The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship waltzes into summer on a high, with a hard-earnt break giving us plenty of time to digest the big things of the season so far. This time, we’re looking at stats, and there are plenty to delve deep into. Throttle up and check in on your latest pub knowledge, you’ll want to impress your friends from trackside – or sofa-side – when we’re back in September!

6000 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) became the first rider in WorldSBK history to amass 6000 points during the Imola weekend. Into summer, he has 6053.5.

1050 – At the same place where they achieved a 1000th podium in 2022 with Alvaro Bautista, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) took Ducati’s 1050th podium.

400 – At Assen, Alvaro Bautista made it 400 wins for Ducati. At the time, it was his 40th, exactly 10% of the manufacturer’s total.

333.3 – 333.3km/h is the top speed recorded so far this year, achieved by Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) at Phillip Island.

100 – A total of 100 podiums in WorldSBK for Toprak Razgatlioglu was achieved at Imola in Race 1. As he entered summer, he had 104.

50 – 50 wins for Alvaro Bautista in WorldSBK, all achieved with Ducati. Other riders with 50 wins or more are Jonathan Rea (119), Carl Fogarty (59) and Troy Bayliss (52).

38 – For the 38^th time in WorldSBK history, five manufacturers were inside the top five places in a race, achieved in Race 1 at Most. It was the first time since 2022’s Race 2 at Assen.

38/36 – At 38 and 36, Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea both entered the top six for oldest wins with their Most victories.

29 – After 29 points-scoring races on the bounce came to an end at Most in the Superpole Race, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) is in P9 for all-time points-scoring runs, the highest-placed Yamaha rider.

27 – Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) has led 27 laps in his career, of which 13 are from 2023. The most laps led by a rider to never win is currently held by Davide Giugliano at 45.

25 – At Assen in the Superpole Race, Jonathan Rea set a new record for podiums at a single track: 25.

19 – Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was a substitute rider in the factory BMW team at Imola and scored points in Race 1, giving him the biggest interval from his first points-scoring race in WorldSBK to his most recent: 19 years, 11 months and 18 days from Brands Hatch Race 2, 2003 and Imola Race 1 2023.

18 – 18 wins in a season for Alvaro Bautista at Most after Race 2, an all-time season record.

14 – At 14 years, one month and eight days, Rea updated a stat he already held, for the interval between first WorldSBK win and most-recent after Race 1 at Most.

12 – 12 years since the last front row, Australia returned to the grid with a clear view down to Turn 1 at Most with Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team). It was the first time since Troy Corser was fourth at Monza in 2011.

9 – 9 different podium finishers in 2023 across four manufacturers; after summer, BMW will look to join the list.

5 – Fifth place on the grid by Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) at Assen and Imola is the best for BMW this season.

3 – For the first time since Portimao 2021, three different winners on three different makes of machinery this weekend. Rea won for Kawasaki in Race 1, followed by Razgatlioglu for Yamaha in the Superpole Race and Bautista for Ducati in Race 2. In Portimao 2021, it was Razgatlioglu for Yamaha in Race 1, Michael van der Mark for BMW in the Superpole Race and Rea for Kawasaki in Race 2.

3 – Three podiums in his debut season for Danilo Petrucci, the most by a rookie in an Independent team since Garrett Gerloff at GRT Yamaha in 2020, who also had three.

1 – Scoring his first podium in WorldSBK, Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) put Honda in P3 at Mandalika in Race 2.

0.244s – At the chequered flag, the closest finish of the year came in the Superpole Race at Imola, with Razgatlioglu beating Bautista by 0.244s.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Whilst the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is out for summer, stories are always breaking and if not, they’re being monitored closely. That’s the situation for Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK’s Guim Roda, who gave an overview of his team’s performance in 2023. What promised so much with a new engine homologation has turned out to be a rough ride; just one win – coming in the rain at Most – and not fighting for the title for the first time since Provec Racing took over the Kawasaki effort in 2012.

“NOBODY WINS FOREVER” – Roda lays it out bare

“2023 hasn’t gone as we expected,” began a direct Guim Roda, speaking at Most before the summer break commenced. “We came from a not easy 2021 and 2022 season. We were fighting for podiums, race wins and the title until the end, but unfortunately, this year, we could not start in a good mode. We’re trying to polish things with the tools we have and trying our best. Nobody wins forever; you need to accept to learn to lose and try your best. It’s important in racing and life, not just achieving success but fight for it and work for it. We’ll keep going; we have experience from the past to understand what to do to win and we’ll try again. That is our aim.”

