Superbike World Championship - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Superbike World Championship (also known as SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is the worldwide Superbike racing

Superbike racing

Superbike racing is a category of motorcycle racing that employs modified production motorcycles. Superbike World Championship is the international superbike championship, and national superbike championships are held in many countries as well, including the United Kingdom, the United States,...

Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities. 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 motorcycles that race in the championship are tuned versions of motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

s available for sale to the public, by contrast with MotoGP where purpose built machines are used. MotoGP is the motorcycle world's equivalent of Formula 1 racing, whereas Superbike racing is similar to Touring Car racing

Touring car racing

Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...

.

Europe is Superbike World Championship's traditional centre and leading market. However, rounds have been also held in Qatar

Qatar

Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

, and South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. An Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

n race was also proposed for the 2008 season, but this was later canceled by the FIM.

The championship is regulated by the FIM

Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme

The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme is the governing body of motorcycle racing. It represents 103 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regional continental unions....

, the international governing body of motorcycle racing, and managed and promoted by FGSport.

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 engines (principally Ducati, but later Aprilia

Aprilia

Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer, but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning sportbikes...

and Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

) to go up against the 750 cc four-cylinder engines (Honda

Honda

, Yamaha

Yamaha Motor Company

, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...

, Kawasaki and Suzuki

Suzuki

is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines...

). For the first few seasons Honda won with the RC30

Honda VFR750R

The Honda VFR750R, frame designation RC30, was a fully faired racing motorcycle created for homologation purposes for the World Superbike championship by Honda Racing Corporation . It was first released to the Japanese market in 1987. American enthusiasts had to wait until 1990 to get their hands...

, 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.

Formula TT

Formula TT

The Formula TT was a racing class for motorcycles from 1977 to 1989 as the official World Cup under the umbrella of International Motorcycling Federation...

a racing class for motorcycles from 1977 to 1989 as the official World Cup under the umbrella of International Motorcycling Federation. Once the Superbike World Championship proved popular and commercially successful, it was decided to end the Formula TT at the end of the 1990 season.

From to Carl Fogarty

Carl Fogarty

Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty is the most successful World Superbike racer of all time in terms of the number of championships and number of race wins...

and Ducati dominated, Fogarty won the title a record 4 times and finished as runner-up twice on factory Ducatis. Troy Corser

Troy Corser

Troy Gordon Corser is a professional motorcycle road racer, the and Superbike World champion....

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/RC51

Honda RC51

The Honda RC51, also known as the RVT1000R or VTR1000 , is a V-twin motorcycle produced by Honda from 2000 to 2006.- Mechanicals and chassis :...

in . The result was clear right away as Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards II nicknamed the Texas Tornado is an American professional motorcycle racer. He is a two time World Superbike champion and has competed in MotoGP since 2003, now riding for the Yamaha Tech 3 team in the 2011 season.-Early years:At the age of three, his Australian father, Colin...

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

Troy Bayliss

Troy Bayliss is a retired Australian motorcycle racer. During his career Bayliss won the Superbike World Championship three times, as well as the British Superbike Championship and a MotoGP race, all with Ducati. He finished his career after winning the 2008 World Superbike title...

2002

Colin Edwards

won his 2nd championship in what was arguably the most impressive comeback in the history of motorcycle racing. The season started with Troy Bayliss

Troy Bayliss

winning the first 6 races and by the end of race 1 at Laguna Seca he had 14 wins and was leading the championship by 58 points. Race 2 at Laguna Seca was the start of Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards

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

TT Circuit Assen

The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT race, it is considered "The Cathedral" of motorcycling by the fans...

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

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is an auto racing circuit near the Italian town of Imola, east of Bologna and east of the Ferrari factory in Maranello....

. 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 Ducati. 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 (either twins, triples or four-cylinder) to race. Rule changes in MotoGP to allow four-stroke engines meant that the Japanese manufacturers focused their resources there, leaving the Superbike World Championship with limited factory involvement (only Ducati and Suzuki).

also saw the entry of Carl Fogarty

Carl Fogarty

Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty is the most successful World Superbike racer of all time in terms of the number of championships and number of race wins...

’s Foggy Petronas

Petronas

PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...

