“ We all hope that this new-style Official Race Programme adds yet another element in making our fans feel an integral part of the scene ’’.
“
Gregorio Lavilla Championship Executive Director
I
offer you all a warm welcome to the 2021 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship , which will take us from the first rounds in Europe and finally across the globe despite everyone facing some challenging times . The ongoing realities of the global pandemic continue but we and all our partners are fully committed to making the weekend as immersive and exciting as we can in these unavoidably strange circumstances . We all hope that this new-style Official Race Programme adds yet another element in making our fans feel an integral part of the scene . Of course , we all hoped that the Covid situation that the world first had to endure in 2020 , and which reduced our championship weekends to eight in all , would not be continued into 2021 . We have not quite reached the stage of normality yet but we are undaunted in our desire for WorldSBK to continue strongly this season and really thrive , no matter what obstacles we face . Although several restrictions beyond our control remain in place , and partly thanks to the proven efforts involved in keeping an exciting championship going to an exciting climax last season , we are now starting what we expect to be a full 13-round championship during 2021 . We hope that everyone can now enjoy all the hard work put in behind the scenes from the first round in May to the final one in November . Due to matters beyond anyone ’ s control this particular season has also had to start later than we planned but rest assured this WorldSBK weekend should be as intensely contested as any , as will the subsequent races through the season . WorldSBK racing , which started in 1988 , continues its role as the predominant production derived full FIM World Championship , featuring talented competitors and true giants in the field of motorcycle production . These household names continue to choose WorldSBK as the main ‘ shop window ’ for their flagship , hyper-performance , sports bikes to show what they can really do . Five major manufacturers in WorldSBK , plus others in the Supersport classes , will again fight for the podium places with competitive machinery – primarily because of their own efforts , of course , but also the work put in by FIM / Dorna in arriving at largely settled technical and sporting rules . Nine new full-time riders in the WorldSBK class and a grid of well over 20 hopefuls , even in the middle of a global pandemic , show just how compelling WorldSBK is . It is also a demonstration of how many of our partners have kept the faith in the spectacle of our show inside an always competitive marketplace in elite sports . I offer sincere thanks to all our competing manufacturers , teams and riders , plus our sponsors and partners , National and Local governments , the FIM , all the circuits , marshals , volunteers , support staff and our own personnel from Dorna for pulling together in such potentially difficult times to put on what I am sure will be a great weekend of racing . Here ’ s to a thrilling full season of competition all the way to the last round in November . Welcome to 2021
3