Superpole
Superpole for Superbike is a timed event to establish starting positions for motorcycle racers in World Superbike races.
For 2019 a World Superbike weekend typically consists of:
- Friday – Free Practice
- Saturday – Free Practice, Superpole[1], WorldSBK Race 1, WorldSSP300 Last Chance Race[2]
- Sunday – Warm-up, WorldSBK Superpole Race, World SSP Race, WorldSBK Race 2[3], WorldSSP300 Race
- 1. The final results of the Superpole decide the grid for WorldSBK Race One and Sunday´s (sprint) Superpole Race.
- 2. The top six finishers of the “last chance race” take the final six spots of the WorldSSP300 race starting grid.
- 3. The grid for WorldSBK Race 2 will be determined from the first nine positions in the Superpole Race, and the grid from 10th onwards will be the positions from Saturday's Superpole.
The format of Superpole depends on weather conditions.
Dry Superpole
If the race director declares a 'dry' Superpole (referring to the weather conditions) then Superpole will consist of 3 laps of the circuit. Riders start one by one in reverse qualifying order. Grid position for the races will be determined by each rider's fastest single lap time.
Wet Superpole
If Superpole is declared 'wet,' Superpole will consist of 50 minutes of timed laps, for all 15 riders together, during which a rider may complete up to 12 laps (including in and out laps). Grid position for the races will be determined by each rider's fastest single lap time. For each lap over 12 laps completed, the rider's best lap time will be cancelled.
Technical details
To qualify for the race, riders must record a lap time no longer than 107% of the time recorded by the pole-position rider. Qualifying tires may be used.
Official rules
The Federation International de Motocyclisme oversees the World Superbike series. Full rules for the championship, including Superpole, can be found here https://web.archive.org/web/20130517122533/http://www.fim-live.com/fileadmin/alfresco/6510004_eng.pdf at their website.[1]
References
- http://www.fim.ch/en/default.asp?item=27# Archived 2008-09-14 at the Wayback Machine