Phillip Island races to feature compulsory pit-stop

Ahead of the Grand Bridge Brewery Australian Round, it has been decided that the WorldSBK and WorldSSP races will take place under flag-to-flag rules, with a mandatory entry to the pits to change tyres for all bikes.

Based on the information gathered following the WorldSBK and WorldSSP tests at Phillip Island earlier this week and a report from the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Technical Director, the Race Direction together with the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) have decided that to ensure the safety of all participants, rear tyres shouldn’t be used for more than 11 laps for the WorldSBK class and 10 laps for the WorldSSP class.

Additionally, the race distance for the WorldSBK Race 1 and 2 has been reduced to 20 laps and two extra sets of tyres have been allocated for each rider in both classes.

Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK Executive Director:
“The circuit has performed admirably with the new asphalt. While rubber is gradually laid down track conditions evolve, which present some challenges. Since the tyres were shipped out in late November to arrive for this opening round, there wasn’t enough time to develop specific tyres tailored to the current asphalt conditions. We have carefully assessed the situation, considering the early track activity following the asphalt’s being laid out and the two days of testing we conducted earlier this week. While conditions have certainly improved, they may not have improved enough, especially considering the challenging, fast-paced nature of this circuit layout. In such circumstances, we, in collaboration with Race Direction, the FIM and the Phillip Island GP Circuit, must opt for the safest option, which is of paramount importance.”