World Superbike three races per round details confirmed

The World Superbike Commission has officially confirmed and explained the radical format shake-up which arrives in 2019.

Last month it was announced the race weekend format would undergo a big changes next season by expanding to three races per round with the addition of a new sprint race on Sunday morning.

The change has been largely fuelled by fans requesting two races on Sunday after the initial format alteration in 2016 put race one on Saturday and race two on Sunday.

The full distance race one will remain on Saturday’s schedule after qualifying with the new sprint race, held over 10 laps, taking place on Sunday morning before the second full race on Sunday afternoon.

The complete race weekend overhaul also sees a return to three free practice sessions rather than four, with two held on Friday and one on Saturday morning, before Superpole which will become one session in all classes to decide the grid for race one and Sunday’s new sprint race.

Race two’s starting grid will be decided by the current front three row reverse procedure.

Both the full distance races will retain the standard points system (25/20/16/13/11/10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1) with the sprint race awarding just under half points to the top nine finishers: 1st 12 points, 2nd 9, 3rd 7, 4th 6, 5th 5, 6th 4, 7th 3, 8th 2, 9th 1.

“Offering three races with different formats will give the teams opportunities to work on different strategies for each race throughout the weekend and will offer even more exciting races for fans and riders to enjoy,” a World Superbike commission statement said. “On top of this, the weekend will finish with the WorldSSP300 race, which is always a sensational fight to the finish line.”

The World Supersport 300 championship will also have a shake-up from 2019 with the riders who do not qualify for their first race getting a ‘Last Chance’ race after qualifying. The top six finishers of that race will secure the final six places on Sunday’s grid.