Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli leader Daniel Falzon (Caterpillar JD Racing Yamaha) was one of select riders to conduct a topical bike-swap in race one at Wakefield Park on Sunday.

The opening 20-lap encounter was declared wet, however a vastly dry track surface prompted the likes of Honda’s eventual race and round winner Troy Herfoss to switch from rain to slick tyres following the sighting lap, going on to dominate proceedings from the rear of the grid.

While the top six finishers – Herfoss, Robbie Bugden, Josh Hook, Bryan Staring, Aaiden Coote and Adam Senior – all started on slicks following late decisions and were rewarded for it when rain in the region held off, it was the bike-swaps of Falzon, Suzuki’s Josh Waters and more that sparked confusion up pit-lane.

Vocal Yamaha Racing Team rider Wayne Maxwell, who was first of the riders who opted to use and remain on wets front and rear in position eight, said it was a dangerous outcome that needs to be looked into by Motorcycling Australia (MA) officials. Very few were under the impression pre-race that you could complete a bike-swap mid-race.

“I actually didn’t know and the boys didn’t give me a pit in signal,” admitted Maxwell. “When I saw the slicks at the end I thought there would be a protest, for sure. The rule’s not very clear there and it’s something they need to look at – it’s very unsafe to have motorcycles coming into pit-lane. Only in wet conditions you’re allowed to do it and, for sure, every one of those bikes would have sped in pit-lane and not on a pit-limiter.

“There’s no way of controlling it – the speed and regulating pit-lane – no-one checking it and no marshalls to make sure there’s no public or anybody walking across. It’s very dangerous and MA are definitely going to have to look at that. I’ve been pretty strong on that opinion that they need to free it up for both conditions or get rid of the rule altogether.”

Championship leader Falzon ended up trailing Maxwell in ninth across the line after pitting on lap five – adamant that he did use his pit-lane speed limiter – to swap from the bike he started on with full wets, reverting to his slick-equipped dry bike for the remainder of the race. He ran as low as 19th across the line on lap seven before storming back up the order for P9.

“We always were under the impression that during a race which is declared wet, that bike-swaps were permitted,” Falzon explained. “I left that decision to the team – my focus was racing and I’m grateful of their choice to pull me in on lap four as the rain never returned and slicks proved the correct tyre for the conditions. We had the best outcome from a bad situation and I was happy to come away with 12 pivotal points towards our championship.”

It’s understood that MA is currently looking into the matter and what some are perceiving to be a loop-hole in the regulations, potentially stamping the bike-swap option out of the sport domestically prior to next month’s third round. Falzon doesn’t agree with that stance if the decision is finalised, however clarification from MA is yet to be made available.

“I think they should keep it for the Superbike category only… we all have spare bikes anyway,” he stated. “It’s also a lot safer to come in for a tyre to suit the conditions rather than gambling on a wet with a dry track. It is also exciting for spectators and involves the teams more in the race.”