WSBK CALENDAR CHANGES AGAIN, IMOLA CANCELLED

This latest change, announced on 14 April, is the third made to the 2020 WSBK calendar since the coronavirus pandemic brought a halt to all racing in March.

In the new calendar, the Aragon round has been pushed back from 22–24 May to 28-30 August, with the San Marino round at Misano, originally scheduled for 12–14 June, now to be held on 6-8 November – the last round for 2020.

Imola, scheduled for 8-10 May, has been officially cancelled.

These latest updates follow date changes already enacted for the Magny Cours, Jerez and Assen rounds, resulting in a packed calendar for the second half of the season - from late August to early November, there’ll be only three weekends without racing.

The Qatar round at Losail, originally scheduled for 13-15 March, remains in “postponed” status, with no alternative date yet provided. Given the new calendar has created a narrow time window either side of the Argentinian round on 9-11 October (originally to be the last round for 2020), it’s possible that San Juan de Villicum could lose out to Losail to reduce travel time and costs. Other options may include holding the Losail round after San Marino, making it the finale of the 2020 season (as it has been in past years), or cancelling the round altogether.

Imola seems to have been the victim of two rounds being in nearby regions (Imola and San Marino are less than 100kms apart), although the official answer is the tightness of the new calendar and the greater likelihood of bad weather in the region later in the year (NOTE: WSBK Race 2 and the WSS300 race were cancelled at Imola last year due to bad weather).

“Combined with the already complex calendar forecasted today and the weather situation we may face to go even later in the year, we agreed with the [Imola] circuit that it was best to cancel the round this year,” said Gregorio Lavilla, WSBK Executive Director, Sporting & Organization.

“Despite this setback, we are working hard to plan an even greater event for the coming years and we look forward to seeing the paddock back at the historic venue in 2021.”