Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

series based on heavily modified production

sports motorcycle A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

s. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities. Each round has two full length races and, from 2019, an additional ten-lap sprint race known as the Superpole race. The results of all three races are combined to determine three annual World Championships, one for riders, one for

manufacturers Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...

and, The motorcycles that race in the championship are tuned versions of

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s available for sale to the public, by contrast with

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

where purpose built machines are used. MotoGP is the motorcycle world's equivalent of

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, whereas Superbike racing is similar to

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

. Europe is Superbike World Championship's traditional centre and leading market.2005 to mark WSBK revival?
crash.net retrieved on September 11, 2007 However, rounds have been held in the United States,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Argentina, Australia, Russia,

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, Thailand, and South Africa and the series plans on keeping extra-European circuits in rotation. An

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n race was also proposed for the 2008 season, but this was later cancelled by the FIM, though it was later introduced in the 2021 season. The championship is regulated by the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

, the international governing body of motorcycle racing. As of 2013 the championship is organised by Dorna.

History

The Superbike World Championship began in , being open to modified versions of road bike models available to the public. For many years, the formula allowed for machines with 1,000 cc

V-twin engine A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Although widely associated with motorcycles (installed either transversely or longi ...

s (principally

Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...

, but later

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

and

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

) to go up against the 750 cc

four-cylinder engines The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

(

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

, Kawasaki and

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

). For the first few seasons Honda won with the

RC30 The Honda VFR750R, model code 'RC30', is a fully faired, solo-seat-only racing motorcycle created for homologation purposes for the World Superbike Championship by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC). It was first released to the Japanese market in 1 ...

, but gradually the twins got the upper hand. Using 1,000 cc V-twin engines benefited Ducati and it was able to dominate the championship for many years, but the 750 cc was second or third each year between 1994 and 1999. Held under the

, the

Formula TT The Formula TT was a racing class for motorcycles from 1977 to 1990 as the official World Cup under the umbrella of International Motorcycling Federation. It was in three engine capacity classes, and was divided into both two and four-stroke engi ...

from 1977 to 1989 once constituted the official motorcycle World Cup. Having proven itself both popular and commercially viable, it was decided by the end of the 1990 season to end the Formula TT and the Superbike World Championship would succeed it. From to

Carl Fogarty Carl George Fogarty, (born 1 July 1965), often known as Foggy, is an English former motorcycle racer and one of the most successful World Superbike racers of all time. He also holds the second highest number of race wins at 59. He is the son ...

and Ducati dominated, Fogarty won the title a record four times and finished as runner-up twice on factory Ducatis.

Troy Corser Troy Gordon Corser (born 27 November 1971) is an Australian former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Superbike World Championship from 1992 to 2011 except for the 1997 season when he competed in Grand Prix motorcycle raci ...

also won the 1996 title and finished as runner-up in 1995, both times on a Ducati. Realizing that 1,000 cc V-twin engines suited the superbike racing formula more, Honda introduced its own V-Twin powered motorcycle the VTR1000 SPW in . The result was clear right away as

Colin Edwards Colin Edwards II (born February 27, 1974), nicknamed the "Texas Tornado", is an American former professional motorcycle racer who retired half-way through the 2014 season, but continues in the sport as a factory test rider. He is a two-time Wo ...

won the championship in the bike's first year of competition. Ducati regained the title in with

Troy Bayliss Troy Bayliss (born 30 March 1969 in Taree, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian motorcycle racer. During his career Bayliss won the Superbike World Championship three times and a MotoGP race, all with Ducati. He finished his career afte ...

. Colin Edwards again reclaimed the title in 2002 on the same VTR1000 SPW bike.

2002

won his second

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

in what was arguably the most impressive comeback in the history of motorcycle racing. The season started with

winning the first 6 races and by the end of race 1 at

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

he had 14 wins and was leading the championship by 58 points. Race 2 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was the start of

' comeback, he went on to win all 9 remaining races and (aided by a race 2 crash for Bayliss at

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

) Edwards won the championship at the final race of the season at

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical re ...

