The provisional 2014 FIM Superbike World Championship schedule includes a tentative round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca that conflicts with an AMA Pro Superbike round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The two events on the weekend of July 12-13 are far apart in distance, so geographic proximity forcing spectators to chose one or the other isn’t a problem. The problem is that when the final version is released, the 2014 AMA Pro Superbike schedule is likely to include a third fewer venues than it did in 2013, based on a survey of racetrack operators conducted by Roadracing World. Which means AMA Pro Superbike teams committed to the AMA Pro Series but also interested in entering World Superbike to boost TV exposure and shore up sponsorship support won’t be able to do so. Instead, teams will have to choose between one or the other–AMA Pro Superbike at Mid-Ohio or World Superbike at Laguna Seca. The conflict also brings into question what Laguna Seca will run as support classes. According to FIM regulations, anything running with World Superbike has to be sanctioned by the FIM Federation in the United States, i.e., the AMA, but AMA can’t sanction any purse-paying road race that isn’t run by AMA Pro. The last time the track tried to run a non-AMA Pro event as a support race, it went wacky over the issue of purse money. Stay tuned. This one is likely to get messy. Roadracing World’s Estimate of 2014 AMA Pro Superbike Schedule 3/13-15 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL* 5/30-6/1 Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI* June TBA-TBA Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL 7/12-13 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH* August TBA-TBA Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT 8/8-10 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, IN** 9/13-14 New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, NJ* *Date confirmed by AMA Pro Racing **Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson class only Provisional 2014 FIM Superbike World Championship Schedule 2/21-23 Phillip Island, Australia 4/11-13 MotorLand Aragón, Spain 4/25-27 Assen TT Circuit, The Netherlands 5/9-11 Imola, Italy 5/23-25 Donington Park, Great Britain 6/6-8 Sepang, Malaysia 6/20-22 Misano, San Marino 7/4-6 Portimao, Portugal 7/11-13 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, CA, USA (STC)* 9/5-7 Jerez, Spain 9/19-21 Moscow Raceway, Russia 10/3-5 Magny-Cours, France 10/17-19 Phakisa Freeway, South Africa (STC) 10/31-11/2 “Overseas” (TBC) * = Superbike class only STC = Subject to contract TBC = To be confirmed More, from a press release issued by Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca: Dates Set for eni FIM Superbike World Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca MONTEREY, Calif., Nov. 29, 2013 – The sounds of motorcycles will again roar through the central California hillsides as the eni FIM Superbike World Championship returns to Monterey July 11-13, 2014 for its only U.S. appearance. “When World Superbike returned to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this season we agreed to a three year contract,” says Gill Campbell, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca CEO/general manager. “We were very pleased with the first year and look forward to building upon its success.” Last year, World Superbike competed in 11 countries with 14 races, fielding a typical grid of two dozen skilled international riders on six competitive manufacturer brands. Each round has two races and the results of each race are combined to determine two annual World Championships, one for riders and one for manufacturers. The 2013 season saw the UK’s Tom Sykes reign as champion over Ireland’s Eugene Laverty and France’s Sylvain Guintoli after some very competitive races. As for the manufacturers’ championship, Aprilla beat out perennial powerhouses Kawasaki and BMW. Tickets for the eni FIM Superbike World Championship race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will go on sale on January and will be available online at www.MazdaRaceway.com or by calling the ticket office at 800.327.7322. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: PROVISIONAL 2014 WSB CALENDAR ANNOUNCED The FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) has announced the provisional Superbike World Championship calendar for 2014. The proposed dates list a 14-event series, with the first races scheduled for Sunday 23rd February at Phillip Island in Australia and finishing, at an as yet unnamed overseas venue, on Sunday 2nd November. There are a number of additions to the proposed calendar from the circuits used in 2013, with rounds now being staged in – subject to contract – Malaysia and South Africa, as well as Misano in Italy replacing the Monza event. Voltcom Crescent Suzuki will appear in front of its home crowd in late May, when the Superbike World Championship makes its only visit to British shores for the Donington Park round on Sunday 25th May. The full provisional list of dates is listed below: 23rd February – Australia – Phillip Island GP Circuit 13th April – Spain – MotorLand Aragón 27th April – The Netherlands – TT Assen 11th May – Italy – Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola 25th May – UK – Donington Park 08th June – Malaysia – Sepang International Circuit (STC) 22nd June – Italy – Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli 06th July – Portugal – Autódromo Internacional do Algarve 13th July – USA – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (STC) 07th September – Spain – Circuito de Jerez 21st September – Russia – Moscow Raceway 05th October – France – Circuit de Magny-Cours 19th October – South Africa – Phakisa Freeway (STC) 02nd November – Overseas – TBC STC = Subject to contract TBC = To be confirmed