It’s been another big week on CycleOnline.com.au that included a quick visit to the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli test at Wakefield Park on Tuesday morning, which has led to all kinds of content.

Much of the attention was on the fact that Yamaha Racing Team was trialling Pirelli tyres after spending many years and starting the season on Dunlop (which Yamaha-owned Ficeda Accessories distributes in some states) rubber.

Of course, the team was attempting to keep their evaluations relatively low-key, so both Glenn Allerton and Wayne Maxwell weren’t able to make comment on their feelings, but the general vibe seemed positive. Will they switch for the race weekend? That’s not 100 percent certain at this point, from what we understand, and we may not find out until next Friday when they hit the track.

It’s a massive move to make after round one and comes just weeks after Daniel Falzon’s switch from Dunlop to Pirelli proved so successful at Phillip Island. So far, his family-run JD Racing team plans to use whatever tyre is more competitive at any given circuit during the season, but they didn’t get the chance to lap on Dunlops as hoped at Wakefield when the rain came on Wednesday.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Will a change in tyres be the final ingredient that YRT needs for Allerton or Maxwell to win the team’s first ASBK crown since Jamie Stauffer did in 2007? It’s a big call, because no matter what way you look at it, both Dunlop and Pirelli appear to have their strengths. And so do the Bridgestones, beneath the radar funnily enough, which Beau Beaton is using to very good effect on his privateer Ducati.

What such a move would do, at the very least, is put YRT on an identical playing field to the defending champion Crankt Protein Honda Racing team of Troy Herfoss and Bryan Staring and some other strong rivals such as Suzuki’s Josh Waters, so we will see. Right now there’s every chance that Yamaha will turn up with Dunlops next weekend and either way, they will be right in the frame for victory.

There was no official timing at the test, but some mail is that Herfoss was particularly quick at home – as usual – aside from a pretty hefty fall at turn three on the opening day. We haven’t heard much at all otherwise, with no official timing available. What I’m tipping come next weekend is some of the tightest action we’ve seen since 2014 at the same venue.

The major talking point didn’t end there, though. Motorcycling Australia’s (MA) plans to introduce a qualifying race this year was brought to light and, despite claims that they did speak to a vast amount of competitors, nobody appeared to be in favour of them. Especially considering they were going to add progressive grids to the equation as well.

We did a The Point feature regarding the controversial matter, which signified how many notable identities were against it, but now it will go back to two 30-minute sessions, with Superpole abolished (in turn saving a tyre for those who make it through). It was an interesting week, that is for sure!

And also on the topic of ASBK, a return to Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin was made official, as we suggested earlier in the month. MA wanted to finalise this before Phillip Island after Barbagallo Raceway was cancelled, but for whatever reason the deal announcement was delayed and only announced on Thursday.

Image: Andrew Gosling (tbgsport).

It’s great for the sport in many ways, but – as some have suggested – a very expensive excursion as well. There’s no doubt that the atmosphere in the Top End is one of the best in the country and the government gets right behind it, so fingers crossed it all works out for everyone. Word is that the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) will be next on the agenda for Darwin.

People seem to be enjoying the coverage we’re providing, so thanks for checking it all out, and hopefully we can assist in further engaging fans in the sport. Too often interesting story-lines are brushed over or ignored altogether, but really, a lot of this stuff is just as intriguing and relevant as the racing itself – it’s all a big part of why we all choose to go racing or, at least, follow it in the first place.

Internationally, this weekend, we’ll be closely following the Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) round in Thailand and also keeping a really close eye on final MotoGP tests in Qatar. It’s going to be a big one, as the true global racing season begins to draw closer.

That’s it from me for this week, thanks for stopping by as usual! Make sure you check out all of CycleOnline.com.au’s social networking channels and be sure to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for even more behind the scenes insights. Just search CycleOnline.