WorldSBK Moves to Three-Race Format for 2019 Season

The World Superbike Championship needs to do something different, to give fans something unique and different from the other motorcycle racing championships…or so the thinking goes.

Many ideas have been put forward, some more crazy than others, so it doesn’t surprise us to hear that WorldSBK will be making the bold move of going to a three-race format for its race weekends.

Keeping the first race on Saturday, and another full race on Sunday, the World Superbike Championship will now add a sprint race to the Sunday schedule.

The hope is that this makes Sunday’s race day more eventful for fans, primarily adding more on-track action, which was an issue when the two-day race schedule went into effect. Making the race a sprint race though, will hopefully shake up the standings and provide more bar-to-bar fighting on the track.

“To bring in a third ‘sprint race’ into the WorldSBK format for 2019 is something we have been planning for a long time now, so we are delighted to see the plans coming together,” said Daniel Carrera, WorldSBK Executive Director.

“We are committed to bringing exciting races to the fans year on year, and we think the addition of a sprint race will add to the WorldSBK experience. We are continuing to work on the final adjustments and hope to bring more details in the near future.”

It’s not clear at this time what the details are of the sprint race format. It will be interesting to see how Dorna manages this new addition, especially in terms of race length, points earned, and starting grid assignments.

While the devil is in the detail, the concept of making a more exciting on-track experience is certainly a worthy pursuit for the World Superbike Championship. The question is though, is this the answer?