Image: Keith Muir.

A portion of Australia’s top Superbike racers have rubbished Motorcycling Australia’s (MA) move to introduce qualifying races and progressive grids in the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli.

Beginning with Wakefield Park next weekend, the ASBK is set to revamp its Superbike class qualifying procedure, which has been met with contempt by some of the country’s leading premier class competitors.

Times from a single qualifying session – where a point will be awarded to the fastest rider – will determine the grid order for a newly-introduced qualifying race, to be contested on the Saturday of events. The half-distance qualifying race will award half-points toward championship tallies.

Following that, grids will be progressive into and through Sunday’s primary pair of full-length championship races. A DNF in any of the races will relegate riders to the rear of the grid for the following affair, according to the current supplementary regulations.

“I’ve discussed the new qualifying procedure with every competitor in the ASBK field and nobody could come up with a positive for it,” commented Yamaha Racing Team’s Wayne Maxwell “It’s all fairly negative, not only in terms of safety, but also there are a lot of people spending a huge amount of money…

“I don’t know what they are trying to achieve with it and if it is trying to achieve a better spectacle, I don’t think that’s the case. People want to see the best guys go head-to-head and if one of them has made a small mistake, coming from the back of the grid is not going to happen. The most likely, commonsense thing is to leave it alone and don’t fix what ain’t broken.”

Current points leader Daniel Falzon, coming off of a sweep for JD Racing at Phillip Island’s opener, also said it shouldn’t be revised: “I’m of the opinion that nothing was broken, so why try to fix it!? I’m not pleased to see a new format, we are racing at the pinnacle of the sport in Australia and I believe there is no room for handicaps.

“Spectators want to see the best racers race each other, not a progressive grid, which mixes all levels of skill, also posing a huge safety hazard. The back of grid penalty is simply too severe. Teams at this level have invested too much time, effort and money to be robbed of their qualifying place. There’s another series that runs this format – take your choice.”

Previously, regular qualifying took place across two sessions (cementing positions seven and back) and then the top six transferred into a single, 10-minute Superpole session, which finalised those positions on the grid for both championship races on that weekend. The revised format will result in one less tyre being allocated for those in Superpole.

ASBK operations manager Simon Maas said that feedback provided by competitors this week will be taken into consideration: “We are aware from feedback from some riders and teams that they’re looking for an improved qualifying and racing format in the ASBK and a review is underway to determine what changes, if any, will be made before Wakefield Park. The ASBK takes rider feedback and rider safety as a high priority. As a result, we’re currently reviewing what race structures are in play for Wakefield Park.”

For an assortment of opinions – including points leader Falzon, Yamaha Racing Team duo Maxwell and Glenn Allerton, DesmoSport Ducati co-owner Ben Henry, plus Maas – on the updated qualifying procedure, check CycleOnline.com.au’s The Point feature, posted earlier this afternoon.