Mandatory pit stops have been confirmed for the 2025 WorldSBK season opener
Today at 03:58 AM
The opening round of the 2025 WorldSBK and WorldSSP season will feature mandatory pit stops.
It has been confirmed that the WorldSBK and WorldSSP races at the 2025 Australian Round will follow a flag-to-flag format, requiring all riders to make a mandatory pit stop for tyre changes.
The decision has been made due to the wide range of track temperatures and the unpredictable weather that is expected at Phillip Island during the opening round of the season.
To ensure the safety of the riders and the competitiveness of the races the decision has been made as a 'precautionary measure'.
Following extensive analysis of the circuit's characteristics, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) determined that rear tyres must not exceed 11 laps for the WorldSBK class and 10 laps for the WorldSSP class.
As a result, the race distances for WorldSBK Race 1 and Race 2 will be set at 20 laps, with riders allocated two additional sets of tyres for the weekend.
Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK Executive director, stated: "Phillip Island is renowned for its thrilling, high-speed layout, but it also presents unique challenges due to its surface and rapidly changing weather.
"Despite improvements to the track conditions over time, it remains extremely demanding, especially if you bear in mind it will be the first round of the season where teams are still fine-tuning their basic set-up.
"Based on our experience at Phillip Island, we concluded that enforcing a mandatory pit stop is the best approach to uphold the quality of the racing. By adopting this format, we're ensuring that all participants can compete under fair and secure conditions at what promises to be an exciting start to the season."
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