top 10, according to Edmondson. The majority of bikes entered in current AMA Superbike races are actually Superstock bikes, and as few as 12 total machines have been running at the end of AMA Superbike races held this season. A total of nine true factory Superbikes are being raced this year, ridden by Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin, Ben Spies and Tommy Hayden; Monster Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking and Roger Hayden; Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom and Jason DiSalvo; and American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel and Neil Hodgson. Jordan Suzuki fields its own Superbike with Aaron Yates, and Corona Extra Honda has been fielding Matt Lynn on a Superbike which appears to be no faster than the Superstock machines which make up the bulk of the rest of the existing grids. If the current teams maintained their existing programs in 2009, there would be at least 11 machines entered in the Factory Superbike class. Read Blank’s e-mail interview with Dean Adams here: ~http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Aug/080808ru.htm~ Blank has recently declined comment to roadracingworld.com on the issue, through American Honda spokesman Jon Seidel.