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". The factory Ducati Team entered the only 2 Ducati 999's in the field, taking 20 wins from 24 races in a season where all races were won by Ducati. Neil Hodgson

Neil Hodgson

Neil Stuart Hodgson is a former British motorcycle racer who won the 2000 British Superbike Championship, and the 2003 Superbike World Championship titles. Neil then went on to have a moderately successful 4 years in the American Superbike Championship, with a best 5th place championship finish...

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

Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.Founded in Milan in 1872,...

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

Dunlop Tyres

Dunlop Tyres is a British company owned 75% by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and 25% by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which bought the right to sell Dunlop-branded road tyres....

and Michelin

Michelin

Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...

that most of the teams had been using. Dunlop looked to take legal action against the decision while Pirelli claimed that Michelin and Dunlop were also asked if they would be interested in the one-make tyre rule contract.
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 privateers choose to run Japanese bikes in . Ten Kate Honda

Ten Kate Racing

Ten Kate Racing is a motorbike racing team, currently competing in the Superbike World Championship and the Supersport World Championship under the name Hannspree Ten Kate Honda.- Foundation :...

with Chris Vermuelen as its rider, won races and actually contended for the title that eventually was won by James Toseland

James Toseland

James Michael Toseland is a former English motorcycle racer. Toseland was the World Superbike Champion on a Ten Kate Honda, who also won the Superbike World Championship on a Ducati. He is one of only two men, the other being Troy Corser, to have won the Superbike World Championship for two...

and Ducati.

2005

Following Ten Kate Honda's success Japanese motorcycles made him a return in with major teams from all four Japanese manufacturers run through teams ran by European importers. Troy Corser

Troy Corser

Troy Gordon Corser is a professional motorcycle road racer, the and Superbike World champion....

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

2006

saw the return of Australian Troy Bayliss

Troy Bayliss

to the Superbike World Championship after three years in MotoGP. The combination of Bayliss and Ducati proved unstoppable and they dominated the season, winning 12 races. Honda-mounted James Toseland

James Toseland

and Yamaha's Noriyuki Haga

Noriyuki Haga

, is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. Haga has been runner-up in the Superbike World Championship three times, and has finished 3rd in the series four times....

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

Troy Corser

Troy Gordon Corser is a professional motorcycle road racer, the and Superbike World 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 MotoGP 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

AMA Pro Superbike is the premiere superbike racing series in the United States. It is part of the AMA Pro Racing series which was sold to and is managed by the Daytona Motorsports Group...

and British Superbike

British Superbike

The British Superbike Championship is the leading road racing superbike championship in the United Kingdom.The championship is managed and organised by MotorSport Vision. The Series and Race Director is Stuart Higgs. Event marshals are provided by the Racesafe Marshals Association.Two annual...

) become the most powerful racing bikes 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.
Troy Bayliss

Troy Bayliss

attempted to defend his title, riding once again a Ducati 999

Ducati 999

The Ducati 999 superseded the Massimo Tamburini designed Ducati 916, Ducati 996 and Ducati 998 range of superbikes in 2003, and was produced through 2006...

. Though 999 production ended in 2006 and the bike was replaced by the Ducati 1098

Ducati 1098

The Ducati 1098 is a sport bike manufactured by the Italian motorcycle company Ducati since 2007. There were three different versions, called the 1098, 1098S, and 1098R...

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

Homologation

Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...

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

Max Biaggi

Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi is an Italian motorcycle racer and winner of the 2010 World Superbike Championship. Throughout this racing career, he has won the 250cc World Championship four times, and finished as runner-up in both the 500cc and MotoGP championships...

riding a Suzuki, 2004 champion James Toseland

James Toseland

riding a Honda and Noriyuki Haga

Noriyuki Haga

, is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. Haga has been runner-up in the Superbike World Championship three times, and has finished 3rd in the series four times....

riding a Yamaha.

The combination of some uneventful races in MotoGP and some thrilling 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 Ducati 1098

Ducati 1098

The Ducati 1098 is a sport bike manufactured by the Italian motorcycle company Ducati since 2007. There were three different versions, called the 1098, 1098S, and 1098R...

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 superbike and that the level of tuning now needed to make their 999 competitive on the race track was too expensive. 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.

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 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.

The new rules also changed the minimum number of bikes required to acquire homologation

Homologation

Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...

