The Supersport World Championship, abbreviated to WorldSSP, is a

motorcycle racing Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. O ...

competition on hard-surfaced circuits, based on mid-sized sports motorcycles. Competition machines were originally based on production-based motorcycles with 600 cc to 750 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. The championship runs as a support class to the

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

, 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—until 2012 and by Dorna from the 2013 season onwards, is sanctioned by the FIM.

Overview

Supersport was introduced as a support class to the

in 1990 as a European Championship. The series allows four-cylinder engines up to , three-cylinder engines up to , and twin-cylinder power plants up to . 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. 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 Andrew Pitt (born 19 February 1976 in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia) is a retired motorcycle racer. He is a double World Supersport Champion, and has also won a World Superbike race and competed in MotoGP. He lives in Peel on the Isle of ...

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

Technical regulations

In 2012, to be eligible for Supersport World Championship, a motorcycle must satisfy FIM's

homologation Homologation ( Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work ...

requirements and have a

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direct ...

engine in one of the following configurations: * Between – 4 cylinders * Between – 3 cylinders * Between – 2 cylinders As of 2022, the homologated motorcycles were

Ducati Panigale V2 The Ducati Panigale V2 is a 955 cc (58.3 cu in) V-twin engine sport bike manufactured by Ducati as the successor to the Panigale 959. The motorcycle is named after the manufacturing district of Borgo Panigale Borgo Panigale (Bolognese di ...

Honda CBR600RR The Honda CBR600RR is a sport bike made by Honda since 2003, part of the CBR series. The CBR600RR was marketed as Honda's top-of-the-line middleweight sport bike, succeeding the 2002 Supersport World Champion 2001–2006 CBR600F4i, which was t ...

Kawasaki ZX-6R The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R is a ''636 cc'' class motorcycle in the Ninja sport bike series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki. It was introduced in 1995, and has been constantly updated throughout the years in response to new products ...

MV Agusta F3 800 The MV Agusta F3 is a series of motorcycles introduced in 2012 by the Italian manufacturer MV Agusta. These models are the first three-cylinder machines that MV Agusta have manufactured since the famous three-cylinder GP racers of the 1970s. ...

Suzuki GSX-R750 The Suzuki GSX-R750 is a sports motorcycle made by Suzuki. It was introduced at the Cologne Motorcycle Show in October 1984 as a motorcycle of the GSX-R series. Air and oil cooled The air and oil-cooled models can be divided into the first-g ...

, Triumph Street Triple 765RS and

Yamaha YZF-R6 The Yamaha YZF-R6 is a sport bike, produced by Yamaha as a 600 class from 1999 to 2020. From 2021, production availability is limited to race-only specification in most global markets, causing race organisers to re-align their engine eligibilit ...

; formerly homologated motorcycles include Bimota YB9,

Ducati 748 The Ducati 748 was a Ducati sport bike made from 1994 to 2002. The 748 was the smaller displacement version of the 916, and was succeeded in 2003 by the 749. Design The Ducati Desmoquattro engine began as displacement engine, with cylinder ...

Ducati 749 The Ducati 749 is a 90° V-twin Desmodromic valve actuated engine sport bike built by Ducati Motor Holding between 2003 and 2006. Designed by Pierre Terblanche, the 749 was available as the 749, 749 Dark, 749S, and 749R. It shared many of its p ...

Honda CBR600F The Honda CBR600F is a CBR series ' four-cylinder sport bike made by Honda. The first model of the CBR600F was sold from 1987 to 1990 and is known in the US as the Hurricane. In Austria and Mexico, a smaller version, called CBR500F, was offere ...

MV Agusta F3 675 The MV Agusta F3 is a series of motorcycles introduced in 2012 by the Italian manufacturer MV Agusta. These models are the first three-cylinder machines that MV Agusta have manufactured since the famous three-cylinder GP racers of the 1970s. ...

, Triumph Daytona 600,

Triumph Daytona 675 Introduced in 2006, the Triumph Daytona 675 is a three-cylinder sport bike, and the smallest of the Triumph triples. Built by Triumph Motorcycles, it replaced their four-cylinder Daytona 650. The 675 proved to be remarkably light, nimble and ...

, and

Yamaha YZF600R The Yamaha YZF600R (Thundercat in European markets) is a sports bike made by Yamaha from 1996 to 2007. Overview The YZF600R Thundercat was introduced to Europe in 1996 as a replacement to the FZR600R. During the 1997 European 600 super sport c ...

. 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. 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

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 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.

Riders

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 Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and ...

Chaz Davies Chaz Davies (born 10 February 1987 in Knighton, Powys, Wales), is a former motorcycle racer who announced his retirement from competition in September 2021. For 2022, Davies is to become a rider-coach working with Ducati and Feel Racing, mento ...

, and

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen (born 19 June 1982) is a retired Australian motorcycle racer who last competed in the World Superbike Championship for the works Kawasaki team, perhaps best-known for winning the 2007 French Grand Prix in MotoGP. Vermeulen was b ...

, though others such as

Fabien Foret Fabien Foret born in Angoulême, France, is a professional motorcycle racer currently competing in the FIM Endurance World Championship aboard a Kawasaki ZX-10R. He has spent most of his career in the Supersport World Championship. After takin ...

and

Kenan Sofuoğlu Kenan Sofuoğlu (born 25 August 1984 in Kuzuluk, Akyazı) is a Turkish parliamentarian and former professional motorcycle racer. He holds a record five Supersport World Championship titles (2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016). Sofuoğlu also compet ...

have spent several years in this championship. Notable female rider

María Herrera María Herrera Muñoz (born 26 August 1996) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. Career Early career Born in Oropesa, Toledo, Herrera was the first female competitor to win a race in the FIM CEV Repsol series, winning the Moto3 race at Motorland ...

entered a few races in World Supersport.

Champions

References

External links

* {{Main world championships Supersport racing Motorcycle road racing series World motorcycle racing series