My regular readers will not need to be reminded how outraged I am over how Ducati has behaved in recent years in the WSBK championship. As a result of having been the beneficiaries of totally unfair regulations favouring their bikes against the Japanese opposition (even, at once stage being allowed to run 1000’s when the Japanese bikes were restricted to 750cc) since the championship began, it is not surprising that Carlos Checa’s victory in Race 1 at Silverstone on the weekend was the marque’s 300th victory in the class.
The class has now been running for 23 years. This means that Ducati have won, on average, 13 races per year since 1988, an astonishing figure. Given that the championship didn’t always run two races per day (I think that is right), it makes it even more amazing.
Certainly, despite regulations skewed to give Bologna the very best chance of winning, Ducati’s record is pretty impressive. Here’s the numbers breakdown.
Ducati results in World Superbike 1988 – 2011
Total Ducati pole positions: 155
Race victories by Ducati riders: 300
- Carl Fogarty (GB) 55
- Troy Bayliss (AUS) 52
- Doug Polen (USA) 26
- Raymond Roche (F) 23
- Troy Corser (AUS) 16
- Neil Hodgson (GB) 16
- Noriyuki Haga (JP) 16
- Pierfrancesco Chili (I) 13
- Giancarlo Falappa (I) 13
- Carlos Checa (ES) 12
- Ruben Xaus (ES) 11
- Régis Laconi (F) 10
- Ben Bostrom (USA) 7
- John Kocinski (USA) 5
- James Toseland (GB) 5
- Michel Fabrizio (I) 4
- Lorenzo Lanzi (I) 3
- Shane Byrne (GB) 2
- Mauro Lucchiari (I) 2
- Marco Lucchinelli (I) 2
- Stephane Mertens (B) 2
- Anthony Gobert (AUS) 1
- Garry McCoy (AUS) 1
- Andreas Meklau (A) 1
- John Reynolds (GB) 1
- James Whitham (GB) 1
Total World Superbike Riders’ titles with Ducati: 13
- Carl Fogarty (GB) 4
- Troy Bayliss (AUS) 3
- Doug Polen (USA) 2
- Troy Corser (AUS) 1
- James Toseland (GB) 1
- Raymond Roche (F) 1
- Neil Hodgson (GB) 1
Total World Superbike Manufacturers’ titles for Ducati: 16
- 1991
- 1992
- 1993
- 1994
- 1995
- 1996
- 1998
- 1999
- 2000
- 2001
- 2002
- 2003
- 2004
- 2006
- 2008
- 2009
One thing that jumps out there is that it is a pity Troy Bayliss didn’t score a few more wins and knock the insufferable Carl Fogarty off the top spot. 🙂 Also that James Toseland only won 5 races in the year he won the title for Ducati.
