The championship was born in 1988, thanks to the initiative of the Italian promoters Fabio and Matteo Flamini, as well as their partners, who then merged into Infront Motorsport with an office in Rome. The competition format proposed at the very beginning in FIM was rejected. Each national federation had a Superbike championship in its calendar, and the idea of ​​uniting them in a certain world series looked vague due to too serious differences in regulations, and just in the concept of the word “Superbike”. What is a Superbike? The concept of “Superbike” at its core is a production motorcycle of the top class (750 cc for 1988 and 1000 cc from 2000), modified by the dealer (this is a very important point!) – lightweight, tuned and well tuned. Initially, according to Infront’s plan, the World Superbike series was supposed to become a championship of private teams – teams organized by factory dealers, but not by the factories themselves. When the first superbikes appeared, this was the case, moreover, in all national series.

Hockenheim, 1988 – the third race in World Superbike history The AMA Superbike and Australian Road Race Championsip took the lead in this type of motorcycle road racing. It was from Australia that the strongest racers came to the States to show what they are capable of. Also, the Australians set the bar in the Japanese and Pan-Asian series (they were easier to reach than America). In Europe, then the Moto Grand Prix championship ruled the ball, and serial motorcycles were chased exclusively in the tourist trophy races. There were also some championships in Italy, Germany and France, but there everyone was striving for the Grand Prix, and the trends were completely different. Finally, the British Superbike has never been as strong as it has become over the past 30 years. With the emergence of WSBK, everything changed in a couple of years. The idea of ​​creating WorldSBK Flammini proposed to reform the Formula TT class, which implied participation in the Isle of Man TT and other trophy series of pilots on modified production motorcycles with engines of 750 and 1000 cc. The FIM agreed to give the series World Cup status. It was enough to spend the very first season at the circuit of Europe, Japan and Australia. The series was a success; in the second year, many world stars went to the start.

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“I never thought about racing in the States. However, now the situation is in which this is probably my only chance … to return to the World Superbike “- said Baz during the tests in Road Atlanta. So, the situation is this: Loris Baz has signed a contract with the Ducati HSBK New York team for the 2021 season, and he will compete in MotoAmerica in the Superbike class in a brand new Ducati V4 R. This is a key moment. The fact is that the American office of the Italian company is behind the Ducati HSBK New York. “We had one interesting meeting … – continues Baz. – After her, I had a hope of returning to the World Championship. But I’m not sure. I’m not sure if this will come true. However, my goal is to win MotoAmerica this year with Ducati to take advantage of this minor opportunity to get into Aruba.it Racing in 2022. Let’s see if we can pull this off! ”

Loris Baz hopes to follow the path of Scott Redding, who was kicked out of MotoGP but became British Superbike champion next year. After showcasing his style and capabilities aboard the Ducati V4 R, he was recruited to the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati works team where he replaced another former MotoGP driver, Alvaro Bautista. Redding tried to impose a 2020 title fight on Jonathan Ray, but two falls took him off the shortlist for the title. At the same time, Redding really showed that he has the power and speed to fight the Kawasaki. Now, Redding’s partner in Aruba.it is the young Italian Mikel Ruben Rinaldi. Borgo-Panigale wants to try him as the team’s flagship, at the same time, this is a hint to Redding that his 2-year contract will expire in 2021. There could indeed be a vacancy on the Ducati factory team in 2022, and Baz is hoping to hop on that boat. But for this he must win the American Championship. It’s that simple!

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We have already lost count of what this edition is. But obviously not the last one. At least two more events are in complete uncertainty – this is the race in Indonesia at the Autodrome in Mandalik, which is still not in the finished state. Phillip Island has previously been moved to the very end of the calendar, and if Indonesia takes place, then the Australian round should also take place. The dates are very doubtful: November 12-14 – Mandalika, and the race in Australia should take place no later than November 28. But since Dorna’s supply chains between Indonesia and Australia have not yet been established, there may be various complications and so on.

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The Superbike World Championship starts at Motorland Aragon exactly one month later, but this time it was not possible to fully prepare for them. Rather, the test programs were executed, but in a very short time. Jonathan Rae and the Kawasaki Racing Team managed to keep pace with just a few laps as the sun dried up the track on Thursday afternoon. After checking a number of indicators of the new Kawasaki ZX-10RR, the reigning champion closed the work.

Alex Lowes, Kawasaki Racing Team, tests in Aragon Much more important was the visit to the tests in Aragon for Alex Lowes, who continues to recuperate from a major accident in the fall and subsequent surgery. Lowes said at the close of Thursday that he “feels almost 100% ready to race.” The Kawasaki Racing Team scrapped work at the end of the day and decided to return to the Motorland Aragon once more for private tests on May 4-5.

Garrett Gerloff, tests in Aragon Yamaha pilots also had to sit in the pits most of the time. Yamaha’s new GRT partners Garrett Gerloff and Kota Nozane bravely stepped onto the wet track on Thursday and continued to work when the asphalt was dry: both need speed and speed. But the performance of the pilots in general was not impressive – they just used the track time to improve the feel of the bike. Each of them drove 30-40 laps. In the Motorland Aragon paddock, some teams remain awaiting a possible clearing in the clouds, but in the morning it is raining cold. All eyes are on the first round of the World Superbike, which will take place in Aragon on May 21-23.

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