“It’s obvious that there are no doubts on Jonny’s capacity to go fast; he demonstrated again in many conditions and we assembled the bike with the right tyres and he did the rest. We just need to continue, use the best opportunities and keep going. Alex is doing quite a good job and showing the bike’s potential in terms of speed; it’s not an easy bike to manage for a long race distance. Sometimes, we make a mistake with setup to gain something extra, instead we go back. He’s a big compliment for the team and he’s doing a good job.”

Both riders have had reasons to cheer in 2023; Rea took a masterful wet weather podium in the season-opening Phillip Island race, before he returned to the rostrum at Assen. His biggest achievement of the year was a 119^th WorldSBK win, coming at Most in Race 1, when an intermediate tyre choice proved to be the right one, staying out on a drying track to win. As for Lowes, he got the team’s first dry podium of the year in the Tissot Superpole Race at Mandalika and has had nine top six finishes, albeit not since Donington Park.

“RACING IS RACING; CONTRACTS ARE THERE, BUT…” – 2024 on the horizon

Low points for the pair included uncharacteristic crashes for 36-year-old Rea during races. Mandalika’s Race 2, Assen’s Race 2 and Barcelona’s Superpole Race all caught Rea out, whilst for Lowes, a double crash in Race 1 and 2 in Australia, a Race 1 crash in Barcelona, Race 2’s fall at Misano and a tumble at Imola have been low points. Both riders are pushing to the limit and beyond. This has meant rumours regarding Rea’s future to start circulating, with Yamaha seemingly being an option despite having a contract with Kawasaki for 2024. Alex Lowes signed for 2024 ahead of his home round this year.

Responding to the question for the first time, Roda – an ex-racer himself and paddock stalwart – know that anything’s possible in racing: “You never know; at the end, racing is racing. Contracts are there, the motivation is there but anyway, we’ll need to see. We don’t have a plan B because plan A is Jonny, so we need to work on that and try our best.”

Finally, a test at Aragon will give Kawasaki the opportunity to make steps, although coy on what it will be: “It’s a middle of the year test, so it’s important as we’ll need to test many things during the year to confirm the direction of the past, whether we were right or not. At the same time, trying to make steps for the future to understand how we improve the package. It’s important and we’ll try to extract the maximum.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Reigning Champions Ducati are looking to defend their MOTUL FIM Superbike World Champion titles, and they brought out a new model of the Panigale V4 R machine for this season. The factory team, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, have defending Champion Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi at the helm. You can see all the intricate details and finer points of the Panigale V4 R machine in the incredible gallery at the top of this page!

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and the wider motorcycle racing and motorsport community sends condolences to family, friends and colleagues of Mirko Giansanti, who has sadly passed away on August 7^th, 2023 following a long battle with serious illness. Aged 46, he was a founder and sporting director of the GRT Yamaha team – currently the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team – after a successful career as a racer. 

Mirko lived for two wheels; from a debut wildcard at Mugello at the 1996 125cc Italian Grand Prix, before competing in three more rounds that year and taking two points. A regular rider and podium contender in 1997, he finished in the top ten overall, whilst he achieved four podiums a year later in 1998. More rostrums came in 2000, including a famous P2 in front of a massive home crowd at Mugello. His last podium came at Suzuka in 2003, missing out on the win by less than half a tenth of a second, just one aspect of his great spirit as a racer and tenacity as an individual. In total, he’d made 123 starts in 125cc racing where he was a stalwart, before a solid points-scoring year in 250cc in 2005. He later raced in WorldSSP, with nine appearance from 2008 to 2012, scoring points at Monza in 2011. 

However, the Italian, from Terni, would go on to have a fantastic career as a founder and sporting director of the GRT (Giansanti Racing Team) outfit in WorldSSP and WorldSBK. The journey started in 2016, when Gino Rea took the team to podiums, whilst Aiden Wagner scored points. However, 2017 would bring heroic scenes as Lucas Mahias clinched the title in just their second year, whilst Jules Cluzel fought for the title in 2018, taking wins and finishing second come the close of the season. 

For 2019, a new challenge emerged as the team graduated to WorldSBK, hiring reigning WorldSSP Champion Sandro Cortese alongside ex-WorldSBK runner-up Marco Melandri, with the latter delivering a first podium in their first WorldSBK race. The team took two further podiums with Melandri before American Garrett Gerloff gave them five from 2020 – 2022. In 2023, Dominque Aegerter and Remy Gardner have produced top ten performances, although it was Aegerter who brought the team a solid P4 at Assen. 

A statement from the team closed with: “Mirko, we will miss you terribly, but we know you will always be with us. We promise you that we will work even harder to fulfil a common dream of taking yours and our creature to the top of the world. Above all, we will always keep your memory alive.”

Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe’s Road Racing manager, said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mirko after a long illness. He was a man who said little, preferring instead to lead by example and with this approach, he and the GRT Yamaha Team achieved a lot. Mirko was an integral part of our Yamaha racing family and the WorldSBK paddock will be a lesser place with his passing. Rest in peace, Mirko.”

Source: WorldSBK.com

Phillip Island, Australia. It seems a long time ago, doesn’t it? Well, that’s where the story of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship started. Down Under, back to our traditional starting point at the majestic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and it was a topsy-turvy weekend to say the absolute least. Here, we have a look back at Round 1 and all those unmissable moments. To get Race 1 and 2 in review, click here, whilst enjoy (and subscribe to) our YouTube channel with the the Superpole Race here!

It was a fine triple by the #1 of Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who won a wet Race 1, the titanic trio of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) completing the opening podium of the year. Behind them, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team WorldSBK) got his elbows out with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and the two collided, with ‘Petrux’ losing a place, whilst Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) didn’t even see the finish after crashing hard at Turn 8. On a dry Sunday, Razgatlioglu crashed with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in Race 2. whilst six-time World Champion Rea struggled, and he dropping to P8 by the end of Race 2, whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a double P2. Bautista led ‘Loka’ by 28 points ahead of Indonesia.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Whilst the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is on pause for the time being for the summer break, there was no rest for many of the Championship’s riders, who competed in this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours event at Suzuka, Japan. The world-famous endurance race had headlining names – past and present – right the way through the field, eventually being won by Team HRC with Japan Post, which included 2023 WorldSBK podium finisher Xavi Vierge in their line-up.

With the lead extending all the time, Vierge’s first outing on Lap 53 didn’t slow it down, with the lap times consistent as they cemented their place at the front, before he returned to the track in the second half of the race, albeit with rain in the air and times dramatically slower. However, a rain shower couldn’t stop a mighty performance to finish the race by Tetsuta Nagashima.

Vierge debut race at Suzuka saw him alongside Takumi Takahashi and Tetsuta Nagashima, the latter of which was still injured, but that didn’t slow them down as they put in another masterclass performance for Honda to retain their Suzuka crown. The Japanese manufacturer romped home with a 1-2-3-4, which featured the Toho Racing team in P2, headed by ex-WorldSBK race winner Ryuichi Kiyonari, who rolled back the years with a fantastic display. SDG Racing took third, led by Naomichi Uramoto, whilst the F.C.C TSR Honda outfit took third, with World Supersport race winner Tarran Mackenzie taking part too.

Talking about his success, Vierge was delighted: “Being able to race in the Suzuka 8 Hours was the best experience. It was my first time, but I had the best teammates, and learned a lot. The safety car came out during my stint, and I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t have the experience. I rode carefully, because I could not fail. Takumi and Tetsuta both had tough stints in the rain. I believe we could overcome these difficulties because we worked as a team. I’m grateful for the team’s support as well. I’ll gladly come back to Suzuka as many times as I can to have this amazing experience again!”

In P9, WorldSSP star Marcel Schroetter helped the S-PULSE DREAM RACING-ITEC Suzuki outfit to a top ten. Finishing in P19, WorldSSP rider and WorldSSP300 race winner Yuta Okaya for the Kawasaki Plaza Racing Team, Adam Norrodin helped Team Frontier BMW to 46^th. A shout-out to a 1990s WorldSBK great; Akira Yanagawa, the veteran Japanese rider, led the KRP Sanyoukogyo Itoh Kawasaki team to P29 at the age of 52.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

While most riders in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship started their summer break as soon as the Acerbis Czech Round concluded, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) travelled from the Czech Republic to Italy for a second test on the Ducati Desmosedici GP. The test took place at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” with the Ducati test team as the WorldSBK #1 joined Michele Pirro for the test.

Bautista first jumped on the Desmosedici GP in June at Misano which was a reward for winning the WorldSBK title in 2022. Key figures at Ducati were left impressed by Bautista’s performance on the MotoGP™ machine despite not riding one for five years, with his last MotoGP™ race taking place in 2018. There have been discussions about a potential wildcard this year for the reigning WorldSBK Champion although nothing has been confirmed by either the team, manufacturer, or rider.

Reflecting on his latest test, Bautista said: “I’m really happy to have had another test with the MotoGP™ bike. After the first test I did, the feeling was really good, and I felt comfortable on the bike. I wanted to repeat another test. After this two-day test, I’m very happy because we continued with the same progression from the first test. I’m getting a better feeling with the bike and a better reference. We improved our feeling on the bike. We started to work more on the setup for myself and I can say that it has been two really positive days of testing, getting better feedback day by day.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship will be back at the iconic Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for the 12^th and final round of the 2023 season, on October 27th-29th. The Prometeon Spanish Round will replace the previously scheduled curtain-closer in Argentina.