. The final race of the season saw both riders fighting wheel to wheel for the entire race. The race is known by fans as the "Showdown at Imola". The manufacturer's championship was won by

. During these years the Superbike World Championship reached the zenith of its popularity, with global fan and full factory support.

2003

In the FIM changed the rules to allow 1,000 cc machines (twins, triples or four-cylinder) to race. Rule changes in

to allow

four-stroke engine A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

s meant that the Japanese manufacturers focused their resources there, leaving the Superbike World Championship with limited factory involvement1,000 cc Superbikes May Save World Championship
motorcycledaily.com retrieved on September 13, 2007 (only Ducati and Suzuki). also saw the entry of

’s Foggy

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...

FP1. The bike was developed under the previous regulations and was powered by a three cylinder 900 cc engine. With most of the field running Ducati motorcycles, the championship received the derogatory title "the Ducati Cup".World Superbike: Time for More Rule Tweaking? (Part 1)
speedtv.com retrieved on September 11, 2007 The factory Ducati Team entered the only two Ducati 999s in the field, taking 20 wins from 24 races in a season where all races were won by Ducati.

Neil Hodgson Neil Stuart Hodgson (born 20 November 1973) is a British former motorcycle racer, who won the 2000 British Superbike Championship, and the 2003 Superbike World Championship titles. He then went on to have a moderately successful four years in t ...

won the title on a factory Ducati.

2004

In an effort to create a more competitive field in organizers announced a series of changes to the championship. The most significant was that from the teams have had to run on

Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...

control or 'spec' tyres. The decision to award the control tyre to Pirelli was controversial. The Pirelli tyres were considered to be below the standard of Dunlop and

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

that most of the teams had been using. Dunlop looked to take legal action against the decisionDunlop plans legal action over rule changes.
crash.net retrieved on September 11, 2007 while Pirelli claimed that Michelin and Dunlop were also asked if they would be interested in the one-make tyre rule contract.
crash.net retrieved on September 11, 2007 Partly as a result of the control tyres, Motorcycle Sports Manufacturer Association (Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha) announced that no MSMA teams would participate in the Superbike World Championship, later modifying their statement allowing Ducati to participate. A few

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s chose to run Japanese bikes in . Ten Kate Honda with

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen (born 19 June 1982) is a retired Australian motorcycle racer who last competed in the World Superbike Championship for the works Kawasaki team, perhaps best-known for winning the 2007 French Grand Prix in MotoGP. Vermeulen was b ...

as its rider, won races and actually contended for the title that eventually was won by

won the 2005 championship, giving Suzuki its first Superbike World Championship title.

2006

saw the return of Australian

to the Superbike World Championship after three years in

. The combination of Bayliss and Ducati proved unstoppable and they dominated the season, winning 12 races. Honda-mounted

James Toseland James Michael Toseland (born 5 October 1980) is an English former motorcycle racer and vocalist of his own rock band named Toseland. For 2020, he is team-manager of Wepol Racing with riders in World Supersport and Supersport 300.Noriyuki Haga is a Japanese former professional Motorcycle sport, motorcycle racer. He won 43 world championship superbike races during a 25 year racing career, making him one of the most accomplished competitors never to have won a Superbike World Championsh ...

battled for second with the British rider coming out on top. Defending champion

on a Suzuki was fourth. gave the feeling that the Superbike World Championship was 'back' following the years of decline in and .

2007

With

machines reduced in capacity from 990 cc to an 800 cc maximum displacement, 1,000 cc Superbikes, both at World Championship and top national championships (

AMA Superbike AMA Superbike Championship is an American motorcycle racing series that has been run every year beginning in 1976. For most of its existence it has been considered the premier motorcycle road racing series in the United States. It is sanctioned ...

and

British Superbike The British Superbike Championship (BSB), currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, is the leading road racing superbike championship in the United Kingdom, and was once widely acknowledged as the p ...

