The 2021 WorldSBK calendar has been updated once again in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After delaying the Australian round provisionally until the end of the season, the Phillip Island event has now been postponed until 2022. And a race in the Czech Republic, in Most, has been added in the middle of the calendar.
The Australian round has always been the most precarious date on the calendar. Australia continues to impose very strict rules on entry into the country, with restrictions making inbound and outbound travel almost impossible.
Rather than wait out the uncertainty of whether a race might take place in 2021, Dorna and the organizers decided to move the race back a few months to its previous place as the opening round of the 2022 season.
To fill the gap left by Phillip Island, the Czech circuit in Most, in the northwest of Czechia.
The Autodrom Most, which lies roughly halfway between the Czech capital Prague and the Sachsenring, in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany, has not hosted WorldSBK before, and is taking the opportunity to expand its presence on the global racing scene.
It is a popular destination for track days and has hosted various high profile car racing events, including the ALMS and European NASCAR series.
Most has signed a five-year deal to host a round of WorldSBK. The World Superbike championship will be racing at the Czech circuit through the 2025 season.
The date chosen, in early August, slots nicely into the spot in the calendar which was previously occupied by the MotoGP championship in Brno, which has chosen not to resurface the track, thereby forfeiting the right to host MotoGP.
Below is the revised 2021 WorldSBK calendar, and below that the press release announcing the calendar changes:
DATE | COUNTRY | CIRCUIT | WorldSBK | WorldSSP | WorldSSP300 |
May 21 – 23 | Spain | MotorLand Aragón | X | X | X |
May 28 – 30 | Portugal | Circuito Estoril | X | X | X |
June 11 – 13 | Italy | Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” | X | X | X |
July 2 – 4 | United Kingdom | Donington Park | X | ||
July 23 – 25 | The Netherlands | TT Circuit Assen | X | X | X |
August 6 – 8 | Czech Republic | Autodrom Most | X | X | X |
August 20 – 22 | Spain | Circuito de Navarra | X | X | |
September 3 – 5 | France | Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours | X | X | X |
September 17 – 19 | Spain | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | Xs | X | X |
September 24 – 26 | Spain | Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto | X | X | X |
October 1 – 3 | Portugal | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve | X | X | X |
October 15 – 17 | Argentina | Circuito San Juan Villicum | X | X | |
November 12 – 14 | Indonesia | Mandalika International Street Circuit*** | X | X | |
TBA | TBA | TBA**** | X | X |
*All dates, events and the attendance of spectators are subject to the evolution of the global pandemic and the approval of the corresponding governments and authorities.
*** (STH) Subject to homologation
Source: WorldSBK
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