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Superbike – the counterpart of MotoGP
The World Superbike Championships were held for the first time in 1988: the first race was ridden on the 3rd of April at Donnington Park with the American Fred Merkel (Honda) as the proud winner. The championship was introduced to complement the then already 40 year old MotoGP. The FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme), umbrella organisation for both sports, makes an important distinction between World Superbike and MotoGP: only production models can take part in the World Superbike Championship. They only qualify for the competition when at least 200 have been sold to the public. This is in contrast to MotoGP where machines are built exclusively for the participating teams.
 
Ducati and Fogarty : legendary in the concept of Superbikes
The battle of the blacktop was initially between the 1000cc V-Twin and 750cc 4-cylinder. Within three years both bikes and riders had advanced to such an extent that the 750s had virtually no chance. The Ducati team were the first to capitalise on this fact, shunting the 750 into the sidelines and choosing to focus on the faster ‘booming’ V-Twin. That the other teams took nearly ten years to follow this lead gave Ducati a unique advantage and with 12 of the 19 rider titles to their credit they are yet to be bettered.

This is particularly true when it comes to Ducati rider Carl Fogarty. In the ten years since his 1991 debut in World Superbike he has amazed friend and foe alike by scooping up the title of world champion four times, winning at least 59 races in his World Superbike career. ‘Foggy’ is perhaps best known for his daring and aggressive riding style. He decided to leave Superbike in 2001 after a serious arm injury. So far, no other rider has matched the performance stats of the legendary Carl Fogarty.
 
World Superbike – the fastest growing motorsport
For a long time the World Superbike championships did not match the popularity of MotoGP, but that changed dramatically in 2007. That was the year in which the maximum capacity for MotoGP was reduced by the FIM from 900cc to 800cc. In the eyes of some motorsport fans this weakened the appeal of MotoGP, and it was the main reason for some of them to transfer their interest from what, in their eyes, had become a rather boring MotoGP to the more attractive and exciting Superbikes. The size of the audience grew significantly and the race calendar was augmented by the addition of the spanking new circuit at Portimao, in Portugal. In 2009 a South African circuit is also to be added. With these additions World Superbike offers a very attractive range of events and has become one of the fastest growing motorsports.