. 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.

The 2008 SBK championship was dominated by Troy Bayliss

Troy Bayliss

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, Yamaha

Yamaha Motor Company

lost its main rider Noriyuki Haga

Noriyuki Haga

, is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. Haga has been runner-up in the Superbike World Championship three times, and has finished 3rd in the series four times....

to Ducati, which hired him to replace the retired Bayliss. His place was taken by 3-times AMA

Ama

-Ama:Ama may refer to:*Ama , an outrigger used on sailing boats*Ama , traditional Japanese divers*Ama , a product of digestion...

champion Ben Spies

Ben Spies

Ben Spies , also known as "Elbowz" due to his riding style where his elbows protrude outward, is a professional motorcycle road racer who turned pro in 2000...

, 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 two new constructors, Aprilia

Aprilia

and BMW

BMW Motorrad

BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim....

. Aprilia took a fourth final place in the championship with Max Biaggi

Max Biaggi

, while BMW finished thirteenth with Troy Corser

Troy Corser

Troy Gordon Corser is a professional motorcycle road racer, the and Superbike World champion....

2010

2009 Champion Ben Spies

Ben Spies

Ben Spies , also known as "Elbowz" due to his riding style where his elbows protrude outward, is a professional motorcycle road racer who turned pro in 2000...

moved to MotoGP. James Toseland

James Toseland

returned to the championship after 2 seasons in MotoGP and took Spies place at the Sterilgarda Yamaha World Superbike team, partnered by fellow Brit Cal Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is a former British Supersport champion and British Superbike race winner, and the 2009 Supersport World Champion.-Early years:...

. The factory Ducati team retained their two riders.

The 2010 season started on February 28 at Phillip Island

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing racing circuit on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. The circuit was opened in 1956.-Road circuit:...

and ended on October 3 at Magny-Cours

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some 250 km from Paris...

Riders

Riders from all over the world compete in the Superbike World Championship. The championship is perhaps most closely followed in Italy because of Ducati and the United Kingdom where superbike racing

Superbike racing

has been the most popular form of motorcycle racing

Motorcycle racing

Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all "races" or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.-Motorcycle racing:...

. 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 Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards

won the 2002 championship until Ben Spies

Ben Spies

Ben Spies , also known as "Elbowz" due to his riding style where his elbows protrude outward, is a professional motorcycle road racer who turned pro in 2000...

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

British rider Carl Fogarty

Carl Fogarty

Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty is the most successful World Superbike racer of all time in terms of the number of championships and number of race wins...

has the record of being the most successful rider in the championship's history, winning the championship four times, and amassing a total of 59 race wins.

Many riders successful in the Superbike World Championship have gone on to MotoGP, such as 2002 champion Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards

, 2007 champion James Toseland

James Toseland

, and 2005 runner-up Chris Vermeulen

Chris Vermeulen

Chris Vermeulen is a motorcycle racer, currently competing in the World Superbike Championship for the works Kawasaki team. He originally raced in this class in 2004 and 2005 for the Ten Kate Honda team, finishing as series runner-up in 2005...

. The championship has seen several former MotoGP riders move to it, usually after failing to earn competitive rides. The 2008 field includes five former MotoGP winners: Max Biaggi

Max Biaggi

, Carlos Checa

Carlos Checa

Carlos "Charlie" Checa is a professional motorcycle road racer and winner of the 2011 Superbike World Championship. After racing in 500cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly on Honda and Yamaha machinery with and without full manufacturer support, he moved to the Superbike World Championship on a...

and Makoto Tamada

Makoto Tamada

is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. He is one of the few riders to win races in both MotoGP and Superbike World Championship. For he will ride for the Paul Bird Kawasaki Corse team in the Superbike World Championship.-Early years:After a junior career in minibikes, he won a regional 250cc...

all raced exclusively in MotoGP before joining SBK, while Troy Bayliss

Troy Bayliss

, Noriyuki Haga

Noriyuki Haga

, is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. Haga has been runner-up in the Superbike World Championship three times, and has finished 3rd in the series four times....

, and Régis Laconi

Régis Laconi

Régis Laconi is a French 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 500cc and the Superbike World Championship.-Early career:Régis has a French mother and Italian father...

had alternating spells in both.