The presence of Spain in WorldSBK began at Jerez in 1990 with the opening round of that season – the Championship returned to the Andalusian venue on several occasions – in the mid-2010s and more recently from 2019 to 2021. The Spanish venue has hosted 21 WorldSBK races in its history, with the latest held in September 2021.

With this latest update, the WorldSBK and WorldSSP seasons will conclude their respective campaigns at Jerez at the end of October. The WorldSSP300 season will finish as planned with the Pirelli Portuguese Round at Portimao from the 29^th September to 1^st October.

Arturo Bernal, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports Junta of Andalusia said: “Our partnership with the FIM Superbike World Championship is long and lasting. We are happy to be able to announce this final event, which will surely attract many racing fans to the Circuito de Jerez. There is no better place than Andalusia to host this race. Our region is a guarantee of success in organising major sporting events. I want to thank the strong collaboration between the Junta de Andalucía, the Jerez City Council, and Dorna to give even more relevance to a city that is already known throughout the world for its link to motorsports.”

María José García Pelayo, the Mayor of Jerez de la Frontera, commented: “It represents a great opportunity for Jerez and for the Circuit to see the return of WorldSBK. Jerez is once again positioning itself as a world motorcycling reference, as an emblematic circuit for riders, teams, and fans. A circuit that, with the return of WorldSBK, begins a new period of momentum. Hosting the round initially planned in Argentina at Jerez is a milestone, thanks to the collaboration of the City Council, the Junta de Andalusia, and Dorna. All three parties are aware that Jerez is an icon for world motorcycling, and that all the major motor racing events must go through the Circuito de Jerez.”

WorldSBK Executive Director, Gregorio Lavilla, added: “We are delighted to bring the WorldSBK championship back to its roots at the legendary Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for the final round of the 2023 season. Jerez holds a special place in the history of our sport, and it is only fitting that we conclude this remarkable season at a venue with such rich heritage. We look forward to witnessing the fierce competition and celebrating the sport’s legacy with the passionate fans in Andalusia.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

There were two new FIM Supersport 300 World Championship winners at the Autodrom Most as Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) and Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) claimed victory in difficult conditions. Both took their maiden victories in the Championship in rain-affected races, with Lehmann winning a flag-to-flag thriller by not pitting while Indonesia’s Mahendra mastered the rain conditions in Race 2 at the Acerbis Czech Round.

In Race 1, a lot of riders opted to pit as the rain started to fall but a handful stayed out including the #28 KTM rider. Lehmann kept his slick tyres on throughout the 14-lap race and was able to build a gap of around 3.5 seconds to claim his first win in his 27^th race. It was the fourth time he stood on the WorldSSP300 rostrum with the other three being third-place finishes. His win ensured KTM secured back-to-back wins for the first time after teammate Dirk Geiger’s Race 2 victory at Imola.

Reacting to his first win, Lehmann said: “It was incredibly hard because I just saw many riders crashing. There were a lot of slow riders and then people who changed to the wet tyres were very fast. I was like ‘why are you guys changing!?’. The tyres still had a lot of grip so I tried to stay out and hoped it didn’t rain anymore to finish on the podium. In the beginning, staying with slick tyres was not an obvious decision. I wanted to switch but then I missed the entry to the pits two times because I want too fast in the corner before. I said ‘now it’s too late anyway, I’ll stay out’ to see what I could take home.”

Race 2 featured similar weather conditions although there was no option to pit due to the amount of rain. A delayed start and a shortened eight-lap battle ensued with Mahendra coming out on top. In the early stages, Mahendra’s brother, Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing), cleared off into the distance but a technical issue ended his race early. That allowed his younger sibling to fight in the lead group and his win came with a last lap move as the Indonesian claimed victory by just 0.169s.

Discussing his victory, Mahendra commented: “I’m so happy. This is my first time winning in WorldSSP300. These conditions were totally wet, and I just thought about my pace. For the last laps, I wanted to save my pace and save my riding position. I knew that I could do more so I tried to push, and I knew I could overtake in the last two corners.”

While Lehmann and Mahendra stole the headlines at Most, it truly was a weekend of firsts. Six different riders stood on the podium across the two races, five of whom were there for the first time. In Race 1, Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) and Daniel Moegda (Kawasaki GP Project) were on the rostrum with Lehmann while rookie Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team) and Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) took their first podiums.

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Source: WorldSBK.com