Superbike World Championship (also known as SBK, World Superbike, or WSBK) is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in 1988. 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 motorcycles 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.
Europe is Superbike World Championship's traditional centre and leading market.[1] However, rounds are also held in Qatar, Australia, South Africa, and the United States (in 2008, for the first time since 2004).[2] An Indonesian race was also proposed for the 2008 season, but this was later canceled by the FIM.[3]
The championship is regulated by the FIM, the international governing body of motorcycle racing, and managed and promoted by FGSport.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
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This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective. (April 2010) |
Formula TT 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 1993 to 1999 Carl Fogarty and Ducati dominated, Fogarty won the title a record 4 times and finished as runner-up twice on factory Ducatis. Troy Corser also won the 1996 title and finished as runner-up in 1995, both times on a Ducati.
[edit] 2002
Main article: 2002 Superbike World Championship season
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 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' comeback, he went on to win all 9 remaining races and (aided by a race 2 crash for Bayliss at Assen) Edwards won the championship at the final race of the season at Imola.
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.[4]
[edit] 2003
Main article: 2003 Superbike World Championship season
In 2003 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[5] (only Ducati and Suzuki).2003 also saw the entry of Carl Fogarty’s Foggy Petronas 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".[4][6] 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 won the title on a factory Ducati.
[edit] 2004
Main article: 2004 Superbike World Championship season
In an effort to create a more competitive field in 2004 organizers announced a series of changes to the championship. The most significant was that from 2004 the teams have had to run on Pirelli
control or 'spec' tires. The decision to award the control tire to
Pirelli was controversial. The Pirelli tires were considered to be below
the standard of Dunlop and Michelin that most of the teams had been using. Dunlop looked to take legal action against the decision[7] while Pirelli claimed that Michelin and Dunlop were also asked if they would be interested in the one-make tire rule contract.[8]
Partly as a result of the control tires, 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.[4][6]A few privateers choose to run Japanese bikes in 2004. Ten Kate Honda with Chris Vermuelen as its rider, won races and actually contended for the title that eventually was won by James Toseland and Ducati.
[edit] 2005
Main article: 2005 Superbike World Championship season
Following Ten Kate Honda's success Japanese motorcycles made him a return in 2005 with major teams from all four Japanese manufacturers run through teams ran by European importers.[6] Troy Corser won the 2005 championship, giving Suzuki its first Superbike World Championship title.
[edit] 2006
Main article: 2006 Superbike World Championship season
2006 saw the return of Australian 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 and Yamaha's Noriyuki Haga battled for second with the British rider coming out on top. Defending champion Troy Corser on a Suzuki was fourth. 2006 gave the feeling that the Superbike World Championship was 'back' following the years of decline in 2003 and 2004.[6][edit] 2007
Main article: 2007 Superbike World Championship season
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 and British Superbike) become the most powerful racing bikes being road raced in 2007.
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.[9][10] Troy Bayliss attempted to defend his title, riding once again a Ducati 999. Though 999 production ended in 2006 and the bike was replaced by the Ducati 1098, Ducati produced 150 limited-edition 999s at an elevated race specification to satisfy homologation requirements. Bayliss' main rivals in his title defense included former MotoGP rider Max Biaggi riding a Suzuki, 2004 champion James Toseland riding a Honda and Noriyuki Haga riding a Yamaha.The combination of some uneventful races in MotoGP[11][12] 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.
[edit] 2008
Main article: 2008 Superbike World Championship season
After introducing the Ducati 1098
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[13] and that the level of tuning now needed to make their 999 competitive on the race track was too expensive.[14] Ducati said they would quit if the rules were not changed,[13]
while Alstare Suzuki team boss Francis Batta also said that his team
would quit if the new rules gave Ducati an unfair advantage.[15]The FIM eventually included the 1,200 cc displacement limit for twins in the 2008 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.[16]
The new rules also changed the minimum number of bikes required to acquire homologation. 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.[17]
The 2008 SBK championship was dominated by 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.
[edit] 2009
Main article: 2009 Superbike World Championship season
During the offseason, Yamaha lost its main rider Noriyuki Haga to Ducati, which hired him to replace the retired Bayliss. His place was taken by 3-times AMA champion Ben Spies, 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 and BMW. Aprilia took a fourth final place in the championship with Max Biaggi, while BMW finished thirteenth with Troy Corser.[18]
[edit] 2010
Main article: 2010 Superbike World Championship season
2009 Champion Ben Spies moved to MotoGP.[19] 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.[20] The factory Ducati team retained their two riders.[21]The 2010 season started on February 28 at Phillip Island and ended on October 3 at Magny-Cours.
[edit] Riders
See also: List of Superbike World Championship racers and List of Superbike World Championship race winners
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 has been the most popular form of 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 won the 2002 championship until Ben Spies joined the series in 2009, but no Americans competed in the series between 2003 and 2007.British rider Carl Fogarty 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, 2007 champion James Toseland, and 2005 runner-up Chris Vermeulen. 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, Carlos Checa and Makoto Tamada all raced exclusively in MotoGP before joining SBK, while Troy Bayliss, Noriyuki Haga, and Régis Laconi had alternating spells in both.
Except for Frenchman Raymond Roche, who won the championship in 1990, all Superbike World Champions have been native English speakers, until Max Biaggi won the championship in 2010. Italian riders Davide Tardozzi and Marco Lucchinelli won the first two races of the series, and Frenchman Adrien Morillas was also victorious in 1988; Germany had to wait for Max Neukirchner 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 in 2001.
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