WSBK Races To Be Held on Separate Days
The most significant change of the two would be the split of the WSBK Race 1 and Race 2 which used to be held on the same day. From 2016, the races would be held separately on Saturday and Sunday. That is, Race 1 on Saturday and then Race 2 on Sunday. This will shift the Superpole to Saturday morning rather than Saturday afternoon as it used to be till now. The Superbike Commission thinks that this would provide a fuller experience to the WSBK fans over the weekend. The commission says that this decision was taken after a positive feedback on consultation with the teams, TV broadcasters and circuit owners.
This change in schedule might create a stir among the fans. The split of the WSBK races would mean that the fans would have to buy tickets for two days instead of one to watch both WSBK races. Clearly, this move would be beneficial for WSBK, the circuit, the local businesses, hotels and restaurants. But unfortunately, the fans will have to shell out more from their pockets.
Another change along with the new schedule would be in the qualifying format for the World Supersport races. The support class will adopt the familiar two-stage Superpole format that is currently employed for WSBK. The grid positions for Superpole will be decided on times set during the Friday free practice session.
The second change with the homologation rules brings down the homologation numbers to retain and help smaller manufacturers take part in the series. The homologation numbers comes down to 500 from the earlier 1000 numbers. This new rule would not just help the smaller manufacturers but also larger manufacturers such as Yamaha and Honda.
Bigger manufacturers will now have the opportunity to produce highly tuned and highly expensive road legal superbikes which can reach homologation numbers easily. The Yamaha R1 M is a perfect example of this strategy. However, the maximum retail price of the bikes homologated for WSBK remains unchanged at Euro 40,000. Another important concession allows manufacturers to homologate new motorcycles mid-season instead of waiting till the next season.
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