Everything about The British Superbike Championship totally explained
The
British Superbike Championship (
BSB) is the leading
road racing superbike championship in the
United Kingdom.
The championship is managed and organised by
MCRCB-Events. The commercial and television rights have been delegated to MotorSport Vision. The Series and Race Director is Stuart Higgs. Event marshals are provided by the
Racesafe Marshals Association.
Two annual championships are awarded, one for riders and one for manufacturers. A
"Cup" class exists for riders running in privately owned teams; past champions of this include
Shane Byrne in 2001, and
James Ellison in 2004.
Ducati,
Honda,
Yamaha,
Kawasaki and
Suzuki all participate in the championship. From
2008, the championship followed the
Superbike World Championship in appointing
Pirelli as the single control tyre supplier, until 2010. Previously most teams used
Dunlop tyres, although the factory Hondas used
Michelin and the factory Yamahas used Pirellis.
The championship's current title sponsor is
Bennetts bike insurance.
History
Niall Mackenzie was the most successful rider of the 1990s, with three titles. Other past champions include
Neil Hodgson,
Australian Troy Bayliss and
Steve Hislop.
Chris 'the Stalker' Walker has finished as runner up 4 times. Many riders from the series have gone on to race in the
Superbike World Championship or
MotoGP.
2005
In 2005, the overall championship was won by
Spanish rider
Gregorio Lavilla on a
Ducati 999 F04 (1000 cc vee-twin), ahead of 1000 cc in-line four
Hondas ridden by
Japanese rider
Ryuichi Kiyonari and
Michael Rutter. 2004 champion
John Reynolds endured an injury-hit season, after which the veteran (he also won the 1992 and 2001 championships) announced his retirement from racing. The 2003 champion
Shane 'Shakey' Byrne returned to the series for 2006 on the
Suzuki Reynolds vacated.
2006
The
2006 British Superbike season was won by
Kiyonari at the final round in Brands Hatch in front of a capacity crowd and a reported 1.5 million live TV viewers. Second was
Leon Haslam with
Lavilla third.
2007
In 2007 the championship featured 13 meetings, including a single overseas event at
Mondello Park in Ireland, each featuring 2 races. Races were covered live by
ITV and
Sky Sports. Kiyonari won the rider's championship, with
Jonathan Rea in second place and Haslam finishing third.
Honda won the manufacturer's championship.
2008
The 2008 championship will feature 12 meetings, all taking place within the UK and each featuring 2 races. The series is now live on
British Eurosport, with highlights on
Channel 4 within the next few days.
The reining double-champion
Ryuichi Kiyonari left the series to compete in the
World Superbike Championship during the 2008 season, as did Lavilla. Rea, Chris Walker and
Tommy Hill all now compete in World Supersport.
Early races have seen
Ducati's
Shane Byrne dominating over team-mate
Leon Camier and the Hondas of Haslam and
Cal Crutchlow.
British Superbike Champions
| Year |
Series |
Rider |
Country |
Bike |
Team |
Notes |
| 1988 |
750 cc / TT F1 |
Darren Dixon |
|
Suzuki |
|
Dixon went on to pilot sidecars alongside passenger Andy Hetherington |
| 1989 |
Superbike |
Brian Morrison |
|
Honda |
|
|
| 1990 |
750 cc / TT F1 |
Terry Rymer |
|
Yamaha |
|
|
| 1991 |
750 cc / TT F1 |
Rob McElnea |
|
Yamaha |
|
|
| 1992 |
750 cc / TT F1 |
John Reynolds |
|
Kawasaki |
|
|
| 1993 |
Superbike |
James Whitham |
|
Yamaha |
Fast Orange |
|
| 1994 |
Superbike |
Ian Simpson |
|
Norton rotary F1 |
|
|
| 1995 |
Superbike |
Steve Hislop |
|
Ducati 916/955 |
Devimead |
Whitham was suffering from/treated for Hodgkin%27s_Disease, a form of cancer |
| 1996 |
Superbike |
Niall Mackenzie |
|
Yamaha YZF750 |
|
|
| 1997 |
Superbike |
Niall Mackenzie |
|
Yamaha YZF750 |
Cadbury's Boost |
|
| 1998 |
Superbike |
Niall Mackenzie |
|
Yamaha YZF750 |
Cadbury's Boost |
387 points, 6 wins and 1 pole from 24 races |
| 1999 |
Superbike |
Troy Bayliss |
|
Ducati 996 |
INS GSE |
394 points, 7 wins and 6 poles from 24 races |
| 2000 |
Superbike |
Neil Hodgson |
|
Ducati 996 |
INS GSE |
422 points, 7 wins and 5 poles from 24 races |
| 2001 |
Superbike |
John Reynolds |
|
Ducati 996 RS |
Reve Red Bull |
536 points |
| 2002 |
Superbike |
Steve Hislop |
|
Ducati 998 RS |
Paul Bird MonsterMob |
452 points, 8 wins, 5 poles and 17 podiums from 26 races (1 DNF) |
| 2003 |
Superbike |
Shane 'Shakey' Byrne |
|
Ducati 998 F02 |
Paul Bird MonsterMob |
488 points, 12 wins, 5 poles and 21 podiums from 24 races (1 DNF) |
| 2004 |
Superbike |
John Reynolds |
|
Suzuki GSX-R1000 |
Crescent Q8 Rizla |
446 points, from 26 races |
| 2005 |
Superbike |
Gregorio Lavilla |
|
Ducati 999 F04 |
Airwaves GSE |
Reynolds injured in pre-season testing. 461 points from 26 races |
| 2006 |
Superbike |
Ryuichi Kiyonari |
|
Honda CBR1000RR FireBlade |
HM Plant HRC |
466 points, 11 wins from 26 races |
| 2007 |
Superbike |
Ryuichi Kiyonari |
|
Honda CBR1000RR FireBlade |
HM Plant HRC |
433 points, 8 wins from 26 races |
| 2008 |
Superbike |
|
|
|
|
|
Further Information
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