Supersport World Championship

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 955 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]

FIM Supersport World Championship
CategoryMotorcycle racing
RegionInternational
Inaugural season1997
ConstructorsDucati, Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Triumph, Yamaha
Tyre suppliersPirelli
Riders' championSpain Adrián Huertas
Makes' championItaly Ducati
Teams' championNetherlands Ten Kate Racing Yamaha
Official websiteworldsbk.com
Current season
Gianluca Vizziello riding the RG Team Yamaha YZF-R6 at Phillip Island

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

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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

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Technical regulations

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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 2023, the homologated motorcycles were Ducati Panigale V2, Honda CBR600RR, Kawasaki ZX-6R, MV Agusta F3 800, Suzuki GSX-R600, 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

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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

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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.

WorldSSP Challenge

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Starting in 2021, the World Supersport Challenge, a separate points-scoring competition was held at the European-rounds of the Supersport World Championship, run as a category within the main races. Previously, it was known as the European Supersport Cup.

In 2021, the title winner was Altogo Racing Yamaha’s Kevin Manfredi, for 2022 it was Bahattin Sofuoglu for factory MV Agusta, and in 2023 Tom Booth-Amos won with the Kawasaki team Motozoo.[10][11][12]

Champions

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Season Rider champion[13] Team Motorcycle Manufacturer champion[14]
World Series
1997   Paolo Casoli Gio.Ca.Moto Ducati 748   Ducati
1998   Fabrizio Pirovano Team Alstare Corona Suzuki GSX-R600   Suzuki
World Championship
1999   Stéphane Chambon [fr] Suzuki Alstare F.S. Suzuki GSX-R600   Yamaha
2000 [fr]   Jörg Teuchert [de] Alpha Technik Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6   Yamaha
2001 [fr]   Andrew Pitt Fuchs Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-6R   Yamaha
2002 [fr]   Fabien Foret Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600F   Suzuki
2003 [fr]   Chris Vermeulen Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR   Honda
2004   Karl Muggeridge Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR   Honda
2005 [fr]   Sébastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR   Honda
2006   Sébastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR   Honda
2007   Kenan Sofuoğlu Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR   Honda
2008   Andrew Pitt Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR   Honda
2009   Cal Crutchlow Yamaha World Supersport Yamaha YZF-R6   Honda
2010   Kenan Sofuoğlu Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR   Honda
2011   Chaz Davies Yamaha ParkinGO Team Yamaha YZF-R6   Yamaha
2012   Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R   Honda
2013   Sam Lowes Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha YZF-R6   Kawasaki
2014   Michael van der Mark PATA Honda World Supersport Honda CBR600RR   Honda
2015   Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R   Kawasaki
2016   Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R   Kawasaki
2017   Lucas Mahias GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6   Yamaha
2018   Sandro Cortese Kallio Racing Yamaha YZF-R6   Yamaha
2019   Randy Krummenacher BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6   Yamaha
2020   Andrea Locatelli BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6   Yamaha
2021   Dominique Aegerter Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6   Yamaha
2022   Dominique Aegerter Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6   Yamaha
2023   Nicolò Bulega Aruba Racing Ducati Panigale V2   Ducati
2024   Adrián Huertas Aruba Racing Ducati Panigale V2   Ducati
By rider
Rider Championships Year
 Kenan Sofuoğlu 5 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016
 Sébastien Charpentier 2 2005, 2006
 Andrew Pitt 2001, 2008
  Dominique Aegerter 2021, 2022
 Paolo Casoli 1 1997
 Fabrizio Pirovano 1998
 Stéphane Chambon 1999
 Jörg Teuchert 2000
 Fabien Foret 2002
 Chris Vermeulen 2003
 Karl Muggeridge 2004
 Cal Crutchlow 2009
 Chaz Davies 2011
 Sam Lowes 2013
 Michael van der Mark 2014
 Lucas Mahias 2017
 Sandro Cortese 2018
 Randy Krummenacher 2019
 Andrea Locatelli 2020
  Nicolò Bulega 2023
  Adrián Huertas 2024
By manufacturer
Manufacturer Championships Year
 Honda 10 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014
 Yamaha 1999, 2000, 2001, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
 Kawasaki 3 2013, 2015, 2016
 Ducati 1997, 2023, 2024
 Suzuki 2 1998, 2002

See also

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References

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  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. ^ a b "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 2023 (Updated 28 July)". fim-moto.com. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. 28 Jul 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  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. ^ FIM WorldSSP Challenge ready to kick off: who is joining the grid from Assen onwards? worldsbk.com, 12 April 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024
  11. ^ Winners of the WorldSSP Challenge: Booth-Amos and Motozoo speedweek.com, 5 October 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024
  12. ^ New manufacturer revealed in WorldSBK entry lists visordown.com, 19 December 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024
  13. ^ "Supersport Champions - Riders". oldsbk.perugiatiming.com. Superbike World Championship. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  14. ^ "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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