) become the largest capacity bikes (but not the most powerful) being road raced in . While superbikes remained two or more seconds per lap slower than MotoGP bikes at most tracks where both raced, they had equal or more power.WSBK: Superbikes Now the Most Powerful Racing Bikes in the World
speedtv.com retrieved on September 11, 2007 Collision Course: MotoGP and World Superbike
speedtv.com retrieved on September 11, 2007

attempted to defend his title, riding once again a

Ducati 999 The Ducati 999 is a sport bike made by Ducati from 2003 to 2006. It superseded the Massimo Tamburini designed Ducati 916, Ducati 996 and Ducati 998 range of superbikes. This motorcycle enjoyed great success in World Superbike, and was raced in ...

. Though 999 production ended in 2006 and the bike was replaced by the

Ducati 1098 The Ducati 1098 is a sport bike made by Ducati from 2007 to 2009, in three versions, the 1098, 1098S, and 1098R. The 1098 was succeeded by the 1198 in 2009, though the 1098R remained in production that year. The 1098 shares more design element ...

, Ducati produced 150 limited-edition 999s at an elevated race specification to satisfy

homologation Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...

requirements. Bayliss' main rivals in his title defense included former MotoGP rider

Max Biaggi Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in World Superbikes, he is one of only two ri ...

riding a Suzuki, 2004 champion

riding a Yamaha. The combination of some uneventful races in MotoGPPoncharal apologises for boring race.
crash.net retrieved on September 13, 2007Valentino Rossi admits MotoGP is a ‘little boring’
motorcyclenews.com retrieved on September 13, 2007 and some exciting races in SBK saw the championship's popularity increase even more. The championship was won by James Toseland in the season's last race. His 415 points put him two points ahead of Noriyuki Haga, with former MotoGP winner Max Biaggi following with 397 points on a Suzuki.

2008

After introducing the

in 2007 powered by a 1,099 cc v-twin engine Ducati requested that Superbike rules be changed to allow v-twins of up to 1,200 cc compete against 1,000 cc four-cylinder bikes. Ducati argued that they no longer produced a road-going 1,000 cc V-twin superbikeDucati goes official with WSB quit threat
motorcyclenews.com retrieved on September 11, 2007 and that the level of tuning now needed to make their 999 competitive on the race track was too expensive.
crash.net retrieved on September 11, 2007 Ducati said they would quit if the rules were not changed, while Alstare Suzuki team boss Francis Batta also said that his team would quit if the new rules gave Ducati an unfair advantage.Biaggi's team threatens WSB walk-out
motorcyclenews.com retrieved on September 11, 2007 The FIM eventually included the 1,200 cc displacement limit for twins in the superbike rules. According to the new rules, twin-cylinder motorcycles would be 6 kg heavier than four-cylinder machines (168 kg to 162 kg) and would also have a 50 mm

air restrictor A restrictor plate or air restrictor is a device installed at the intake of an engine to limit its power. This kind of system is occasionally used in road vehicles (e.g., motorcycles) for insurance purposes, but mainly in automobile racing, to li ...

fitted. The weight limit and the intake-restrictor size of twin machines would be updated, if needed, during the Championship, by a system analysing the race points obtained.Changes to the Technical Rules for 2008
worldsbk.com retrieved on September 11, 2007 The new rules also changed the minimum number of bikes required to acquire

. For 2008 and 2009, all manufacturers, regardless of total production numbers, had to produce a minimum of 1,000 bikes to acquire homologation. From 2010 onwards, the minimum production number was increased to 3,000 bikes. In the past, smaller manufacturers were allowed to build as few as 150 bikes to meet the homologation requirements. Manufacturers took advantage of this by producing 'homologation specials'--highly tuned versions of their road bikes with performance parts designed especially for racing.1200 cc Is In, But What Does It Mean?
superbikeplanet.com retrieved on September 11, 2007 The 2008 SBK championship was dominated by

of Australia, on his Ducati 1098, who concluded his season and his career with a double win at the brand new, 195-million-Euro Portimao circuit in Portugal, after which he retired.

