Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by April Thorne
The World Superbikes and MotoGP have always been the pinnacle of Circuit Racing on two wheels. However, when you look at the statistics between MotoGP and The World Superbikes, more people tune in to watch MotoGP. I think The WSBK deserves just as much attention. Here’s a few reasons as to why you should absolutely tune in to the World Superbike Championship in 2022 and beyond!
1 - Old MotoGP legends and riders continue their careers there
World Superbikes is a touch slower than MotoGP’s hyperbikes, instead, the WSBK is actually focused more on regular bikes, and turning them into race winning machines.
But that hasn’t stopped some of MotoGP’s most iconic heroes having a crack at the WSBK, such as: Max Biaggi (The Roman Emperor), Alvaro Bautista, Carlos Checa, Marco Melandri, Sylvain Guintoli, Nicky Hayden, Scott Redding, Randy De Puniet, Stefan Bradl and Eugene Laverty.
So, there are quite a few riders who have attempted the World Superbike challenge, and a few of them won the World Superbike championship, like Max Biaggi in 2010 and 2012. In 2022, Alvaro Bautista currently leads the WSBK championship, behind him is Toprak Razgatlioglu, Jonathan Rea, Iker Lecuona and Scott Redding.
These older MotoGP riders finding a new series to challenge other riders makes for an interesting career post-MotoGP - something which people said Valentino Rossi could have done, however he decided to go his own way, driving in the GT World Challenge in 2022.
2 - The Manufacturers
The World Superbikes also has some of the most interesting manufacturers. BMW, Yamaha, Honda, Ducati, Kawasaki and Aprilia are all involved and have varying levels of success - with Ducati and Yamaha battling away with Kawasaki for the championship, and BMW on their way to the top of the series with Scott Redding, during the 2019 WSBK Champion.
Seeing a very diverse range of manufacturers is always a good thing and very different to MotoGP, who have Yamaha, Honda, Ducati, Aprilia and KTM as their main manufacturers. It is interesting to see other manufacturers like BMW and Kawasaki have a good attempt in a different series, as the more success they might have here, the more they might want to transfer some success over to MotoGP.
3 - The Racing
Now - let me tell you this: I love MotoGP. MotoGP has got exceptional racing from loads of riders and it’s my favourite series on two wheels.
That being said… WSBK has seen some of the greatest battles in recent history. For example, Bautista, Rea and Razgatlioglu swapped positions and battled it out like their life depended on it at Estoril, Portugal. Bautista has the Ducati, and so is carried down the straights by that absolute monster, whereas the other two are on a Yamaha and a Kawasaki, and so are far better in the corners.
This all led to a thrilling race, and in Race One at Estoril, Bautista stole the win from Razgatlioglu on the run up to the line, extending his points advantage.
4 - The Tracks
It is no secret that the track selection for the WSBK is excellent and quite a different selection to that of the MotoGP.
For example, MotoGP makes use of Britain’s iconic Silverstone, whereas the WSBK chooses to race around Donington Park, an equally historic and beautiful track.
They also race in the stunning Estoril, as I’ve already mentioned - a track so rich in history, where Senna took his first ever Formula 1 victory.
For the UK Viewers - World Superbikes is broadcast for free on ITV, and Live with Eurosport.
That’s it then! This is why you should watch the iconic World Superbikes! There will be plenty of content from me to come about this beautiful series, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the WSBK, please let me know in the comments section down below!
If you’d like to give me any feedback - or just talk pure racing - then please leave a comment below, or you could get in contact by following my Instagram:
And if you’d like to check out a video I made about the 9-time MotoGP champion and legend, Valentino Rossi, then follow this link:
Finally be sure to check out the second episode of the Divebomb Power Rankings Podcast:
Thanks for reading guys, means a lot!