AMA Superbike Championship
This page is for those looking for clarification of what AMA Superbike Championship racing is all about. Superbikes are 901-1000cc four-stroke racing motorcycles that are modified versions of factory models originally sold for street use. These look like the same bikes riding on the street but have been taken to a whole new level at the gifted hands of many knowledgeable teams. The world’s top motorcycle manufacturers develop and showcase their cutting-edge technology at the races. Each season reveals increases in rider talent and motorcycle technology that redefine the limits and pushes the laws of physics to the very edge.
Superbike Races are usually set by the AMA at 100 kilometers in length. The AMA uses a practice session and timed qualifying for selecting who races in the actual race. These elite teams attract an international field of top-caliber racers from every corner of the globe eager for the championship. Rules mandate a rider’s lap time must be within 108% of the fastest qualifying rider’s best lap time. This is required in order to pre-qualify for one of the grid positions in the final race. Each Superbike Race, riders accumulate points and at the end of the season the rider with the most points wins the Championship.
Points are awarded to the top-30 finishers of a race in all AMA classes according to the following schedule:
Position Points
1 - 36
2 - 32
3 - 29
4 - 27
5 - 26
6 - 25
7 - 24
8 - 23
9 - 22
10 - 21
11 - 20
12 - 19
13 - 18
14 - 17
15 - 16
16 - 15
17 - 14
18 - 13
19 - 12
20 - 11
21 - 10
22 - 9
23 - 8
24 - 7
25 - 6
26 - 5
27 - 4
28 - 3
29 - 2
30 - 1
Rider’s skillful enough to qualify for a final event must participate in the race and complete 50% of the race laps in order to receive points towards the Championship. Other ways to earn points are for:
Pole Position point: 1 bonus point to the pole position winner(fastest qualifier).
Lap Leader point: 1 bonus point to the rider leading the most laps in the race. In the event of a tie for most laps led, the rider in the lead position last will be awarded the bonus point.
In such a competitive class the need for tiebreakers is actually necessary, a few Championships have been decided this way. In the event that there is a tie for a Championship, that tie will be broken based on the number of wins in the series. If that does not break a tie, the number of second-place finishes will be compared between the riders, then thirds, fourths, etc. until the tie is broken. If a tie remains, the best finish in the last race will determine the champion. Ties will be broken as they occur as well as at the end of the year.
Riders listed in the top ten in points in one or more classes, will be permitted one provisional start per season in each class. These provisionsal riders will be placed on the back row of the grid should they not qualify through the normal procedure. Eligible riders must notify the race managers in writing within one hour of the conclusion of qualifying for each class they are requesting the provisional for.
