BSB announces 2021 schedule change

The British Superbikes Championship has released a revised provisional calendar for the 2021 season, which sees the start of the championship delayed.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused havoc for motorsports in 2020, aside from the devastation in almost every other area of life and society. For 2021, the picture is somewhat similar, although now with some experience of managing sports series’ in the midst of a global health crisis, series organisers are able to be somewhat more proactive compared to last year. 

This week has seen a number of British racing series revise their 2021 schedules, as well as global series’ such as Formula One, and BSB has no more immunity to the regulations Covid has demanded of governments and the implications those have had on society than any other championship. 

The 2021 season will now start at the end of May, on the second bank holiday weekend of the month, on 29 May – 31 May. Before the opener, though, there are four scheduled tests, beginning with Donington on 13 April, ahead of a second April test at Silverstone, this time for two days, over 28 April and 29 April. Testing concludes in May, with a three-day outing at Snetterton from 11 May to 13 May, before a final pre-season session at Oulton Park on 19 May.

It is fair to say, then, that after a test day and a full race weekend that incorporates three races, the BSB field will be quite well adjusted to Oulton Park. In that case, it could be quite a shock to turn the first laps at Thruxton, which is scheduled to host the second round of the 2021 BSB season a week after the Oulton opener, still on the originally planned 4-6 June; the Hampshire circuit hosting the second round of the championship for the first time since a rain-affected meeting in 2013. In fact, aside from the Oulton Park opener, the calendar remains unchanged from the previously-published schedule for 2021.

Following Thruxton, then, will still be Snetterton, with the Norfolk circuit hosting round three on 18-20 June, before a three-week break preceding the trip to Scotland and Knockhill on 9-11 July. 

From Fife the series is then scheduled to head to Kent on 23-25 July for the first of two trips to Brands Hatch and its GP layout; while the first trip of the season to Donington Park – on the National layout – is now scheduled to take place on 6-8 August. 

A fortnight after the Donington National round, Cadwell Park will host the seventh round of the series on 20-22 August, before the now-standard National layout at Silverstone hosts round eight on 10-12 September, one week before a second Oulton Park round on 17-19 September. 

October, as usual, is still scheduled to close the series, with the Donington GP round taking place on 1-3 October, and the season ending with the traditional Brands Hatch finale on 15-17 October.