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A month after the first round of the year at Phillip Island, FIM and Dorna have announced that the Superbike and Supersport World Championship races in Australia will also be held in 2025 under a flag-to-flag plan, with a mandatory pit stop to change tires.
Opting for the formula already used in 2024 - after the Phillip Island track was resurfaced - is a decision that was made as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and competitiveness of the event. This was decided in view of the concerns related to the unpredictability of the weather over the weekend of Feb. 21st to 23rd, and the different temperatures that could be recorded on the asphalt on a unique and challenging track like the one in Australia.
After a thorough analysis of the circuit's characteristics, it was determined that the rear tires will not be allowed to exceed 11 laps for the Superbike class and 10 laps for the Supersport class. As a result, Race 1 and Race 2 in the Premier Class will be held over a distance of 20 laps, with riders having two additional sets of tires for the weekend.
"Phillip Island is renowned for its exciting, high-speed track, but it also presents unique challenges due to its surface and the rapid changes in weather. Despite improvements to track conditions over time, it remains extremely challenging, especially given that it will be the first round of the season where teams are still fine-tuning their basic set-up," commented World SBK Executive Director Gregorio Lavilla. "Based on our experience at Phillip Island, we have come to the conclusion that imposing a mandatory pit stop is the best approach to maintaining race quality. By adopting this format, we ensure that all participants can race under fair and safe conditions in what promises to be an exciting start to the season."
