The Yamaha Motor Finance opening round of the FIM Supersport World Championship (WorldSSP) season will take place under flag-to-flag rules, with a mandatory entry to the pits to change tyres for all bikes.

After speaking with the teams and based on the information gathered during the official two-day test at Phillip Island, the FIM and Dorna WSBK organisation have decided to implement the new format for Sunday’s race, adding a new challenge for the 24 riders set to line up on the grid.

Riders are free to choose when to do their pit-stop, under the condition that no tyre is used for more than 10 laps. Race distance has also been shortened to 16 laps.

This decision does not affect any of the three WorldSBK races, which are scheduled to be run in regular conditions as more flexible regulations for teams ensure that proper safety conditions will be met.

Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK executive director of sporting, explained the decision: “Due to specific track conditions seen at Phillip Island since Monday and some concerns regarding tyre life in race conditions, we decided that the best way to fully guarantee the safety of the WorldSSP riders and avoid any problems would be to do a flag-to-flag, which is in compliance with WorldSSP rules.

“This is unfortunate, but we believe that it is the best course of action and will guarantee an exciting race this weekend.”

This weekend’s WorldSSP opener will see Australian Tom Toparis (Landbridge Transport Yamaha) amongst the 24-rider field after scoring a wildcard opportunity.