2009

During the offseason,

lost

Noriyuki Haga is a Japanese former professional Motorcycle sport, motorcycle racer. He won 43 world championship superbike races during a 25 year racing career, making him one of the most accomplished competitors never to have won a Superbike World Championsh ...

, who signed him to replace the retired

. His place was taken by 3-times AMA champion

Ben Spies Ben Spies (; born July 11, 1984), is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was sometimes nicknamed "Elbows" due to his riding style, in which his elbows protruded outward. Spies won the AMA Superbike Championship for Yoshimur ...

, who was expected to give Haga serious competition. Ben Spies took a record 11 poles in the 14 round series and 14 wins (17 podiums) in 28 races; his main rival Haga was more consistent, finishing on the podium 19 times but winning only 8 races. 2009 also saw the debut of BMW and the return of

. Aprilia took a fourth final place in the championship with

, while BMW finished thirteenth with

2010

2009 Champion

moved to

James Toseland James Michael Toseland (born 5 October 1980) is an English former motorcycle racer and vocalist of his own rock band named Toseland. For 2020, he is team-manager of Wepol Racing with riders in World Supersport and Supersport 300.Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and 2 ...

. The factory

team retained their two riders. The 2010 season started on February 28 at

Phillip Island Phillip Island (Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explorer ...

and ended on October 3 at

Magny-Cours Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is of ...

2011

The knockout system introduced for

Superpole In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

was revised as the number of riders admitted to the first two sessions was reduced from twenty to sixteen and from sixteen to twelve respectively.

no longer competed with a factory team in 2011, after 23 seasons which had brought the marque a total of 29 riders' and manufacturers' championship titles, instead limiting its participation to privateer teams running their works bikes.

's gear-driven

camshaft A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams, in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition systems ...

s on its RSV4 motorcycle – which won the title in with

– was banned for the 2011 season. After a dominating since season opening,

Carlos Checa Carlos Checa Carrera (born 15 October 1972) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle road racer and winner of the 2011 Superbike World Championship. After racing in 500 cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly on Honda and Yamaha machiner ...

won his first championship and Ducati's 17th manufacturer title.

2012

The season saw the number of complete motorcycles in use limited to one per rider; this meant that the rules allowing bike changes during a race (''flag-to-flag'') were cancelled.

rider

clinched his second SBK championship, pipping Kawasaki rider

Tom Sykes Tom Sykes (born 19 August 1985 in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England) is a professional motorcycle racer who has competed in World Superbike Championship since . For 2022, Sykes re-joins his former team Paul Bird Motorsport riding a Ducati i ...

by just half a point.

Marco Melandri Marco Melandri (born 7 August 1982) is an Italian retired motorcycle road racer who is a five-time premier class race winner. He is the 2002 250 cc World Champion and runner-up in 125 cc, MotoGP and Superbike World Championship. He c ...

won more races than both Biaggi and Sykes this season but failing to score points in 5 of the last 6 races cost him the title.

2013

The season saw the number of riders per row on the starting grid reduced from four to three; the knockout system in use for

was revised as the number of riders admitted to the first and to the third session changed from sixteen to fifteen and from eight to nine respectively. In addition,

pit stop In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...

s with tyre changes were introduced in order to avoid races to be interrupted due to variable weather conditions. Kawasaki rider

was crowned champion after obtaining the third-place finish he needed to secure the title victory at Jerez.

2014

The season saw the revision of the

format: riders placed from eleventh to twentieth position in the combined classification of the first three practice sessions were admitted to Superpole 1, then the two fastest SP1 riders progressed to Superpole 2, which finally awarded the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

, joining the ten fastest riders of practice. Aprilia's

Sylvain Guintoli Sylvain Guintoli (born 24 June 1982 in Montélimar) is a French professional motorcycle racer. He was FIM World Superbike Champion in 2014. He is contracted to the Suzuki MotoGP team as a test rider with occasional race entries, as a wild car ...

became the Superbike World Champion at the last race, prevailing over

by six points in the standings. But both

and

won more races than

this season. With Sykes winning 8 and Melandri 6 compared to Guintoli's 5.

