World Superbike is once again making changes to their schedule mid-season, announcing one new race this year, and canceling another.
For the last few years, World Superbike has had to make mid-season cancellations; perhaps the most notable one was the Indian round they canceled last summer, after red tape made the races untenable. It seems 2014 will be no different, as they have had to cancel the South African round, that was supposed to run the October 19 weekend. Supposedly, the track still doesn’t meet safety standards, and that means FIM and Dorna decided to cancel.
However, they’ll still have the same number of races this year, as they’ve decided to add on a race at Qatar, where they’ll run under the lights, just like MotoGP does when they visit. The Qatar round takes place Nov. 2.
Just a clarification, Zac: Qatar was tentatively announced way back in February as being the season closer. As such, the venue isn’t taking the place of Phasika Freeway, it is merely being confirmed as being on the schedule.