Would you like to see three World Superbike races per round, instead of two? Dorna may introduce this change in 2019 and the person who confirms this is Daniel Carriera, interviewed by the German website Speedweek.
NO TEST – Dorna wanted to adopt this new race program for Donington Park (27-28th May) and Portimao (15-16th September) rounds. It would have helped TVs in getting more audience and, especially, it would have been an important test for 2019. But many teams disagreed and so nothing was done. At Donington we’ll see, as usual, one race on Saturday and one on Sunday, both starting at 13:00 local time. About Portuguese Round, no schedule has been released yet.
REVOLUTION – “We’d like to change the race program to better match the needs of TVs and attendants” said Carrera. “It would be great to introduce a third race: one on Saturday and, like in the past, two races on Sunday. We’re also considering the possibility of doing a sprint race and a normal one. We’re thinking of how to make everything more spectacular.” The decisions made by Dorna in the last few years have been object of much criticism and it looks like they’ve noticed that. “Yes, many local promoters would prefer to see more racing on Sunday. But having two World Superbike races on the same day would make it difficult to determine TV schedule. It’s complicated”.
MANUFACTURERS – Dorna wants to make races more spectacular and this is very nice of them. But we think that, currently, there are more serious problems to be solved. First of all: how many manufacturers will be directly engaged in WorldSBK in 2019? It’s an important issue, because now the field counts just 19 riders and further defections would represent a stab. These are the questions: Will Aprilia keep supporting a satellite team in WorldSBK? Will Kawasaki extend the contracts with Provec and both their riders? Will we see the return of Suzuki, currently racing everywhere expect World Superbike? Dorna says that all the manufacturers approve their decisions, but the situation looks different. An aspect that should be clarified as soon as possible.
TV – Dorna wants to better match the needs of TVs and attendants. That’s perfect, but there’s an important case to be considered: the deal with Mediaset Italia, one of the most important TVs broadcasting World Superbike, will expire at the end of 2018 and the fact their journalists will be at just five out of 13 rounds indicates that the contract won’t be extended. Hopefully this won’t happen, because Italy is one of the most important countries for WorldSBK and, moreover, Mediaset grants Dorna 1.5 million euros per year.