2015

Jonathan Rea became 2015 World Superbike Champion riding a Kawasaki.

2016

Jonathan Rea Jonathan Rea (born 2 February 1987) is a Northern Irish professional motorcycle racer. He competes in the Superbike World Championship and is a six-time champion in the series. He is the first to have won the Superbike World Championship six t ...

won his second consecutive Superbike World Championship title at the first race of the last round at

Losail The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar. Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers ...

, while Kawasaki had secured the manufacturers' title at the previous event at

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

Chaz Davies Chaz Davies (born 10 February 1987 in Knighton, Powys, Wales), is a former motorcycle racer who announced his retirement from competition in September 2021. For 2022, Davies is to become a rider-coach working with Ducati and Feel Racing, mentor ...

won the most races this season with Davies winning 11 races to Rea's 9. After changes in the standard weekend timetable, the first race, which was previously run on Sunday along with the second one, was scheduled to be held on Saturday.

2017

The season saw the revision of the starting grid format for the second race, which was previously based on qualifying results for both races: riders placed from fourth to ninth in Race 1 were promoted to the first two rows for Race 2; then the third, the second and the winner followed on the third row; the remaining riders were sorted from the tenth grid slot onwards according to Superpole results.

won his third Superbike world title for Kawasaki, by winning the

Race 1. His victory gave him an unassailable lead with five races remaining. The season was marred by the death of Honda rider and former MotoGP World Champion

Nicky Hayden Nicholas Patrick Hayden (July 30, 1981 May 22, 2017), nicknamed "The Kentucky Kid", was an American professional motorcycle racer who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006. Hayden began racing motorcycles at a young age. He began his roa ...

, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a pedal-cycling accident near

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

, Italy, on 22 May.

2018

won his fourth Superbike world title for Kawasaki. 2018 was the final season run with the two-race format, as a three-race format was introduced for 2019.

2019

A new race format was introduced for the 2019 season. As in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, two normal length races (Race 1 and Race 2) were held – one each on Saturday and Sunday (Friday and Saturday in Qatar). A third race, a ten lap sprint named the Superpole Race, was held on the final morning of the weekend prior to Race 2. The starting grids for Race 1 and the Superpole Race were determined by a single 25-minute Superpole Qualifying session. The grid for Race 2 featured the top nine riders in the Superpole Race in the order in which they finished followed by the remaining riders sorted by their Superpole Qualifying times.

won his fifth Superbike world title for Kawasaki.

2020

In a season shortened by the Covid pandemic,

won his sixth Superbike world title for Kawasaki.

2021

The championship was won by

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (born 16 October 1996) is a Turkish motorcycle racer competing in the Superbike World Championship aboard a factory-team Yamaha YZF-R1. He won the 2021 Superbike World Championship, ending Jonathan Rea's 6-year long reign. ...

2022

Álvaro Bautista Álvaro Bautista Arce (born 21 November 1984) is a Spanish motorcycle road racer. He won the 2022 Superbike World Championship, with Ducati factory team. After the 2019 World Superbike season with the factory Ducati team, for 2020 and 2021 h ...

won his first championship and

's 18th manufacturer title.

2023

On 23 April 2023,

reached 400 victories in Superbike and

won 40 victories.

won his second Superbike world title for

and

won its 19th manufacturer title.

2024

has moved from Kawasaki to

Nicolò Bulega Nicolò Jarod Bulega (born 16 October 1999) is an Italian motorcycle racer, set to compete in the 2022 Supersport World Championship with Aruba.it Racing Ducati Team. He has also been a competitor in the CEV Moto3 Championship in 2014 and 2015, ...

, 2023 Supersport champion, makes his debut as Superbike World Championship.

