Update: As it is now past mid-day on April 1, this fool is no longer valid...
MCE British Superbike bosses are considering the introduction of a soft tyre rule mid-way through this year’s championship in order to shake up the series’ points table ahead of the Showdown.
In a document leaked to bikesportnews.com last night, one of the proposals on the table during a meeting of the Teams Liaison Group at Donington Park would see a soft Pirelli allocation being handed to riders in positions six and downward.
The thinking behind the move is that should the fourth-placed man be more than 10 points ahead of the rider in seventh by the time Snetterton comes around, then a soft tyre would be wheeled in to balance things up in terms of qualifying.
Marked like a Pirelli World Superbike qualifier, the tyre would be somewhere between the old sticky SC0 favoured by John Hopkins in 2011 and the current SC0. It is believed that it could be used over a race distance if managed correctly and would give allocated riders an advantage over the first 10 laps at most circuits.
It is believed that reigning champion Shane Byrne was given one of the new tyres to try at Donington Park and gave it the seal of approval before he was told what it was for…
A sub-plot to this is that Ducati may be able to race the 1299 Panigale instead of the 1199 if they sign away any rights to the soft-tyre option.
Other proposals in the document include:
Success ballast - a touring car style weight addition
Reverse grids - finishing order form last to first forms grid for second and third (where applicable) race
Ditching qualifying halfway through the season and replace it with a lottery-style draw
