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===2002 - Edwards vs Bayliss===
===2002 - Edwards vs Bayliss===
[[Colin Edwards]] won his 2nd [[List of Superbike World champions|championship]] in what was arguably the most impressive comeback in the history of motorcycle racing. The season started with [[Troy Bayliss]] winning the first 6 races and by the end of race 1 at [[Laguna Seca]] he had 14 wins and was leading the championship by 58 points. Race 2 at Laguna Seca was the start of [[Colin Edwards]]' comeback, he went on to win all 9 remaining races and (aided by a race 2 crash for Bayliss at [[TT Circuit Assen|Assen]]) Edwards won the championship at the final race of the season at Imola. The final race of the season saw both riders fighting wheel to wheel for the entire race. The race is known by fans as the "Showdown at Imola".
[[Colin Edwards]] won his 2nd [[List of Superbike World champions|championship]] in what was arguably the most impressive comeback in the history of motorcycle racing. The season started with [[Troy Bayliss]] winning the first 6 races and by the end of race 1 at Laguna Seca he had 14 wins and was leading the championship by 58 points. Race 2 at Laguna Seca was the start of [[Colin Edwards]]' comeback, he went on to win all 9 remaining races and (aided by a race 2 crash for Bayliss at [[TT Circuit Assen|Assen]]) Edwards won the championship at the final race of the season at Imola. The final race of the season saw both riders fighting wheel to wheel for the entire race. The race is known by fans as the "Showdown at Imola".


The manufacturer's championship was won by [[Ducati]]. During these years the Superbike World Championship reached the zenith of its popularity, with global fan and full factory support.<ref name="rules2">[http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=313 WSC In Turmoil With New Rules Package] motorcycle-usa.com retrieved on September 11, 2007</ref>
The manufacturer's championship was won by [[Ducati]]. During these years the Superbike World Championship reached the zenith of its popularity, with global fan and full factory support.<ref name="rules2">[http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=313 WSC In Turmoil With New Rules Package] motorcycle-usa.com retrieved on September 11, 2007</ref>
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In 2003 the FIM changed the rules to allow 1000&nbsp;cc machines (either twins, triples or four-cylinder) to race. Rule changes in [[MotoGP]] to allow [[4-stroke]] engines meant that the Japanese manufacturers focused their resources there, leaving the Superbike World Championship with limited factory involvement<ref name="1000ccSBK">[http://www.motorcycledaily.com/26jan011000ccsuperbikes.html 1000&nbsp;cc Superbikes May Save World Championship] motorcycledaily.com retrieved on September 13, 2007</ref> (only Ducati and Suzuki).
In 2003 the FIM changed the rules to allow 1000&nbsp;cc machines (either twins, triples or four-cylinder) to race. Rule changes in [[MotoGP]] to allow [[4-stroke]] engines meant that the Japanese manufacturers focused their resources there, leaving the Superbike World Championship with limited factory involvement<ref name="1000ccSBK">[http://www.motorcycledaily.com/26jan011000ccsuperbikes.html 1000&nbsp;cc Superbikes May Save World Championship] motorcycledaily.com retrieved on September 13, 2007</ref> (only Ducati and Suzuki).


2003 also saw the entry of [[Carl Fogarty]]’s Foggy Petronas FP1. The bike was developed under the previous regulations and was powered by a [[3 cylinder]] 900[[cc]] engine. With most of the field running Ducati motorcycles, the championship received the derogatory title "the Ducati Cup".<ref name="rules2"/><ref name="rules">[http://www.speedtv.com/articles/moto/worldsuperbike/24961/ World Superbike: Time for More Rule Tweaking? (Part 1)] speedtv.com retrieved on September 11, 2007</ref> The factory Ducati Team entered the only 2 Ducati 999's in the field, taking 20 wins from 24 races in a season where all races were won by Ducati. [[Neil Hodgson]] won the title on a factory Ducati.
2003 also saw the entry of [[Carl Fogarty]]’s Foggy [[Petronas]] FP1. The bike was developed under the previous regulations and was powered by a [[3 cylinder]] 900[[cc]] engine. With most of the field running Ducati motorcycles, the championship received the derogatory title "the Ducati Cup".<ref name="rules2"/><ref name="rules">[http://www.speedtv.com/articles/moto/worldsuperbike/24961/ World Superbike: Time for More Rule Tweaking? (Part 1)] speedtv.com retrieved on September 11, 2007</ref> The factory Ducati Team entered the only 2 Ducati 999's in the field, taking 20 wins from 24 races in a season where all races were won by Ducati. [[Neil Hodgson]] won the title on a factory Ducati.


