Supersport World Championship
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 Supersport World Championship
SportMotorcycle sport
Founded1997 (World Series)
1999 (World Championship)
CountryWorldwide
Most recent
champion(s)
Nicolò Bulega (rider)
Ducati (manufacturer)
Gianluca Vizziello riding the RG Team Yamaha YZF-R6 at Phillip Island

The Supersport World Championship, abbreviated to WorldSSP, is a motorcycle racing competition on hard-surfaced circuits, based on mid-sized sports motorcycles. Competition machines were originally based on production-based motorcycles with 600 cc to 750 cc engines, depending on the number of cylinders. After trials in UK national series British Supersport, from 2022 the regulations have changed to allow eligibility of larger-displacement engines, to reflect the engine sizes being produced and encourage different manufacturers.[1][2]

The championship runs as a support class to the Superbike World Championship, which is similarly based on large production-based sports motorcycles. The championship, organized and promoted as its parent series by FGSport—renamed Infront Motor Sports in 2008[3]—until 2012 and by Dorna from the 2013 season onwards,[4] is sanctioned by the FIM.

Overview

Supersport was introduced as a support class to the Superbike World Championship in 1990 as a European Championship. The series allows four-cylinder engines up to 600 cubic centimetres (37 cu in), three-cylinder engines up to 675 cubic centimetres (41.2 cu in), and twin-cylinder power plants up to 750 cubic centimetres (46 cu in). In 1997 the championship became a "World Series" and the European title was given to the European Motorcycle Union's European Road Racing Championship. The full title Supersport World Championship was introduced in 1999.[5] Supersport racing has also been one of the most popular classes of national racing for many years.

Competition in the championship is typically fierce, and season domination by a single competitor is unusual. The 2001 championship was particularly notable in this respect, the champion being Andrew Pitt who did not win a single race, but amassed a championship-winning total of points by finishing near the front of the field in almost every race.

Regulations

Technical regulations

In 2012, to be eligible for Supersport World Championship, a motorcycle must satisfy FIM's homologation requirements and have a four-stroke engine in one of the following configurations:[6]

  • Between 400 and 600 cubic centimetres (24 and 37 cu in) – 4 cylinders
  • Between 600 and 800 cubic centimetres (37 and 49 cu in) – 3 cylinders
  • Between 800 and 955 cubic centimetres (48.8 and 58.3 cu in) – 2 cylinders

As of 2022, the homologated motorcycles were Ducati Panigale V2, Honda CBR600RR, Kawasaki ZX-6R, MV Agusta F3 800, Suzuki GSX-R600, Triumph Street Triple 765RS and Yamaha YZF-R6;[7] formerly homologated motorcycles include Bimota YB9, Ducati 748, Ducati 749, Honda CBR600F, MV Agusta F3 675, Triumph Daytona 600, Triumph Daytona 675, and Yamaha YZF600R.[8][9]

Supersport regulations are much tighter than in Superbikes. The chassis of a supersport machine must remain largely as standard, while engine tuning is possible but tightly regulated. For instance, the displacement capacity, bore and stroke must remain at the homologated size. Modifying the bore and stroke to reach class limits is not allowed.[6] As in World Superbike, a control tyre is used. From 2020 onwards, the tyres no longer have to be road legal and therefore slicks are allowed.

Sporting regulations

A Supersport World Championship race takes place at almost every Superbike World Championship round. Starting positions are decided by the riders' fastest laps from two 45-minute qualifying sessions. Each race is approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) long. Typically, the race takes place between the two Superbike races.

The points system is the same for the riders' championship and the manufacturers' championship, but only the highest-finishing motorcycle by a particular manufacturer is awarded the points for the latter championship.

Points scoring 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

Riders

Riders from all over the world compete in World Supersport, mostly from Europe.

Several riders who were successful in World Supersport have moved on to high-level competitions, notably, Cal Crutchlow, Chaz Davies, and Chris Vermeulen, though others such as Fabien Foret and Kenan Sofuoğlu have spent several years in this championship.

Notable female rider María Herrera entered a few races in World Supersport.

