Image: Keith Muir.

Multiple-time Australian champion Kevin Curtain has labelled the 2014 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship format as “stupid” after a trying first two days at Wakefield Park.

This season the fastest laps posted across Saturday’s three Australian FX-Superbike Championship races determine Sunday’s ASC starting order.

But it’s a regulation update that former world championship number two Curtain doesn’t agree with, believing it reduces the importance of Saturday’s racing – the AFX-SBK series itself a championship event for this season separate to Sunday’s Swann Series.

“Realistically, we don’t really care if we win races on Saturday,” Curtain told CycleOnline. “Sunday is the day and most people do only get paid for Sunday. That’s a fact.

“A lot of people don’t even care about the race on Saturday – they’re in it just to get a time and I think it’s wrong. They’re trying to adopt the BSB rules, but I think it’s a stupid rule. It’s different here on Saturday, it’s a completely different championship.

“They shouldn’t be doing stuff on Saturday that affects Sunday, because they’re different championships and that’s what it’s meant to be. I don’t understand how they can take times from Saturday’s racing for Sunday.”

Curtain started from 21st on Saturday after experiencing a difficult run during Friday’s AFX-SBK qualifying, severely hampering his chances of logging a quick qualifying time while battling through the mid-pack on Saturday.

Race one saw Curtain slow to the rear of the field in a bid to secure a quick lap, forfeiting his chances of an improved result in the race.

Curtain finished 21st overall on Saturday, eventually posted a best lap of 59.758s in race two to secure 16th on the grid for today.

“We had a gremlin in the bike on Friday, so I only got two and a half sessions. I said to the boys ‘I’m not even going to try fight through the field, we haven’t even sorted the bike out yet’. So in the first race I went out trying to get that elusive fast time.

“Instead of being 21st on the grid, we wanted to be up there somewhere so we have a bit of hope for Sunday.”

Curtain was one of a number of riders who focused on lap times during Saturday’s action rather than outright results.