===2004 - control tires===
===2004 - control tires===
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Partly as a result of the control tires, Motorcycle Sports Manufacturer Association (Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha) announced that no MSMA teams would participate in the Superbike World Championship, later modifying their statement allowing Ducati to participate.<ref name="rules2"/><ref name="rules"/>
Partly as a result of the control tires, Motorcycle Sports Manufacturer Association (Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha) announced that no MSMA teams would participate in the Superbike World Championship, later modifying their statement allowing Ducati to participate.<ref name="rules2"/><ref name="rules"/>


A few [[privateers]] chose to run Japanese bikes in 2004. [[Ten Kate Racing|Ten Kate Honda]] with [[Chris Vermuelen]] as its rider, won races and actually contended for the title that eventually was won by [[James Toseland]] and Ducati.
A few privateers chose to run Japanese bikes in 2004. [[Ten Kate Racing|Ten Kate Honda]] with [[Chris Vermuelen]] as its rider, won races and actually contended for the title that eventually was won by [[James Toseland]] and Ducati.


===2005 - Japanese return===
===2005 - Japanese return===
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In the first half of the season, Haga pulled off a fast start, winning six races; Ben Spies won five, but reliability problems of his Yamaha and some mistake put him 87 points behind the Japanese. Despite being in control, Haga lost nearly all of his advantage after a couple of falls in Donington and at the Nurburgring (the one in Donington causing him a fractured ulna of the right arm), and the championship went down to the last race of the last round at Portimao. Haga was leading the series by 10 points going into the final round, and Spies needed to win both races (he would have won the Championship based on most wins). In race 1, Haga fell while Spies cruised to a victory, thus allowing him to go into the last race of the season with a 15 point lead. He rode to a fifth place finish, while Haga placed second (passing Rea in the last corner of the race).  Spies won the World Championship by a mere 6 points.
In the first half of the season, Haga pulled off a fast start, winning six races; Ben Spies won five, but reliability problems of his Yamaha and some mistake put him 87 points behind the Japanese. Despite being in control, Haga lost nearly all of his advantage after a couple of falls in Donington and at the Nurburgring (the one in Donington causing him a fractured ulna of the right arm), and the championship went down to the last race of the last round at Portimao. Haga was leading the series by 10 points going into the final round, and Spies needed to win both races (he would have won the Championship based on most wins). In race 1, Haga fell while Spies cruised to a victory, thus allowing him to go into the last race of the season with a 15 point lead. He rode to a fifth place finish, while Haga placed second (passing Rea in the last corner of the race).  Spies won the World Championship by a mere 6 points.


Ben Spies took a record 11 poles in the 14 round series and 14 wins (17 [[podium]]s) in 28 races; his main rival Haga was more consistent, finishing on the [[podium]] 19 times but winning only 8 races. 2009 also saw the debut of two new constructors, [[Aprilia]] and [[BMW Motorrad|BMW]]. Aprilia took a fourth final place in the championship with [[Max Biaggi]], while BMW finished thirteenth with [[Troy Corser]]<ref>http://www.worldsbk.com/season/stats?p_S_Campionato=SBK&p_Anno=2009&p_PilotiCostruttori=P</ref>.
Ben Spies took a record 11 poles in the 14 round series and 14 wins (17 podiums) in 28 races; his main rival Haga was more consistent, finishing on the podium 19 times but winning only 8 races. 2009 also saw the debut of two new constructors, [[Aprilia]] and [[BMW Motorrad|BMW]]. Aprilia took a fourth final place in the championship with [[Max Biaggi]], while BMW finished thirteenth with [[Troy Corser]]<ref>http://www.worldsbk.com/season/stats?p_S_Campionato=SBK&p_Anno=2009&p_PilotiCostruttori=P</ref>.


===2010: The New Decade===
===2010: The New Decade===
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Many riders successful in the Superbike World Championship have gone on to MotoGP, such as 2002 champion [[Colin Edwards]], 2007 champion [[James Toseland]], and 2005 runner-up [[Chris Vermeulen]]. The championship has seen several former [[MotoGP]] riders move to it, usually after failing to earn competitive rides. The 2008 field includes five former MotoGP winners: [[Max Biaggi]], [[Carlos Checa]] and [[Makoto Tamada]] all raced exclusively in [[MotoGP]] before joining SBK, while [[Troy Bayliss]], [[Noriyuki Haga]], and [[Régis Laconi]] had alternating spells in both.
Many riders successful in the Superbike World Championship have gone on to MotoGP, such as 2002 champion [[Colin Edwards]], 2007 champion [[James Toseland]], and 2005 runner-up [[Chris Vermeulen]]. The championship has seen several former [[MotoGP]] riders move to it, usually after failing to earn competitive rides. The 2008 field includes five former MotoGP winners: [[Max Biaggi]], [[Carlos Checa]] and [[Makoto Tamada]] all raced exclusively in [[MotoGP]] before joining SBK, while [[Troy Bayliss]], [[Noriyuki Haga]], and [[Régis Laconi]] had alternating spells in both.


