CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
WELCOME TO WorldSBK
JORGE VIEGAS
FIM PRESIDENT
Following on from a successful season last year , there is a feeling of excitement surrounding the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship .
The entry is drawn from thirteen nations with defending champion Alvaro Bautista from Spain facing stiff opposition from riders including Türkiye ’ s Toprak Razgatlioglu – who took the title in 2021 – and Northern Ireland ’ s Jonathan Rea who won the crown from 2015 to 2020 .
The season will have 12 Rounds . Starting in late-February at Phillip Island before heading to Indonesia the following weekend . Assen is next towards the end of April with Catalunya two weeks later .
Emilia-Romagna gets June under way before a four-week break until Donington Park , with round seven staged in mid-July at Imola and the eighth round in Czech Republic .
September sees three rounds in three weeks at Magny-Cours , Aragon and Portugal ’ s Autodromo Internacional do Algarve with the last round in mid- October in Argentina .
On behalf of the FIM I would like to thank all who make the championship possible including our promoter Dorna WSBK Organization , the many national federations and local organisers , our FIM officials , the army of volunteers , the riders and their teams , the manufacturers , the media , all associated partners and sponsors and the fans .
GREGORIO LAVILLA
CHAMPIONSHIP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
JONATHAN PALMER
CHIEF EXECUTIVE , MOTORSPORT VISION
I ’ m delighted to welcome you to Donington Park for the circuit ’ s showpiece event of the season , the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship .
Donington Park is very much the spiritual home of World Superbikes ; the first ever round of the series took place here 35 years ago , and the circuit has remained a key fixture of the calendar almost continuously since .
It ’ s always a pleasure to welcome series organisers Dorna to the East Midlands , and recent innovations such as the Paddock Show and Victory Lane concepts are a superb example of their efforts to enhance the experience for the thousands of fans attending .
This weekend ’ s action could , weather permitting , be a record-breaker too . Since MSV took over the operations of Donington Park in 2017 , we ’ ve invested heavily in the circuit and the surrounding infrastructure , but last winter ’ s resurfacing was our biggest project yet . The entire circuit was re-laid between October and December , and the result is a surface that boasts massively improved grip levels and consistency .
We ’ ve seen lap records smashed over the past few months , and we ’ re expecting the motorcycle benchmark of 1m26.767s , set last year by Toprak Razgatlioglu , to come under threat over the coming days . Expect them to go even faster in qualifying too , with the time to beat being a 1m26.080s recorded by Jonathan Rea , also last year .
There ’ s no disputing who the man to beat is this weekend : Ducati ’ s Alvaro Bautista has been unstoppable in 2023 , but he ’ s not won at Donington since his 125cc triumph all the way back in 2006 ! A first win since then would be well deserved , but Yamaha ’ s Toprak Razgatlioglu was a hat-trick winner last year , and won two races in 2021 also . If he ’ s going to be strong anywhere , it ’ s here ! Don ’ t discount Jonathan Rea either , he took all three races here back in 2019 , and is aiming for a first win of the year in front of his home crowd . Fellow Brits Alex Lowes , Tom Sykes , Scott Redding and reigning Bennetts BSB champion Bradley Ray will be gunning for strong results too .
There ’ s many superb events still to come at the circuit this year , including the annual Classic Motorcycle Festival later this month , and the return visit of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at the end of September .
Four wheel highlights include the hugely popular Convoy in the Park truck racing festival on 12 / 13 August , with British Touring Cars a couple of weeks later , and the British GT season finale on 21 / 22 October .
I hope you enjoy your visit to Donington Park this weekend , and I look forward to welcoming you back very soon .
Please let me take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to this 2023 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship weekend .
This Official Race Programme has evolved into a more direct fan-friendly guide to the entire weekend proceedings on site , as well as being an unmissable souvenir of what we hope will be an exciting and memorable experience in all possible ways .
The spectacular three way fight for ultimate supremacy in the 2022 season helped lift the profile and the sporting credentials of the entire championship yet again . The resoundingly successful FIM Supersport World Championship evolution in 2022 has expanded the middleweight category into an even more relevant and attractive form of global competition in 2023 .
Let me offer my sincere thanks to all our competing manufacturers , teams and riders , plus our sponsors and partners , for joining us once again . An equally big appreciation goes out to National and Local governments , the FIM , all the host venues , marshals , volunteers and support staff who help make it all happen .
OFFICIAL PROGRAMME
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