Superbike Championship Roll of Honour: Who Has Won the Most Titles?

Jonathan Rea, originally from Northern Ireland, is undoubtedly the most successful rider in the history of the Superbike World Championship. His extraordinary career has seen unprecedented domination, culminating in six consecutive world titles from 2015 to 2020, all aboard the Kawasaki ZX-10R of the Kawasaki Racing team. Rea has shown exceptional consistency and adaptability, accumulating record after record.

In 2019, he achieved an impressive score of 663 points, setting a new standard of excellence in the competition. His riding ability, combined with meticulous preparation and a winning mentality, has made him a living legend in the world of motorcycle racing. Rea has not only rewritten the SBK record books, but has also inspired a new generation of riders, establishing a legacy that will be hard to match.

In addition to discovering the pilots and the history that made this sport great, we recommend stay updated on the 2024 Superbike World Championship which will surely reveal great surprises in the rankings.

The Beginnings of Superbike and the Ducati Era

The inaugural 1988 championship saw American rider Fred Merkel emerge as the first world champion, amassing 99 points aboard his Honda RC30, under the Italian team RCM-Oscar Rumi. Merkel repeated the feat the following year, confirming his superiority and that of his Japanese machine with a total of 272 points.

The 90s marked the beginning of an era of dominance for Ducati. Frenchman Raymond Roche rode the Ducati 851 to victory in 1990 with 391 points, riding the Italian Corse Ducati Lucchinelli team. This success was followed by the impressive performance of American Doug Polen, who won the championship in 1991 with 432 points and in 1992 with 371 points, riding the Ducati 888 of the Fast by Ferracci team.

In 1993, American Scott Russell temporarily broke Ducati's hegemony by winning with the Kawasaki ZXR 750 of the Kawasaki Muzzy team, but Britain's Carl Fogarty brought Ducati back to the world throne in 1994 and 1995, riding the Ducati 916 and 916 respectively, accumulating 305 and 478 points.

The rebirth of Honda

The second half of the 90s saw the rise of Australians Troy Corser and Troy Bayliss. Corser won his first title in 1996 with 369 points on the Ducati 916, and Bayliss repeated the feat in 2001 with 369 points on the Ducati 996 R. Between them, in 1997, American John Kocinski won the title with the Castrol Honda Honda RC45, accumulating 416 points.

In 1998 and 1999, Carl Fogarty returned to dominance with the Ducati 996, scoring 351,5 and 489 points respectively. The new millennium saw the triumph of Colin Edwards with the Honda VTR 1000 SP in 2000 and 2002, with scores of 400 and 552 respectively, interrupted only by Troy Bayliss in 2001.

The 2000s were characterised by intense competition between British riders and Japanese motorcycles. Neil Hodgson won in 2003 with the Ducati 999 F03, and James Toseland repeated the feat in 2004 with the Ducati 999 F04. In 2005, Australian Troy Corser returned to the fore with the Suzuki GSX-R1000 K5, accumulating 433 points. Troy Bayliss won again in 2006 and 2008, while Toseland took the title in 2007 with the Honda CBR 1000RR. American rider Ben Spies won in 2009 with the Yamaha YZF-R1.

2021 saw a changing of the guard with Turkey’s Toprak Razgatlıoğlu taking the title with 564 points, riding the PATA Yamaha with Brixx Yamaha YZF-R1. In 2022, Spaniard Álvaro Bautista brought Ducati back to the top with 601 points, riding the Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.