British Superbike Championship

Champion 2005: Gregorio Lavilla in a Ducati 999 F04

The three-time champion Ryūichi Kiyonari from Japan in 2007 on a Honda CBR 1000 RR .

British Superbike Championship is the name of the British Superbike Championship, it is also called BSB for short . The official name of the series is MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship , named after the main sponsor Bennett's , a British motorcycle insurance company . Together with the American AMA Superbike Championship , it is considered the strongest national Superbike championship.

The largest motorcycle manufacturers, such as Ducati , Honda , Yamaha , Kawasaki or Suzuki are involved in the BSB, sometimes with factory-supported teams. In addition, Dunlop , Pirelli and Michelin are also some of the largest tire manufacturers. It is regarded as a stepping stone into the Superbike World Championship , so later world champions like Neil Hodgson or Troy Bayliss gained experience here, and the series has also produced many Grand Prix drivers.

history

The BSB in its current form has existed since 1996, before there were several parallel series, first for 750 cc production machines and later also for superbikes .

The most successful driver of the series is the Englishman Shane Byrne with six championship titles, followed by the Scottish Niall Mackenzie and the Japanese Ryūichi Kiyonari with three titles each.

The closest title decision in the history of the series came in 2011 between Englishman Tommy Hill ( Swan Yamaha ) and American John Hopkins ( Crescent Worx Suzuki ). Before the last race of the season at Brands Hatch , the two drivers were separated by just two points in the overall standings. In the decisive race, which Shane Byrne won, Hill finished second with a margin of 0.006 seconds over Hopkins and was thus able to secure the title.

On July 20, 2007, Ollie Bridewell had a fatal accident while training for the race in Mallory Park . He came off the track on a wet road without outside interference, fell and hit the boundaries, causing severe head and neck injuries. In the hospital on the road, only death could be determined.

Point system

The point system corresponds to that of most motorcycle classes. The first 15 pilots placed in each race receive counters. The world champion will be the driver or manufacturer who has accumulated the most points in the world championship by the end of the season. When distributing points, the placements are taken into account in the overall result of the respective race. The top fifteen drivers in each race receive points according to the following scheme:

Distribution of points
space	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th
Points	25th	20th	16	13	11	10	9	8th	7th	6th	5	4th	3	2	1

British Superbike Champions

year	Driver title	team	motorcycle
1996	Niall Mackenzie	Cadbury's Boost Yamaha	Yamaha YZF750
1997	Niall Mackenzie	Cadbury's Boost Yamaha	Yamaha YZF750
1998	Niall Mackenzie	Cadbury's Boost Yamaha	Yamaha YZF750
1999	Troy Bayliss	GSE Racing INS Ducati	Ducati 996
2000	Neil Hodgson	GSE Racing INS Ducati	Ducati 996
2001	John Reynolds	Rêve Red Bull Ducati	Ducati 996
2002	Steve Hislop	Paul Bird MonsterMob Ducati	Ducati 998 R.
2003	Shane Byrne	Paul Bird MonsterMob Ducati	Ducati 998 R.
2004	John Reynolds	Crescent Q8 Rizla Suzuki	Suzuki GSX-R1000
2005	Gregorio Lavilla	Airwaves Ducati	Ducati 999 F04
2006	Ryuichi Kiyonari	HM Plant Honda	Honda CBR1000RR
2007	Ryuichi Kiyonari	HM Plant Honda	Honda CBR1000RR
2008	Shane Byrne	Airwaves Ducati	Ducati 1098 F08
2009	Leon Camier	Airwaves Yamaha	Yamaha YZF-R1
2010	Ryuichi Kiyonari	HM Plant Honda	Honda CBR1000RR
2011	Tommy Hill	Swan Yamaha	Yamaha YZF-R1
2012	Shane Byrne	Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki	Kawasaki ZX-10R
2013	Alex Lowes	Samsung Honda	Honda CBR1000RR
2014	Shane Byrne	Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki	Kawasaki ZX-10R
2015	Joshua Brookes	Milwaukee Yamaha	Yamaha YZF-R1
2016	Shane Byrne	Be Wiser Ducati	Ducati Panigale R
2017	Shane Byrne	Be Wiser Ducati	Ducati Panigale R
2018	Leon Haslam	JG Speedfit Kawasaki	Kawasaki ZX-10R
2019	Scott Redding	Be Wiser Ducati	Ducati Panigale R

Media presence

The races of the British Superbike Championship have been televised since 2009 on the pay-TV channel Eurosport 2.

References

Web links

Commons : British Superbike Championship  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Andreas Gemeinhardt: BSB: Tommy Hill is the 2011 champion! www.speedweek.de, October 9, 2011, accessed October 10, 2011 . 
2. ↑ Race result Brands Hatch 3rd run. www.speedweek.de, October 10, 2011, accessed October 10, 2011 . 
3. ↑ Total BSB after 26 of 27 runs. www.speedweek.de, October 10, 2011, accessed October 10, 2011 .