Bennetts British Superbike Championship promoter MSVR has revealed several changes ahead of a 2021 series of eleven events, setting the stage for an intense 33-race thriller at circuits across the UK.

Following the positive reaction to the triple-header events during 2020, all eleven events next year will feature a three race format for Bennetts BSB, bringing more action into a championship season than ever before in the series’ history. A fitting way to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the relaunch of the Championship by the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board in 1996.

Event programme

The event programme will also take on a new format, with the opening day of the event returning to two SUPERPICKS free practice sessions for the BSB class. The fastest 12 riders overall will be seeded directly to the Day 2 Qualifying 2 (Q2) session.

The second day of action will begin with a third, shorter Bennetts BSB free practice session in the morning, followed by Qualifying 1 (Q1), where the fastest six riders will progress through to the Q2 session to join the 12 pre-qualifiers from the opening day in the final fight for the pole position for the opening Bennetts BSB race.

Later in the afternoon on Day 2, the first Bennetts BSB race will blast off, designated as the BikeSocial Race. The third and final day of competition will feature a morning warm up and the second and third Superbike races of the weekend.

The Showdown

As the regular length season returns, the established Showdown format will apply, with some changes for 2021:

The Main Season will now consist of 8 events and 24 races.

Points will awarded to the first 15 finishers using the regular format of 25-20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

After the 24th race, the top eight riders in the championship standings will graduate as Title Fighters and be elevated to 1000 points together with any Podium Points accrued in the Main Season.  Podium Points will be awarded for each main season race as follows:  1st - 5 points, 2nd - 3 points, 3rd - 1 point.

For the remaining 3 events, 9 races, points will awarded to the first 15 finishers using the regular format of 25-20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

The BSB Riders Cup will continue to be awarded to the first rider outside of the Title Fighters in the final standings. 

Testing

There have also been changes to BSB testing regulations ahead of the new season, which outlaw full team testing outside of UK. BSB Teams may test for a maximum of 16 days in the UK during the season.  

Each Bennetts BSB event also features a busy timetable of regular support races, including the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship, Honda British Talent Cup, Pirelli National Superstock 1000 and Pirelli National Superstock 600 and the Hel Performance British Junior Supersport Championship. Single manufacturer championships will also be present in 2022 featuring Ducati and the all-action Sidecars.