Except for Frenchman [[Raymond Roche]], who won the championship in 1990, all Superbike World Champions have been native English speakers. Italian riders [[Davide Tardozzi]] and [[Marco Lucchinelli]] won the first two races of the series, and Frenchman [[Adrien Morillas]] was also victorious in 1988; Germany had to wait for [[Max Neukirchner]] to achieve this in 2008, although Austrian [[Andreas Meklau]] was the first German-speaker to win a race, in 1993. Spain’s first race winner was [[Ruben Xaus]] in 2001
Except for Frenchman [[Raymond Roche]], who won the championship in 1990, all Superbike World Champions have been native [[English language|English]] speakers. Italian riders [[Davide Tardozzi]] and [[Marco Lucchinelli]] won the first two races of the series, and Frenchman [[Adrien Morillas]] was also victorious in 1988; Germany had to wait for [[Max Neukirchner]] to achieve this in 2008, although [[Austria]]n [[Andreas Meklau]] was the first German-speaker to win a race, in 1993. Spain’s first race winner was [[Ruben Xaus]] in 2001


==Superbike motorcycles==
==Superbike motorcycles==
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:The times of 1st and 2nd qualifying are combined and the 16 fastest riders qualify for Superpole. The rest receive a grid position based on lap time, starting with 17th. To qualify for the race, riders must record a lap time no longer than 107% of the time recorded by the pole-position rider.
:The times of 1st and 2nd qualifying are combined and the 16 fastest riders qualify for Superpole. The rest receive a grid position based on lap time, starting with 17th. To qualify for the race, riders must record a lap time no longer than 107% of the time recorded by the pole-position rider.
:*''Superpole''
:*''Superpole''
:Riders go out one by one in reverse order of qualifying position; in Superpole, riders may use a qualifying tire. If Superpole is declared wet, a 50-minute session takes place for all 16 riders to set timed laps; each rider may complete no more than 12 laps including in and out laps.
:Riders go out one by one in reverse order of qualifying position; in Superpole, riders may use a qualifying tyre. If Superpole is declared wet, a 50-minute session takes place for all 16 riders to set timed laps; each rider may complete no more than 12 laps including in and out laps.
* '''Sunday'''
* '''Sunday'''
** ''Warm-up'' (20 minutes) ''Race 1'' and ''Race 2''
** ''Warm-up'' (20 minutes) ''Race 1'' and ''Race 2''
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To be eligible for World Supersport, a motorcycle must have a four stroke engine of between 400 and 600[[cubic centimeter|cc]] for [[Straight-4|four cylinder]] machines, and between 600 and 750&nbsp;cc for [[V-twin|twins]] and must satisfy the FIM [[homologation]] requirements.
To be eligible for World Supersport, a motorcycle must have a four stroke engine of between 400 and 600[[cubic centimeter|cc]] for [[Straight-4|four cylinder]] machines, and between 600 and 750&nbsp;cc for [[V-twin|twins]] and must satisfy the FIM [[homologation]] requirements.
World Supersport regulations are much tighter than in World Superbikes. The chassis of a supersport machine must remain largely as standard, while engine tuning is possible but tightly regulated. As in world superbike a control tire is used, although supersport regulations dictate that the tires must be road legal and therefore slicks are not allowed.
World Supersport regulations are much tighter than in World Superbikes. The chassis of a supersport machine must remain largely as standard, while engine tuning is possible but tightly regulated. As in world superbike a control tyre is used, although supersport regulations dictate that the tyres must be road legal and therefore slicks are not allowed.


A World Supersport race takes place at every World Superbike round.
A World Supersport race takes place at every World Superbike round.
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{{Main|FIM Superstock 1000 Championship}}
{{Main|FIM Superstock 1000 Championship}}
The FIM Superstock 1000&nbsp;Cup is a support class to the Superbike World Championship at the European rounds.
The FIM Superstock 1000&nbsp;Cup is a support class to the Superbike World Championship at the European rounds.
Motorcycles with the same displacement as superbikes can run in superstock 1000 (though 1200&nbsp;cc twins were allowed for 2007). Superstock rules are much more restrictive and most components on the bike remain stock. The bikes run on Grooved Pirelli tires.
Motorcycles with the same displacement as superbikes can run in superstock 1000 (though 1200&nbsp;cc twins were allowed for 2007). Superstock rules are much more restrictive and most components on the bike remain stock. The bikes run on Grooved Pirelli tyres.
The Superstock 1000 championship is open to riders up to 24 years of age.
The Superstock 1000 championship is open to riders up to 24 years of age.


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