Image: Keith Muir.

The Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) will feature a Supersport 300 category in 2017, as Motorcycling Australia (MA) rebrands its previously-named Production class to fall in line with the world championship.

Dorna has introduced a Supersport 300 World Championship for next season, prompting MA to follow suit in the lower-capacity Supersport branding, which could assist riders in transitioning to Europe.

“Expanding on a highly successful ASBK Production category, the World Superbike Championship has now introduced a technically similar concept to the world stage, announced as the Supersport 300 class,” MA stated.

“Revamping the classic Production name and aligning the two brands will create a more direct path to WorldSSP 300 wildcard opportunities. The ASBK Supersport 300 will be sticking with the same exact structure of the Production class rules, as set out in the 2017 Manual of Motorcycle Sport and will continue with the segregated categories from 2016 of Up to 300, Over 300 and Women’s.”

Superbike, Supersport and Supersport 300 will contest all seven rounds of the 2017 ASBK season, while the Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup will also be featured at five of those events. Moto3/125GP will contest three of its scheduled five rounds – TBA, Sydney and Phillip Island – alongside the ASBK, while GP Juniors will be at three rounds – Wakefield Park, Winton and Morgan Park.