The third decade of WSBK history – 2008-2017
The third decade of World Superbike celebrates 2017 as the Championships 30th season, with a broad variety of manufacturers and champions stamping their domination on the last 10 years.
You can find the first decade here (link): The first 10 years of World SBK history: 1988 – 1997
Or the second decade here (link): The second decade of WSBK history: 1998 – 2007
2008 began the rise of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Champions who are still around today, as Troy Bayliss secured his final WorldSBK title in 2008 and it paved the way for an enthralling decade in the history of the championship.
Welcoming the arrival of Italian Max Biaggi and Spainiard Carlos Checa, the series was full of experienced talent to bring the championship into a new era.
With three different manufacturers taking the title from 2008 – 2010, and four overall, there have been seven different champions crowned throughout the decade. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) is now fighting to take his third title in a row, but take a look at some stats which have brought WorldSBK into the modern era.
- 222 – The rider most present in this decade was Tom Sykes, with 222 starts. His current team-mate Rea follows at 204.
- 189 – 189 riders took part in at least one WorldSBK race in this decade.
- 100 – All-time leader for race starts (377), Poles (43), Podium places (130), Points (4021,5) Troy Corser, started his last 100 races in this decade. His last weekend was in Algarve, 2011.
- 99 – Jonathan Rea is the rider with the highest number of podiums in this decade: his next one will be his 100th. His team-mate Sykes follows at 93.
- 88 – Ben Spies in 2009 set the record for most points clawed back to the championship leader to win a championship. Spies was 88 points down on Noriyuki Haga after the 12th race (of 28): he won the title with six points over the Japanese rider.
- 50 per cent – The most impressive winning rate of the decade was recorded by Ben Spies in 2009 – he won exactly half of the races that year, 14 out of 28, climbing onto the podium 17 times.
- 46 – The most successful rider of the third decade is Jonathan Rea with 46 wins, at least one per season from 2009 onwards. Rea made his debut in the last two races of 2008, before becoming a full-time rider the following year.
- 43 – Sylvain Guintoli recorded in this decade the all-time record string of races in the points: 43, from Imola/2 2013 to Aragon/1 2015.
- 41 – In this decade Max Biaggi set the all-time record for highest age to win a championship and a race: he was 41 years-old when he won his second crown in 2012. His last win was the first Nurburgring race that year.
- 40 – Tom Sykes secured 40 Superpoles in this decade: he monopolized the top spot as his best rivals are Jonathan Rea and Ben Spies at 11.
- 23 x 2 – In this decade, the best value for podiums in a season was recorded by Jonathan Rea, not once, but twice – his 2015 and 2016 seasons saw him 23 times on the podium.
- 15 – In this decade, the most successful rider in one season has been Carlos Checa, with 15 wins in 2011, two from the absolute record of 17 set by Doug Pole exactly twenty years before (1991).
- 11 – In 2009 Ben Spies set the record for season poles at 11 – he left only 3 poles to the opposition that year.
- 6 – In this decade no less than six manufacturers recorded wins, and they all went into double figures: Ducati 71, Kawasaki 65, Aprilia 44, Yamaha 30, Honda 21, BMW 12.
- 4 – In 2015 Jonathan Rea came just four points from the season record of points, set by Colin Edwards in 2002 (552).