Riders

Riders from all over the world compete in the Superbike World Championship. The championship is perhaps most closely followed in Italy because of

and the United Kingdom where

superbike racing Superbike racing is a category of motorcycle racing that employs highly modified production motorcycles, as opposed to MotoGP in which purpose-built motorcycles are used. The Superbike World Championship is the official world championship series, t ...

has been the most popular form of

motorcycle racing Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...

. National-championship superbike racing is conducted in several countries, including the United States, the UK and Japan. Riders from Australia and the United States have traditionally been successful in the world championship. No American rider had won a race since

won the 2002 championship until

joined the series in 2009, but no Americans competed in the series between 2003 and 2007. British rider

had long been the most successful rider in the championship's history, winning the championship four times, and amassing a total of 59 race wins.

cemented his overtaking of Fogarty in the history books by winning his fifth consecutive world championship title in 2019, amassing a new record number of race wins, too. Rea went on to win his sixth title in 2020. Many riders successful in the Superbike World Championship have gone on to MotoGP, such as 2002 champion

, 2007 champion

James Toseland James Michael Toseland (born 5 October 1980) is an English former motorcycle racer and vocalist of his own rock band named Toseland. For 2020, he is team-manager of Wepol Racing with riders in World Supersport and Supersport 300.Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen (born 19 June 1982) is a retired Australian motorcycle racer who last competed in the World Superbike Championship for the works Kawasaki team, perhaps best-known for winning the 2007 French Grand Prix in MotoGP. Vermeulen was b ...

. The championship has seen several former

riders move to it, usually after failing to earn competitive rides. The 2008 field includes five former MotoGP winners:

and

Makoto Tamada (born November 4, 1976 in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan) is a former Japanese professional motorcycle racer currently working as a rider instructor in Suzuka Racing School. He is one of the few riders to win races in both MotoGP and Superb ...

all raced exclusively in MotoGP before joining SBK, while

, and

Régis Laconi Régis Laconi (born 8 July 1975 in Saint-Dizier, Haute-Marne) is a French former professional motorcycle racer. In he competed in the Superbike World Championship for DFX on a Ducati. He was runner-up in , and has won races in both Grand Prix in ...

had alternating spells in both. Except for Frenchman

Raymond Roche Raymond Roche (born 21 February 1957 in Ollioules) is a French former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Motorcycle racing career In 1981, he teamed up with Jean Lafond to win the FIM Endurance World Championship. His best year in ...

, who won the championship in , all Superbike World Champions had been native English speakers, until Max Biaggi won the championship in 2010 and 2012 and also 2011 champion Carlos Checa and 2014 champion Sylvain Guintoli becoming the second Frenchman to take the title. Italian riders

Davide Tardozzi Davide Tardozzi (born in Ravenna, January 30, 1959) is a former Italian Superbike racer and current race team manager. After an unsuccessful attempt at competing in the 250cc Grand Prix world championships in 1984 and 1985, Tardozzi turned his a ...

and

Marco Lucchinelli Marco Lucchinelli (born 26 June 1954) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was 1981 FIM Road Racing World Champion with Suzuki. He is a MotoGP Legend. Career Lucchinelli was born in Bolano. He began his road ...

won the first two races of the series, and Frenchman

Adrien Morillas Adrien Morillas (born 30 May 1958) is a French former Superbike and Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the inaugural Superbike World Championship season in 1988, with French Superbike team - Kawasaki, winning one race at the Hunga ...

was also victorious in 1988; Germany had to wait for

Max Neukirchner Max Neukirchner (born 20 April 1983 in Stollberg, East Germany) is a professional motorcycle racer currently competing in the Endurance FIM World Championship aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1. Career Supersport & Superbike World Championship In he compet ...

to achieve this in 2008, although Austrian

Andreas Meklau Andreas Meklau (born 7 June 1967 in Bruck an der Mur) is an Austrian former motorcycle racer. He competed in the Superbike World Championship for over ten years. He won one race at the Österreichring in 1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From l ...

was the first German-speaker to win a race, in 1993. Spain's first race winner was

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in 2001.