Except for Frenchman Raymond Roche

Raymond Roche

Raymond Roche is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1981, he teamed up with Jean Lafond to win the Endurance World Championship. His best year in Grand Prix racing was in 1984 when he finished third in the 500cc world championship behind Eddie Lawson and Randy Mamola...

, who won the championship in , all Superbike World Champions have been native English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

speakers, until Max Biaggi won the championship in 2010. Italian riders Davide Tardozzi

Davide Tardozzi

Davide Tardozzi 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 attentions to superbike racing...

and Marco Lucchinelli

Marco Lucchinelli

Marco Lucchinelli is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1981 he won the FIM 500cc World Championship.Lucchinelli began his road racing career in 1975 on a Laverda in endurance racing...

won the first two races of the series, and Frenchman Adrien Morillas

Adrien Morillas

Adrien Morillas is a former Superbike and Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from France. He competed in the inaugural Superbike World Championship season in 1988, winning one race. His best year in Grand Prix competition was in 1991 when he finished in eleventh place in the 500cc world championship...

was also victorious in 1988; Germany had to wait for Max Neukirchner

Max Neukirchner

Max Neukirchner is a professional motorcycle racer currently competing in the Moto2 World Championship.-World Supersport and Superbike:...

to achieve this in 2008, although Austrian Andreas Meklau was the first German-speaker to win a race, in 1993. Spain’s first race winner was Ruben Xaus

Rubén Xaus

Rubén Xaus is a motorcycle road racer. He currently competes in the Superbike World Championship. For 2009, he joins the new factory BMW team, his first ever campaign in WSBK on anything other than a Ducati. He was runner-up in this series in 2003, and spent the next two years in MotoGP with mixed...

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 Motorcycle manufacturers:

Ducati: 851
Ducati 851
The Ducati 851 was a Ducati motorcycle, with liquid cooling and four valve heads, released to the public in 1987. Development had lagged with the continued use of two valve engines, but new funds enabled a technological move forward Ducati needed at the time....

, 888
Ducati 888
The Ducati 888 was a motorcycle manufactured by Ducati as an upgrade to the Ducati 851. The earlier 851 had introduced liquid cooling, computerized fuel injection and four-valve heads to the company's two cylinder motors. In 1991 Ducati increased the capacity of the 851 to 888 cc to create...

, 916
Ducati 916
The Ducati 916 is an Italian sports motorcycle manufactured by Ducati from 1994 to 1998. In contrast to Japanese inline four-cylinder competitors of the time, its V-twin engine produced less outright power, but a more even torque spread...

, 996
Ducati 996
The Ducati 996 is an Italian street motorcycle manufactured by Ducati from 1999 to 2002. It was based upon the earlier 916.-Model history:...

, 998
Ducati 998
The Ducati 998, a successor to the Ducati 996 and the final variation on the Ducati 916, was produced in various models from 2002 to 2004. The new Testastretta engine shared many similarities with the previous Desmoquattro engine in the 996, although it was completely new from the crankshaft up....

, 999
Ducati 999
The Ducati 999 superseded the Massimo Tamburini designed Ducati 916, Ducati 996 and Ducati 998 range of superbikes in 2003, and was produced through 2006...

, 1098
Ducati 1098
The Ducati 1098 is a sport bike manufactured by the Italian motorcycle company Ducati since 2007. There were three different versions, called the 1098, 1098S, and 1098R...

, 1198
Ducati 1198
The Ducati 1198 is a sport bike made by Ducati since 2009. For the 2011 model year there are two models: the 1198 and 1198SP . The 1198 shares design elements with its predecessor 1098, but has more power and torque, redesigned wheels, lighter headlights, traction control, and lighter fairings ,...
BMW Motorrad
BMW Motorrad
BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim....

: S1000RR
BMW S1000RR
The BMW S1000RR is a sport bike initially manufactured by BMW Motorrad to compete in the 2009 Superbike World Championship, that is now in commercial production...
Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

: RC30
Honda VFR750R
The Honda VFR750R, frame designation RC30, was a fully faired racing motorcycle created for homologation purposes for the World Superbike championship by Honda Racing Corporation . It was first released to the Japanese market in 1987. American enthusiasts had to wait until 1990 to get their hands...

