WorldSBK: Paddock Ponderings – The Pole Position That Never Was?

There was a mix of excitement and curiosity at the Australian round, as teams and supporters experienced the new-look race format for the first time.

One event in particular commanded much of the attention:

The Superpole Race.

New for the 2019 season, Sunday’s Superpole Race is certainly more interesting than the previous Superpole 1 / Superpole 2 format. It is also now arguably much harder to secure pole position under the new system – all the riders battling on track for a 10-lap sprint than just finding a nice gap of clear air in front of you and hooking one fast lap together. Under the new system, it could well be argued that achieving Superpole in this session is worth more than in Saturday’s Superpole 1. It certainly more hard fought.

The addition of awarding championship points has equally played a part in the spectacle, as it ensures everyone fights to the chequered flag. Race organisers should be applauded for successfully implementing such a bold concept.

However, the new session does pose a very interesting question: Is it a race or is it qualifying?

It appears, according to the rider statistics at least, that is currently counts as neither.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) won the race / took pole position – yet neither race win nor pole position will be acknowledged in the records. If you look at the official rider statistics from the opening round, Bautista has two race wins to his name for victory in both feature SBK races, whilst Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) has the pole position from Saturday morning’s Superpole 1. There is no acknowledgement, in terms of a rider’s statistics, of the outcome of the Superpole Race. 

It is, in essence, the pole position that never was. That cannot be right.

Race organisers should rethink their decision to not regard the result as neither a race win or pole position to the victorious rider. There is a clear argument for both, as the session is listed as a qualifying event, whilst the direct battling of riders on track certainly makes a strong case for it being a race.

My personal preference – as the session’s primary objective is to decide the starting grid for the second full-length Superbike race – is for the pole position to be formally recognised. Perhaps a slight renaming of the session from ‘Superpole Race’ to ‘Superpole Sprint’ would also clear up some confusion on the matter. By taking the word ‘Race’ out of the title the distinction is now clear between this session and the two main superbike races.

In any case, there does need to be official recognition for the superpole race winner. There is no doubt that the new system has brought about an exciting alternative to the traditional qualifying format.

It just feels wrong that the winning rider does not get the same recognition as the winner from Superpole 1.