The Supersport World Championship, abbreviated to WorldSSP, is a motorcycle racing competition on hard-surfaced circuits, based on mid-sized sports motorcycles. Competition machines were originally based on production-based motorcycles with 600 cc to 955 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.BSB: Series bosses commit to Supersport and GP2 future Motorcycle News, 25 November 2018 Retrieved 30 January 2022Triumph to enter factory BritishSSP 'pilot' 765 entry, eyes international return visordown.com, 24 November 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2022
The championship runs as a support class to the Superbike World Championship, 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 Superbike World Championship 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 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 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.
The 2022 season unveiled the "Next Generation" motorcycles and regulations which allowed motorcycles from "gaps in the market" between the traditional supersport configuration of 600cc inline 4 cylinders and superbikes.
The Next Generation regulations bought in headline rules of hard minimum weight, combined bike and rider weight, and maximum RPM limit. Due to these changes allowing a much more varied field, there is a big focus on balancing factors to bring fair competition. This includes concession parts, torque limited map with RPM limit, minimum weight, air restrictor, and modifications, all of which could be changed during the season based on balancing calculations and concession points.
To be eligible, a motorcycle must satisfy FIM's homologation requirements and have a four-stroke engine in one of the following configurations: +Cylinders201220222025From (cc)To (cc)From (cc)To (cc)From (cc)To (cc)440060040060040080036008005006755009002800955600750660990
As of 2025, the specifically homologated machines with weight limits are: +BrandBike WeightCombined Minimum Bike and Rider Weight (kg)Hard Minimum (kg)Soft Maximum (kg)Ducati Panigale V2166175244Honda CBR600RR161170239Kawasaki ZX-6R161170239Kawasaki ZX-6R-636161170239MV Agusta F3161170239MV Agusta F3 800161170239MV Agusta F3 Superveloce161170239Suzuki GSX-R600161170239Suzuki GSX-R750161170239Triumph 675R161170239Triumph ST765RS161170239Yamaha YZF-R6161170239Yamaha YZF-R9166175244QJ Motor SRK 800161170239 (Bold indicates a 2025 addition from the 2023 list.)
Formerly homologated motorcycles include Bimota YB9, Ducati 748, Ducati 749, Honda CBR600F, MV Agusta F3 675, Triumph Daytona 600, Triumph Daytona 675, and Yamaha YZF600R.
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. + Points scoring system Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points 25 20 16 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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, Chaz Davies, and Chris Vermeulen, though others such as Fabien Foret and Kenan Sofuoğlu have spent several years in this championship. Notable female rider María Herrera entered a few races in World Supersport.
WorldSSP Challenge Starting in 2016, the World Supersport Challenge, a separate points-scoring competition was held at the European-rounds of the Supersport World Championship, run as a category within the main races. Previously, it was known as the European Supersport Cup until 2020. YearRiderTeamBike Axel Bassani San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki ZX-6R Hannes Soomer WILSport Racedays Honda CBR600RR Rob Hartog Hartog - Against Cancer Kawasaki ZX-6R Kyle Smith Pedercini Racing Kevin Manfredi Altogo Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 Kevin Manfredi Altogo Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 Bahattin Sofuoğlu MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta F3 800 RR Tom Booth-Amos Motozoo ME AIR Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R Simone Corsi Renzi Corse Ducati Panigale V2 Corentin Perolari HONDA RACING World Supersport Honda CBR600RR
Champions Season Rider champion Team Motorcycle Manufacturer champion World Series Paolo Casoli Gio.Ca.Moto Ducati 748 Ducati Fabrizio Pirovano Team Alstare Corona Suzuki GSX-R600 Suzuki World Championship Suzuki Alstare F.S. Suzuki GSX-R600 Yamaha 2000 Alpha Technik Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha 2001 Andrew Pitt Fuchs Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-6R Yamaha 2002 Fabien Foret Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600F Suzuki 2003 Chris Vermeulen Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda Karl Muggeridge Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda 2005 Sébastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda Sébastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda Kenan Sofuoğlu Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda Andrew Pitt Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda Cal Crutchlow Yamaha World Supersport Yamaha YZF-R6 Honda Kenan Sofuoğlu Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR600RR Honda Chaz Davies Yamaha ParkinGO Team Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R Honda Sam Lowes Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha YZF-R6 Kawasaki Michael van der Mark PATA Honda World Supersport Honda CBR600RR Honda Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Kenan Sofuoğlu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Lucas Mahias GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Sandro Cortese Kallio Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Randy Krummenacher BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Andrea Locatelli BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Dominique Aegerter Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha Dominique AegerterTen Kate Racing YamahaYamaha YZF-R6 Yamaha2023 Nicolò BulegaAruba RacingDucati Panigale V2 Ducati2024 Adrián HuertasAruba RacingDucati Panigale V2 Ducati2025 Stefano ManziTen Kate Racing YamahaYamaha YZF-R9 Yamaha
+By rider Rider Championships Year Kenan Sofuoğlu 5 , , , , Sébastien Charpentier 2 , Andrew Pitt , Dominique Aegerter, 2022 Paolo Casoli 1 Fabrizio Pirovano Stéphane Chambon Jörg Teuchert Fabien Foret Chris Vermeulen Karl Muggeridge Cal Crutchlow Chaz Davies Sam Lowes Michael van der Mark Lucas Mahias Sandro Cortese Randy Krummenacher Andrea Locatelli Nicolò Bulega2023 Adrián Huertas2024 Stefano Manzi2025
+By manufacturer Manufacturer Championships Year Yamaha 11 , , , , , , , , , 2022, 2025 Honda 10 , , , , , , , , , Kawasaki 3 , , Ducati , 2023, 2024 Suzuki 2 ,
See also Supersport 300 World Championship Superbike racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing Isle of Man TT
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