, RC45
Honda RVF750 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...

, RC51
Honda RC51
The Honda RC51, also known as the RVT1000R or VTR1000 , is a V-twin motorcycle produced by Honda from 2000 to 2006.- Mechanicals and chassis :...

, CBR1000RR
Honda CBR1000RR
The CBR1000RR, also known as the Fireblade, is a liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder sport bike that was introduced by Honda in 2004 to replace the CBR954RR.-Racing roots:...
Yamaha
Yamaha Motor Company
, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...

: FZR750, YZF750
Yamaha YZF750
The Yamaha YZF750 is a motorcycle that was produced from 1993 to 1998 in two forms, the standard R and the single seat SP. The 750R was the only available version offered to consumers in the US....

, YZF-R7
Yamaha YZF-R7
The Yamaha YZF-R7 OW02 is a race homologation motorcycle of limited production run of only 500 units. It was designed to compete in the Superbike World Championship and Suzuka 8 Hours endurance races....

, YZF-R1
Yamaha YZF-R1
The Yamaha YZF-R1 is an open class sport bike, or superbike, motorcycle manufactured by Yamaha Motor Company since 1998.-1998–1999:Yamaha launched the YZF-R1 after redesigning the Genesis engine to offset the crankshaft, gearbox input, and output shafts. This "compacting" of the engine made the...
Kawasaki: GPX750R, ZXR750, ZX-7RR, ZX-10R
Suzuki
Suzuki
is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines...

: GSX-R750
Suzuki GSX-R750
The GSX-R750 is a 750 class sport bike motorcycle from Suzuki's GSX-R series of motorcycles. It was introduced in 1985 and can be considered to be the first of the modern racer-replicas with many race-derived technologies and the looks of a Suzuki Endurance racer at an affordable price.-Air-cooled...

, GSX-R1000
Suzuki GSX-R1000
The GSX-R1000 is a sport bike from Suzuki's GSX-R series of motorcycles. It was introduced in 2001 to replace the GSX-R1100 and is powered by a liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder, four-stroke engine.-2001:...
Aprilia
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer, but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning sportbikes...

: RSV Mille R
Aprilia RSV Mille
The Aprilia RSV Mille was a sport motorcycle manufactured by Aprilia from 1998 to 2003. It was offered in three versions, RSV Mille, RSV Mille R, and RSV Mille SP....

, RSV 4
Aprilia RSV 4
The Aprilia RSV4 is a super bike manufactured by Aprilia. The RSV4 is Aprilia’s flagship model. Aprilia offers two models of the bike: the RSV4 Factory and RSV4 R.Production of the motorcycle began in 2008....

Withdrawn Motorcycle manufacturers:

Benelli
Benelli (motorcycles)
Benelli is an Italian Motorcycle manufacturer owned by Chinese company Qianjiang Group. It once manufactured shotguns, although this part of the business is now a separate company.-Early history:...

: Tornado Tre 900
Bimota
Bimota
Bimota is a small, Italian manufacturer of custom and production motorcycles. It was founded in 1973 in Rimini, Italy by Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini. The company name is a portmanteau derived from the first two letters of each of the three founders' surnames, i.e...

: YB4EI, SB8R
Petronas
Petronas
PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...

: FP1
Petronas FP1
The Petronas FP1 is a liquid-cooled inline three-cylinder homologation special sport bike that was produced in 2003 by Petronas.Originally developed jointly by Petronas and Sauber Petronas Engineering as the Petronas GP1 989cc prototype to compete in MotoGP, Petronas decided to race the motorcycle...
MV Agusta
MV Agusta
MV Agusta is a motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1945 near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy. The company began as an offshoot of the Agusta aviation company formed by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923. The Count died in 1927, leaving the company in the hands of his wife and sons, Domenico, Vincenzo,...

: MV Agusta F4
MV Agusta F4 series
The MV Agusta F4 was the motorcycle that launched the resurrection of MV Agusta in 1998. The F4 was created by famous motorcycle designer Massimo Tamburini at CRC , following his work on the Ducati 916...

Race weekend

Up to 2008 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 1st and 2nd qualifying are combined and the 16 fastest riders qualify for Superpole. The rest receive a grid position based on lap time, starting with 17th. 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 16 riders of the qualifying practice on the track - session of 12 minutes.