Superbike motorcycles

Superbike racing motorcycles are derived from standard production models. In the past, however, manufacturers took advantage of loopholes in the rules to create "homologation specials" — motorcycles with low production numbers made especially for racing. Current SBK motorcycle manufacturers: *

BMW Motorrad BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. It has produced motorcycles since 1923, and achieved record sales for the fifth year in succession in 2015. With a total of 136,963 vehicles sold i ...

: S1000RR, M1000RR *

: YZF750, YZF-R7,

YZF-R1 The Yamaha YZF-R1, or simply R1, is a -class Sport bike, sports motorcycle made by Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha. It was first released in 1998, undergoing significant updates in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2018Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...

851 __NOTOC__ Year 851 ( DCCCLI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia * Bagrat II Bagratuni, Armenian prince and leader of a rebellion against the Abbasi ...

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916 __NOTOC__ Year 916 ( CMXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Kh ...

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...

1098 Year 1098 ( MXCVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place First Crusade * February 9 – Battle of the Lake of Antioch: The Crusaders under Bohemond I ...

, 1198, 1199 Panigale R, V4R Panigale *

RC45 The Honda RVF750R RC45 was a fully faired racing motorcycle created for homologation purposes for the Superbike World Championship by Honda Racing Corporation. The RVF750R was the successor to the VFR750R RC30 (not to be confused with the sport ...

RC51 The Honda RC51, also known as the RVT1000R (in the United States) or VTR1000 SP1 (Europe and Australia), is a 90° V-twin motorcycle produced by Honda from 2000 to 2006. Built by Honda to prove a point that Honda could outsmart Ducati on the track ...

CBR1000RR The Honda CBR1000RR, marketed in some countries as the "Fireblade" (capitalized as FireBlade until the 2000s), is a Radiator (engine cooling), liquid-cooled Inline-four engine, inline four-cylinder superbike, introduced by Honda in 2004 as the 7t ...

* Kawasaki: GPX750R, ZXR750, ZX-7RR,

ZX-10R The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is a motorcycle in the Ninja sport bike series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, the successor to the Ninja ZX-9R. It was originally released in 2004 and has been updated and revised throughout the years. It co ...

Former SBK motorcycle manufacturers: *

: RSV Mille R, RSV4 *

Benelli Benelli may refer to: *Benelli Armi SpA, an Italian firearm manufacturer *Benelli (motorcycles), an Italian motorcycle manufacturer *HSR-Benelli, an Austrian-Italian manufacturer of personal watercraft * Andrea Benelli (born 1960), Italian sports sh ...

: Tornado Tre 900 *

Bimota Bimota is an Italian manufacturer of custom and production motorcycles. It was founded in 1973 in Rimini by Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri, and Massimo Tamburini. The company name is a portmanteau derived from the first two letters of each of th ...

: Bimota YB4EI, Bimota SB8R, Bimota BB3 *

Erik Buell Racing Erik Buell Racing (EBR) is an American motorcycle sport company which produces street and racing motorcycles, based in East Troy, Wisconsin, USA. The business entered receivership in April 2015. After two previous attempts, the business remnants ...

: EBR 1190RX *

MV Agusta MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is a motorcycle manufacturer founded by Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of the Agusta aircraft company near Milan in ...

: MV Agusta F4 *

: FP1 *

GSX-R750 The Suzuki GSX-R750 is a Types of motorcycles#Sport bike, sports motorcycle made by Suzuki. It was introduced at the Intermot, Cologne Motorcycle Show in October 1984 as a motorcycle of the Suzuki GSX-R Series, GSX-R series. Air and oil cooled ...

