Image: Keith Muir.

Motorcycling Australia (MA) has scrapped plans to introduce a qualifying race and progressive grids at remaining events on the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli.

CycleOnline.com.au broke the news yesterday that many in the sport were against the move to drastically change the Superbike class qualifying procedures. Moving forward, grids will be decided via two 30-minute qualifying sessions on Saturdays.

“The two qualifying format is very standard and has been around for many years,” MA CEO Peter Doyle explained to CycleOnline.com.au. “It’s safe and it’s the industry standard. People are trying to play around with Superpoles or different scenaries – whether it be here or overseas – but the standard two-session format is the benchmark and it works okay. It’s not too exciting, but it is a very safe, easy and manageable schedule.”

Doyle said that, although a traditional method has now been put in place, a more modern approach should be considered: “I think there’s absolute merit in looking for changes, not just in road racing, and a race on Saturday does have a lot of merit. Ultimately, I don’t think you can sit still and do two 30-minute qualifying sessions, so you’ve got to look and see what works. It’s trial and error, so if you find that things don’t work, going back to the basic format is a very safe fallback option.”

Despite Superpole being removed altogether for this season and saving a tyre for those who make the cut in the process, as per recent seasons a single point will be awarded to the pole-setter in the premier Superbike ranks. Wakefield Park’s first standalone event of the 2017 season will take place on 17-19 March.