New change to 2021 World Superbike calendar
Photos: GeeBee Images
There’s a new update to the 2021 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, with the Estoril round given a date.
Prior to this latest calendar change, which was announced by the FIM and Dorna WSBK Organisation (DWO) on 16 April, Estoril had been moved from a season opening slot on 7-9 May to an undetermined date later in the year.
The Portuguese circuit, which hosted the 2020 season finale, has now been given a round and date – Round 2 on 28-30 May. This will be one week after the new season opener at Aragon, Spain, on 21-23 May and a fortnight ahead of the Italian round at Misano.
Estoril will host World Superbike and World Supersport classes only, meaning the World Supersport 300 class will have a long break between their opener at Aragon and Round 2 in Misano.
All other rounds are unchanged since the 9 March update, so the ‘Europe-first’ strategy remains, with Italy, Spain, the UK, Portugal, the Netherlands and France to host rounds before the flyaways begin in October.
Australia remains in an un-dated, TBA slot at the end of the 2021 calendar, following scheduled flyaways at San Juan Villicum, Argentina, on 15-17 October, and the new Mandalika “street circuit” in Indonesia on 12-14 November.
While this latest update appears to make the calendar more solid, the FIM and DWO state that all rounds are subject to the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and the approval of corresponding governments and health authorities. Fan attendance will also be subject to government rulings.
The updated calendar is below.
2021 World Superbike Championship calendar (16 April, 2021)*
Round Date Country Circuit
Rd01 21-23 May Spain Aragon
Rd02 28-30 May Portugal Estoril***
Rd03 11-13 Jun Italy Misano
Rd04 02-04 Jul United Kingdom Donington Park**
Rd05 23-25 Jul Netherlands Assen
Rd06 20-22 Aug Spain Navarra***
Rd07 03-05 Sep France Magny-Cours
Rd08 17-19 Sep Spain Catalunya
Rd09 24-26 Sep Spain Jerez
Rd10 01-03 Oct Portugal Portimao
Rd11 15-17 Oct Argentina San Juan de Villicum***
Rd12 12-14 Nov Indonesia Mandalika***‡
Rd13 TBD Australia Phillip Island***†
* subject to ongoing COVID-19 conditions
**WSBK only
***WSBK, WSS only
†subject to contract
‡subject to homologation