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SBK, Dorna take a cue: the “old” Superpole is back in BSB

This weekend British Superbike reintroduces the single all-or-nothing lap to define the starting grid for the first of three races at Cadwell Park, the same format that fans appreciated in the early 2000s of World Superbike

SBK: Dorna take a cue: the “old” Superpole is back in BSB

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The most highly-anticipated, spectacular and exciting event of the whole season. With Jason O'Halloran firmly on control of the championship, at the seventh round, the penultimate of the Regular Season before the Showdown, British Superbike makes a stop at Cadwell Park, the circuit made famous by the iconic Mountain jump. For the “Summer Bank Holiday Weekend” the BSB protagonists will battle it out in the three races scheduled between Sunday and Monday. A breath-taking show, enhanced by the presence of exceptional guests of the calibre of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli who will perform demo laps on road bikes, but not only that. Big news is also expected in terms of sporting regulations, with the reintroduction of a format that disappeared more than a decade ago, but which is still very popular with enthusiasts: the one-lap Superpole dash to make up the starting grid, the same as in the golden years of the Superbike World Championship.

Superpole is back

 

Basically, on the Lincolnshire track you race in the middle of a park. Able to routinely "sell out" in terms of spectators, Cadwell Park is not only known for the Mountain jump where the bikes take off, literally, (see cover photo). Nicknamed the "mini-Nürburgring", the layout alternates ups and downs, blind corners and even fast sections. On paper, few overtaking points, even if the past teaches us something else, at least in the race. In qualifying, however, the riders very often have to deal with typical rush hour traffic. An inconvenient problem in creating the perfect lap, which the MSVR promoter has decided to remedy by making substantial changes to the format.

Mode

While until the Thruxton round qualifying was split into Q1 and Q2, in MotoGP style, this weekend's new program will effectively evoke the Superpole that made history in the early 2000s of World Superbike. The best 12 riders of the combined free practice on Saturday, who will later be joined by the top-3 of the traditional Superpicks Qualifying (15 minutes reserved for riders from 13th onwards of the combined), will do a single all-or-nothing lap that will decide the starting position for Race 1 on Sunday afternoon (the grids of the remaining two heats will depend, as always, on the fastest laps set in the previous race). Specifically, with the opposite entry order compared to qualifying, one at a time each rider will have three laps available: the first to warm up, the second timed and the third to return to the pits. No mistakes therefore, otherwise you risk compromising the first race. All this clearly weather permitting, in the case of wet asphalt, a classic 15-minute session.

Why not in the World Championship?

 

Modified to get closer to Formula 1 and today turned into an (anonymous) 15-minute session, the "old" Superpole was a particularly popular mode as the rider had only one lap available and he had to give his best to gain a place as far forward as possible on the grid. In light of such an exciting and hard-fought 2022 SBK World Championship, with three riders of as many different manufacturers battling it out for the title, a return to the past in terms of qualifying format might be a good way to add further spice to the racing, while at the same time involving the large audience of nostalgic spectators of the series from early millennium. MSVR is increasingly proving to be an enviable hotbed of ideas, many of which are successful, Dorna should take it seriously ...

 

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