The late mail today is that there will be no merger between the rival Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) and Australian FX-Superbike Championship (AFX-SBK) in 2014, or according to Australian Road & Track Rider Promotions (ARTRP), at any time in the future.

It is a difficult decision to dissect, and indeed we’re already starting to see some mixed opinions filter in on our own social media pages, as well as those of riders. The general consensus is that it would be a good thing to have Australia’s best riders racing each other, and at a wider variety of tracks.

But for that to happen, the parties behind both series had to come to an agreement that was workable, and for reasons we’re not privy to, that outcome was not reached.

While it’s disappointing, it is, at least, a concrete decision. Ultimately both series will continue to run as they do now, and those who take part have fair warning of this and can plan accordingly.

While the series will remain separate, we can only hope that the discussions between MA and ARTRP can result in two championship calendars which work in the interest of the riders in relation to both timing and cost.

The status quo will stay in 2014 with the ASBK and the AFX-SBK remaining separate. Image: Toby Lynch.

We’ll look into it further but the main thing is trying not to get bogged down by the politics of it all. CycleOnline was developed as an outlet to share sporting news, interviews and features, and we’ll continue to do so, just as we would if there had been a merger.

Click here to read the full announcement from today.

Back to the racing…

This weekend the AFX-SBK resumes after a massive break at Queensland Raceway. At Wakefield Park we saw Glenn Allerton getting amongst it, but he’s not there this weekend so it’s up to the other riders to put a stop to the Yamaha Racing Team.

We noted on the entry list that Dan Stauffer will contest the event on a BMW, as will Chris Seaton, on an Aprilia. It will be interesting to see how both riders stack up, and whether anyone can slow the run of YRT.

The man with the most momentum on his side has to be Broc Parkes. Broc led the Yamaha Austria Racing Team charge at the Oschersleben 8 Hour in Germany last weekend, and from the timing records, was consistently the fastest guy on track.

If it weren’t for a small fire during one of the team’s fuel stops, they surely would have been in the running for the win.

Josh Waters has had a tough BSB debut, but there’s no doubting his ability to battle with the best once he has the experience under his belt.

Countryman Josh Waters did a great job as well, with the team’s third member Igor Jerman admitting he sat back and had a bit of a holiday!

I guess that makes this week’s developments regarding Waters’ ride with Shaun Muir’s Milwaukee Yamaha squad even more disappointing.

In this news story, Muir reveals that Waters’ results haven’t been those that the sponsors require, and that he’d likely seek a different rider for the second BSB seat next year.

Knowing Josh well, and knowing both how talented he is, as well as the level of determination he approaches everything with, it is a tough outcome.

Fingers crossed that he can have a solid few rounds to finish out this season, as there is little doubt he is of the correct calibre to be racing in such a championship.

Now he has the experience on some very different tracks to those in Australia, he could be a real asset to the right team.