, GSX-R1000

Champions

Race weekend

Up to 2013 season * Friday ** ''1st free practice'' (60 minutes) and ''1st qualifying'' (60 minutes) * Saturday ** ''2nd qualifying'' (60 minutes) and ''2nd free practice'' (60 minutes) :The times of first and second qualifying are combined and the 15 fastest riders qualify for Superpole. The rest receive a grid position based on lap time, starting with 16th. To qualify for the race, riders must record a lap time no longer than 107% of the time recorded by the pole-position rider. :*''Superpole'' ** The first 15 riders of the qualifying practice on the track participate in a Knockout session. ** All sessions are 12 minutes each, with a seven-minute interval between sessions. *** The first round consists of 15 riders. The slowest three riders are eliminated and start 13th to 15th. *** The second round consists of 12 riders. The slowest three riders start 10th to 12th. *** The final round consists of nine riders. The top nine are set in this session. ** All times for riders advancing are wiped, requiring advancing riders to set a best time in every Superpole session in which they participate. Starting grid. * Sunday ** ''Warm-up'' (20 minutes) ''Race 1'' and ''Race 2'' :Race distance must be from a minimum of 90 km to a maximum of 110 km. From 2019 onwards: * Friday ** ''1st free practice'' (50 minutes) and ''2nd free practice'' (50 minutes) * Saturday ** ''3rd free practice'' (30 minutes) ** ''Superpole'' (25 minutes) *** Sets the starting positions for Race 1 and the Superpole Race *** To qualify for the race, riders must record a lap time no longer than 107% of the time recorded by the pole-position rider. ** ''Race 1'' * Sunday ** ''Warm-up'' (15 minutes) ** ''Superpole Race'' *** Ten lap race. *** Top 9 finishers set their grid position for Race 2; positions from 10th onwards set from Saturday's Superpole. ** ''Race 2''

Scoring system

* For the Manufacturers' Championship, only the highest finishing motorcycle by a particular manufacturer is awarded the points for that position, as in MotoGP and most other forms of motorcycle racing.

Support classes

Supersport World Championship

Supersport World Championship has been a support class to the Superbike World Championship since 1990. To be eligible for World Supersport, a motorcycle must have a four stroke engine of between 400 and 600 cc for

four cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

, 500 and 675 cubic centimetres for

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

and between 600 and 750 cc for V-twin engine, twins and must satisfy the FIM

requirements. World Supersport regulations are much tighter than in World Superbike. The chassis of a supersport machine must remain largely as production, while engine tuning is possible, but tightly regulated. As in world superbike a control tyre is used, although supersport regulations dictate that the tyres must be road legal and therefore race slicks are not allowed. A World Supersport race takes place at every World Superbike round.

FIM Superstock 1,000 Cup

The FIM Superstock 1,000 Cup was a support class to the Superbike World Championship at the European rounds. Motorcycles with the same displacement as superbikes can run in superstock 1000 (though 1,200 cc twins were allowed for 2007). Superstock rules are much more restrictive and most components on the bike remain stock. The bikes run on Grooved Pirelli tyres. The Superstock 1000 championship is open to riders up to 24 years of age.

European Superstock 600 Championship

The Superstock 600 European Championship was a support class to the Superbike World Championship. The championship uses 600 cc production motorcycles and is reserved for riders between 15 and 24 years of age. Same rules as Superstock 1000 apply, but the series is organized by FIM Europe.

Video games

As the World Superbike Championship has grown in popularity over the years, video games have been developed to incorporate its growing fan base. Originally EA Sports held the licence to produce SBK videos games until 2001 when they discontinued the series. The Italy, Italian developer Milestone (Italian company), Milestone developed the three video games: Superbike World Championship (video game), Superbike World Championship, Superbike 2000 and Superbike 2001 published by EA Sports, which were very successful. Milestone (Italian company), Milestone, from 2007 to 2012, developed other games in the series published by Black Bean Games, deal signed in 2006 via RTR Sports. From 2007 to 2012 are published: SBK-07: Superbike World Championship, SBK-08: Superbike World Championship, SBK-09: Superbike World Championship, SBK X: Superbike World Championship, SBK 2011, SBK 2011: FIM Superbike World Championship and SBK Generations.

References

External links

* {{Main world championships Superbike World Championship, Motorcycle road racing series Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme Superbike racing, World Championship World motorcycle racing series Recurring sporting events established in 1988