Champions

Season Rider champion[10] Team Motorcycle Manufacturer champion[11]
World Series
1997 Italy Paolo Casoli Gio.Ca.Moto Ducati 748 Ducati
1998 Italy Fabrizio Pirovano Team Alstare Corona Suzuki GSX-R600 Suzuki
World Championship
1999 France Stéphane Chambon Suzuki Alstare F.S. Suzuki GSX-R600 Yamaha
2000 Germany Jörg Teuchert Alpha Technik Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha
2001 Australia Andrew Pitt Fuchs Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-6R Yamaha
2002 France Fabien Foret Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600F Suzuki
2003 Australia Chris Vermeulen Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda
2004 Australia Karl Muggeridge Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda
2005 France Sébastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda
2006 France Sébastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda
2007 Turkey Kenan Sofuoğlu Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda
2008 Australia Andrew Pitt Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda
2009 United Kingdom Cal Crutchlow Yamaha World Supersport Yamaha YZF-R6 Honda
2010 Turkey Kenan Sofuoğlu Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda
2011 United Kingdom Chaz Davies Yamaha ParkinGO Team Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha
2012 Turkey Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R Honda
2013 United Kingdom Sam Lowes Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha YZF-R6 Kawasaki
2014 Netherlands Michael van der Mark PATA Honda World Supersport Honda CBR600RR Honda
2015 Turkey Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki
2016 Turkey Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki
2017 France Lucas Mahias GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha
2018 Germany Sandro Cortese Kallio Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha
2019 Switzerland Randy Krummenacher BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha
2020 Italy Andrea Locatelli BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha
2021 Switzerland Dominique Aegerter Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha
2022 Switzerland Dominique Aegerter Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha
2023 Italy Nicolò Bulega Aruba Racing Ducati Panigale V2 Ducati
By rider
Rider Championships Year
TurkeyKenan Sofuoğlu 5 2007,2010,2012,2015,2016
FranceSébastien Charpentier 2 2005,2006
AustraliaAndrew Pitt 2001,2008
Switzerland Dominique Aegerter 2021, 2022
ItalyPaolo Casoli 1 1997
ItalyFabrizio Pirovano 1998
FranceStéphane Chambon 1999
GermanyJörg Teuchert 2000
FranceFabien Foret 2002
AustraliaChris Vermeulen 2003
AustraliaKarl Muggeridge 2004
United KingdomCal Crutchlow 2009
United KingdomChaz Davies 2011
United KingdomSam Lowes 2013
NetherlandsMichael van der Mark 2014
FranceLucas Mahias 2017
GermanySandro Cortese 2018
SwitzerlandRandy Krummenacher 2019
ItalyAndrea Locatelli 2020
Italy Nicolò Bulega 2023
By manufacturer
Manufacturer Championships Year
JapanHonda 10 2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2012,2014
JapanYamaha 1999,2000,2001,2011,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021, 2022
JapanKawasaki 3 2013,2015,2016
ItalyDucati 2 1997, 2023
JapanSuzuki 1998,2002

See also

References

  1. BSB: Series bosses commit to Supersport and GP2 future Motorcycle News, 25 November 2018 Retrieved 30 January 2022
  2. Triumph to enter factory BritishSSP ‘pilot’ 765 entry, eyes international return visordown.com, 24 November 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2022
  3. "Infront rebrands leading promoter in motor sport, FGSport, as Infront Motor Sports". infrontsports.com. Infront Sports & Media. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  4. Sam Tremayne (2 October 2012). "Dorna to organise both World Superbikes and MotoGP from 2013". autosport.com. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  5. "110th FIM anniversary – Flash Back 1996–1999". fim-live.com. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Road Racing FIM Superbike & Supersport World Championships & FIM Superstock Cup regulations 2012" (PDF). v2-fim-live.com. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  7. "Listing of FIM homologated motorcycles for 2015" (PDF). fim-moto.com. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. 15 February 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  8. "Superbike/Supersport World Championships: rules, time schedule, wild-card riders in Kyalami, list of homologated motorcycles". fim.ch. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. 18 March 1999. Archived from the original on 11 October 1999. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  9. "Listing of FIM homologated motorcycles for 2007" (PDF). v2-fim-live.com. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. 5 April 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. "Supersport Champions - Riders". oldsbk.perugiatiming.com. Superbike World Championship. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  11. "Supersport Champions - Manufacturers". oldsbk.perugiatiming.com. Superbike World Championship. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
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