- Interval of 7 minutes
- The best 12 riders of the preceding session on the track - session of 12 minutes.
- Interval of 7 minutes
- The best 8 riders of the preceding session on the track - session of 12 minutes.
After each Superpole session the times will be reset, so each rider has 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.

2009 race weekend summary needed

Friday
- 1st free practice (60 minutes) and 1st qualifying (60 minutes)
Saturday
- 2nd qualifying (45 minutes) and 2nd free practice (45 minutes)
Superpole
Sunday
- Warm-up (20 minutes) Race 1 and Race 2

Scoring system

**Current Points System**
Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Points	25	20	16	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

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.

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 machines, and between 600 and 750 cc for twins and must satisfy the FIM homologation

Homologation

Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...

requirements.
World Supersport regulations are much tighter than in World Superbikes. The chassis of a supersport machine must remain largely as standard, 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 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 is 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 European Superstock 600 Championship it is a support class to the Superbike World Championship at the European rounds. The championship uses 600 cc production motorcycles and is reserved for riders between 15 and 20 years of age. Same rules as Superstock 1000 apply, but the series is organized by the European Motorcycle Union.

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 where they just stopped making games. SBK was reborn as a video game in 2007 thanks to Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

developer Black Bean Games

Black Bean Games

Black Bean Games is a video game publishing company based in Gazzada Schianno, Italy and founded in 2005. It has published several racing games developed by Milestone S.r.l., but its portfolio includes real strategy and family-oriented games...

. Black Bean has realised 3 games to date with SBK-X set to be the next installment of the series.

Date of release	Name	Platform	Developer
28 February 1999	Superbike World Championship	PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...	EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
29 February 2000	Superbike 2000	PlayStation PlayStation The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000... and PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...	EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
6 October 2000	Superbike 2001	PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...	EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
18 May 2007	SBK-07: Superbike World Championship	PS2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... and PSP PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...	Black Bean Games Black Bean Games Black Bean Games is a video game publishing company based in Gazzada Schianno, Italy and founded in 2005. It has published several racing games developed by Milestone S.r.l., but its portfolio includes real strategy and family-oriented games...
1 August 2008	SBK-08: Superbike World Championship SBK-08: Superbike World Championship SBK-08: Superbike World Championship is the official video game for the 2008 Superbike World Championship season...	PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... , PS2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... , PS3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , PSP PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... and Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...	Black Bean Games Black Bean Games Black Bean Games is a video game publishing company based in Gazzada Schianno, Italy and founded in 2005. It has published several racing games developed by Milestone S.r.l., but its portfolio includes real strategy and family-oriented games...
29 May 2009	SBK-09: Superbike World Championship SBK-09: Superbike World Championship SBK-09: Superbike World Championship is a motorcycle racing game developed by Milestone S.r.l. and published by Black Bean Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Windows, and Xbox 360 in 2009.-Reception:...	PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... , PS2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... , PS3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , PSP PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... and Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...	Black Bean Games Black Bean Games Black Bean Games is a video game publishing company based in Gazzada Schianno, Italy and founded in 2005. It has published several racing games developed by Milestone S.r.l., but its portfolio includes real strategy and family-oriented games...
4 June 2010	SBK X: Superbike World Championship SBK X: Superbike World Championship SBK-X: Superbike World Championship is a motorcycle racing game developed by Milestone s.r.l. and published by Black Bean Games in 2010. The game features three modes of gameplay: the arcade mode, the simulation mode and the multiplayer mode. Also for the first time in the series the game features...	PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... , PS3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... and Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...	Black Bean Games Black Bean Games Black Bean Games is a video game publishing company based in Gazzada Schianno, Italy and founded in 2005. It has published several racing games developed by Milestone S.r.l., but its portfolio includes real strategy and family-oriented games...
6 May 2011	SBK 2011: Superbike World Championship	PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... , PS3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... and Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...	Black Bean Games Black Bean Games Black Bean Games is a video game publishing company based in Gazzada Schianno, Italy and founded in 2005. It has published several racing games developed by Milestone S.r.l., but its portfolio includes real strategy and family-oriented games...

External links

worldsbk.com World Superbike Championship official website

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