Extraordinary phenomena have raced in SBK, but one is still present on the grid. Here are the performers with the most successes.
Compared to the battles of MotoGP, many mistakenly consider the challenges on production-derived bikes to be simpler. The Superbike world championship is not a Serie B compared to the top category of the MotoGP. Certainly many champions who did not achieve extraordinary results in the top class then managed, in a second phase of their careers, to obtain notable results and world championship recognition.
The centaur who has won the most races in SBK is Jonathan Rea with 119. The Yamaha phenomenon, former leading standard bearer of Kawasaki, has a wide gap compared to the Ducati riders Bautista (61 successes), Fogarty (59 triumphs) and Bayliss (52 victories). Today the calendars are also much larger with the new format. Great Britain dominates the ranking of nations by a wide margin over the USA and Australia.
Jonathan Rea has won 6 world championships in a row. He has the record for the greatest number of triumphs, podiums and fastest laps. His dominance was interrupted by Toprak Razgatlioglu and later by Bautista, winner of the last 2 championships. Rea is a son of art. His grandfather had collaborated with Joey Dunlop, while his father was a protagonist of the Tourist Trophy. The Northern Irishman started out in motocross before taking to the track on road bikes. Superbikes are very popular in the United Kingdom and Rea was overpaid for this too.
Jonathan Rea’s records
He made his debut in 2008 with an appearance in an event for Honda, which saw him take fourth place in Portimao. At Misano in 2009, he won his first SBK race, crossing the finish line 0.063 seconds ahead of Michel Fabrizio after a crazy duel on the track. Challenges that would give shivers to the current players of the championship.
After his first victory, he climbed to the top step in every season he raced with Hondacollecting ten victories in 2012. Having moved to Kawasaki in 2015, the Northern Irish rider has made notable steps forward, winning 6 world championships in a row.
With Kawasaki Rea achieved amazing results, so much so that he undermined the record held by Colin Edwards who in 2002 achieved 552 points. After Toprak’s farewell on the R1, the Northern Irish centaur decided to start a new phase of his career, flying to Yamaha. For now, his results have not smiled on him. The Japanese bike still has numerous problems.
