BSB 2020 IS GO!
Provisional six-round series revealed with 18 races and no Showdown as racing set to start in August ‘We have to be optimistic in terms of timing’
The 2020 Bennetts British Superbike Championship will finally fire into action at Donington Park on August 7-9. With the original calendar hit by Covid-19, series bosses have worked tirelessly with teams in a bid to get the championship off the ground with confirmation of a six-round series of tripleheaders making it a credible 18 race championship. MCN spoke with series boss Stuart Higgs for an insight into how, where and when the series will re-start in eight weeks’ time.
What can we expect at each BSB round?
It will be a standard format which will see Free Practice on Friday and Free Practice on Saturday morning. We will then run a slimmed down qualifying session before race one on Saturday afternoon which will be either 2/3 or 3/4 of the normal race distance to give it its own character. Then a regular Sunday with a Superbike warm-up and two full-length races in the afternoon.
Will there be a Showdown?
We’re still discussing with the teams, but my feeling is that as it’s 18 races which is a couple less than what would be in a normal season (without the Showdown) then the suggestion is that it would be straight season. There is thinking that the shorter Saturday race could have a slightly different points format similar to what they do in the WSB Superpole race.
What about support classes?
We want to give all the classes exposure for the rest of the year. Obviously everything has been displaced, so we’ll have to slim it down but everything will run in what we believe will be a credible championship.
How was the decision made on what circuits to race at?
The three key measurements are logistics, operation and financial. The six venues we have chosen can all comfortably host multiple classes, which means we can maximise the track time, taking into account all the likely protocols and procedures that are going to have to be in place in terms of spacing things out and doing things in a different way.
It’s a hard decision when circuits that have been the mainstay of the series are having to be stepped down this year, but they have been done for sensible and pragmatic reasons. It is our intention to restore these circuits to the calendar in 2021 to their rightful place.
What new procedures are having to be implemented in light of Covid-19?
Everything is having to be looked at starting from pre-arrival to the circuit. We are working on a medical control type app that will allow us to monitor the health and well being of everyone in the paddock. The idea is that anyone within the paddock community will certify their health on a daily basis. There are a lot of procedures being established in other sports but we will have to see what the best practice is for us.
There will obviously have to be a lot of social distancing and the paddock layout will have to be reviewed, there will be quickstart procedures in place and a change to the podium and media, not forgetting medical and marshalling procedures which are being extensively reviewed. It will involve a lot of PPE and some well drilled procedures.
What about spectators?
We don’t want to try to pre-empt what the spectator situation will be, but we have to be optimistic in terms of our timing. We’re pretty sure that we are not going to be able to run an unlimited crowd, but we don’t know yet if we will have to run behind closed doors. Technically we could have been operational in July, but that would have meant almost certainly that it would be behind closed doors, but optimistically by running things later it could be different. As an example in cricket there is a proposal for the Oval to have 6000 fans, which is 25% of capacity. And there is obviously a big difference between a rural 500 acre site like Brands Hatch or Oulton Park where most people travel there in their own vehicles which has to be treated differently to a stadium venue which has seating and in most cases people get there by public transport.
I stress that this is an optimistic view. These decisions are out of our hands so we just have to wait and see. At this stage everything remains provisional.
Was there ever any thinking that it would be better to draw a line under 2020 and start again in 2021?
I think everyone is of the view that continuity is really important. It’s not a case of doing something at any cost, but if you can do something credible and reasonable then you should do it. When people or a sponsor who was very interested walk away then it can be difficult to re-kindle that interest. BSB and motorsport in general is hugely reliant on very passionate sponsors. We are taking things slowly and the critical thing is not to be over ambitious but to do things steadily and sensibly and have the intention to create something this year, but absolutely not at the detriment of 2021. This is going to be a long path of recovery for everyone.
‘We don’t know if fans will be allowed in’ STUART HIGGS, BSB BOSS