British Supersport Championship is a support series to the British Superbike Championship (BSB) for engine capacities smaller than Superbike. British Supersport runs one or two rounds per weekend at each BSB event. The BSS Championship is seen as a stepping stone for the younger talent to progress to the British Superbike Championship or to World level classes. Riders such as: Tom Sykes, Cal Crutchlow, Sam Lowes, Alex Lowes, Jonathan Rea, Leon Camier and Rory Skinner; all raced in this championship during their early careers.
From 2018, a new British GP2 class was introduced to be run within existing Supersport races. Devised by MSVR, it is based on Moto2 Honda-engined machines.British GP2 Class in BSB from 2018 Superbike, 24 November 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018
From 2023 season onwards, new engine regulations are in force allowing larger engines to be used, dependent on the number of cylinders, from manufacturers such as Ducati and MV.Moto Rapido preparing a Panigale for 2023 British Supersport bikesportnews.com, 29 October 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2023
During round 1 of the 2025 season at Oulton Park on 5 May, 11 riders were involved in a "chain reaction" crash at the first corner. Two riders, 21-year-old Owen Jenner from England and 29-year-old Shane Richardson from New Zealand died of their injuries the same day, and a third, 47-year-old Tom Tunstall suffered serious injuries.
Race weekend Friday Practice 1 (40 Mins) Practice 2 (40 Mins)
Saturday Qualifying (30 minutes) Sprint race (reduced laps)
Sunday Warm Up (10 Mins) Full race
Scoring system + Current Points 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
Machines used Supersport Ducati Panigale V2 Honda CBR600RR Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Kawasaki 636 Suzuki GSX-R600, Suzuki GSX-R750RSuzuki back in Quattro Group British Supersport as ASTRO-JJR Racing announce Irwin and Perrin www.britishsuperbike.com, 22 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023 Triumph Daytona 675, Triumph 765 Yamaha YZF-R6 MV F3 675, MV 800
* For the 2021 season, oversize engines were allowed as a 'pilot' scheme prior to full implementation in 2022BSB: Series bosses commit to Supersport and GP2 future Motorcycle News, 25 October 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2021Triumph to enter factory BritishSSP ‘pilot’ 765 entry, eyes international return visordown.com, 24 November 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2021 * From 2022, machines including extra capacity engines followed FIM homologation requirementsBritish Supersport Sporting and Technical Regulations 2022 msvracing.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023FIM Releases Provisional Supersport Next Generation Regulations motorcycle.com, 31 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2023
British GP2 Various chassis makes, as seen in Moto2; when previously competed in Moto2, using only Honda 600 cc engines Any other chassis (or modified stock chassis) Four cylinder engines over 400 cc to 600 cc Three cylinder engines over 500 cc to 675 cc
British Supersport Champions Season Class Rider Motorcycle Notes Ref 1989 Supersport 600 Paul Brookes Yamaha 1990 Supersport 600 John Reynolds Kawasaki 1991 Supersport 600 Ian Simpson Yamaha 1992 Supersport 600 Phil Borley Honda 1993 Supersport 600 Jim Moodie Honda 1994 Supersport 600 Ian Simpson Honda 1995 Supersport 600 Mike Edwards Honda 1996 Supercup Thunderbike Dave Heal Honda 1997 Supersport 600 Paul Brown Honda 1998 Supersport 600 John Crawford Suzuki 1999 Supersport 600 John Crawford Suzuki 2000 Supersport Jim Moodie Yamaha 2001 Supersport Karl Harris Suzuki 2002 Supersport Stuart Easton Ducati 2003 Supersport Karl Harris Honda 2004 Supersport Karl Harris Honda Harris Finished on 232 points with 6 wins and 2 DNFs from 13 races 2005 Supersport Leon Camier Honda Camier finished with 202 points including 4 wins and 2 DNFs in 13 races 2006 Supersport Cal Crutchlow Honda Crutchlow won the title easily with 242 Points 6 wins and 2 DNFs from 13 races 2007 Supersport Michael Laverty Suzuki 2008 Supersport Glen Richards Triumph Richards collected a total of 240 points with 4 wins and 0 DNFs from 12 races Supersport Steve Plater Honda 215 Points with 4 wins Supersport Sam Lowes Honda Supersport Alastair Seeley Suzuki Supersport Glen Richards Triumph Supersport Stuart Easton Yamaha Supersport Billy McConnell Triumph 2015 Supersport Luke Stapleford Triumph 2016 Supersport Tarran Mackenzie Kawasaki 2017 Supersport Keith Farmer Yamaha 2018 Supersport Jack KennedyYamaha 2019 Supersport Jack Kennedy Integro Yamaha 2020Supersport Rory SkinnerYamahaYoungest ever champion at 19 years and seven days 2021Supersport Jack KennedyKawasaki2022Supersport Jack KennedyYamaha2023Supersport Ben CurrieDucati Champion with 406 points, 6 wins and 14 podium places overall 2024Supersport Jack KennedyHonda Champion with 5 titles 2025Supersport Rhys IrwinKawasaki
British GP2 Champions SeasonClassRiderMotorcycleNotes2018GP2 Josh OwensKalex2019 Kyle RydeKalex2020 Mason LawSpirit2021 Charlie NesbittKalex470 points, 95 points ahead of 2nd placed Mason Law2022 Jack ScottKalex376 points, 55 points ahead of 2nd placed Cameron Fraser2023 Cameron FraserChassis Factory513 points, 83 points ahead of 2nd placed Harry Rowlings2024 Owen JennerKrämer
2025 deaths On 5 May 2025, a crash at Oulton Park during the British Supersport Championship killed two riders; Owen Jenner and Shane Richardson.
See also Superbike racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing
References
External links BSS Home