World Superbike, this is not the way it goes: the reasons for the crisis and the prospects for the relaunch

The Superbike World Championship is going through a crisis (both sporting and otherwise) that is increasingly difficult to ignore. Once a hotbed of epic characters and great spectacle on the curbs, in recent years the top speed championship reserved for production-derived bikes seems to have lost its identity, increasingly becoming a niche product . The signs of this are increasingly numerous, from the drop in attendance in the stands to stagnant television ratings, to the regulatory about-faces that, in many cases, leave one perplexed and to an ever-increasing lack of protagonists capable of igniting the passion of the general public.

The attendance at the circuits is understandably far from the glories of the 90s and 2000s, the golden age of the series, when riders of the calibre of Carl Fogarty , Pierfrancesco Chili, Troy Bayliss , Colin Edwards, Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser battled it out on the circuits of Assen , Donington , Imola and Monza in front of packed stands. The most recent attendance figures, starting from the pandemic period onwards, have been fundamentally stable, with an average attendance of 50 thousand spectators on race weekends . On the one hand, however, there are real strongholds like Misano capable of attracting up to 75 thousand (compared to the over 160 thousand of the MotoGP weekends), on the other tracks like Aragon and Estoril which are currently struggling to reach 30 thousand over the three days.

Even on the television front , the general picture seems to confirm that the Superbike audience is now predominantly made up of a hard core of fans , with a large part of the general public having almost disappeared from the radar. In Italy , in addition to the Sky satellite platform and its streaming channel NOW , Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday are almost always shown live on free-to-air TV by Tv8 , which belongs to the same group. Coverage of the race weekends is fragmented and with limited promotion, an inevitably different treatment compared to the Formula 1 and MotoGP events, both with more flashy productions and more recognized stars that are broadcast on free-to-air TV by the same channel, mostly on a deferred basis. The share, except for some occasional peaks, fluctuates on average around 2 - 2.5% , a far cry from when the World Superbike Championship was broadcast by TMC / La7 or Mediaset .

To complicate matters further, there is also the questionable regulation on technical concessions reserved for the least competitive manufacturers, changes "on the fly" that only end up disorienting the public (think of the reduction in engine revs inflicted a few years ago on Ducati and Kawasaki , the "ballast" foisted on Bautista in 2024 or the reduction in fuel flow imposed, just a few weeks ago, on BMW and the Borgo Panigale Reds) and a format that is starting to feel the weight of the years and is now too similar to that of the MotoGP. All this has weakened the identity of the Superbike "product", making it more difficult for occasional spectators to follow and less attractive from a media point of view. And even the bikes that participate in the world championship reserved for production-derived models seem increasingly unattainable. Some are produced in small numbers and offered at exorbitant prices, others have even disappeared from European price lists despite continuing to compete on the circuits. This is not only true for the premier class, but also for Supersport , explaining in many ways the tangible disenchantment of manufacturers, especially Japanese ones but not only, towards the series.

In recent seasons there has also been a sporting problem, related to the unchallenged hegemony of a few protagonists. After 6 years (from 2015 to 2020) of domination by the Rea - Kawasaki duo, the world title then passed into the hands of Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (Yamaha) and, on two occasions, Alvaro Bautista (Ducati). In both cases the Spanish rider was particularly effective and dominant, with a winning ride that began in the first race, before giving way again to his Turkish rival , winner last year with the BMW team. And even in the current season the script has not changed much: there is no monologue, but rather a rigid duopoly made up of Nicolò Bulega on Ducati and Razgatlıoğlu on BMW, who up to now have won all the races disputed except one (Race-2 at Assen, won by Andrea Locatelli on Yamaha), often inflicting sidereal gaps on the rest of the group. In this way the unpredictability and variety that should characterize a historically spectacular category like Superbike are missing.

Another latent issue that afflicts the Superbike World Championship concerns a certain lack of charisma on the part of its protagonists , that ingredient capable of transforming a great rider into a true icon. And the future, from this point of view, appears anything but rosy. Although the grid is still full of excellent riders, at the moment very few are capable of igniting the public's imagination. One of these is certainly the acrobat Toprak Razgatlıoğlu , but the Turkish ace has already announced his move to MotoGP in 2026 with the Pramac Yamaha team. His main rival for the race for the world title, Nicolò Bulega , should follow him the following year and veterans such as Jonathan Rea , Andrea Iannone and Danilo Petrucci , although still competitive, are now nearing the twilight of their careers due to age issues. And so Superbike could soon find itself short of stars at a time of dire need, because without champions, without heated rivalries, without stories to tell, even the best possible format cannot suffice. In terms of following, it is enough to remember the revitalizing effect that the arrival of a character like Max Biaggi had in the world championship and the great resonance of his two world titles with Aprilia in 2010 and 2012.

One of the variables that has come into play more recently is the one related to the management aspect, with the Americans of Liberty Media , already owners of Formula 1 , who have obtained the green light to acquire Dorna Sport and consequently, the package including MotoGP and Superbike . And here a concrete fear arises, that is, that the new ownership could consider this last series as an unprofitable clone of the world championship, "sacrificing" it on its altar. The key to avoiding this overlap should be differentiation, which prevents Superbike from being considered simply the younger sister of MotoGP to return to having its own identity, strong and well-defined. To achieve this result, many paths can be followed, on a technical level (perhaps keeping the bikes really close to those most sold in the dealerships), sporting (with less brainless regulations) and also in the format (who wouldn't welcome with joy the return of the old Superpole on the single lap?).

In light of the above, it is clear that the Superbike World Championship is desperately seeking new ideas. And, in fact, the moment seems propitious for a real refoundation . In addition to the arrival of the new American ownership, whose priorities remain to be verified, a new class called Sportbike is on the way, destined to replace the obsolete Supersport , and a new tire supplier , Michelin , which is preparing to replace Pirelli from the 2027 season. In order to direct these changes towards success, however, a clear and courageous vision is needed on the part of the organizers, which puts the show, the riders and the public back at the center, encouraging more and more manufacturers to enter the race for victory. It will be important to simplify the regulations, invest in young people, enhance the historic circuits and make the product more appealing from a television point of view, an aspect in which the Americans excel even if with some risk to the integrity of the sport. Time, however, is running out and Superbike is at a crossroads. Continuing on the current path would mean settling for a marginal role and that is why a change, however risky, seems at the moment the only way to return to past greatness. Maybe not like in the days of Fogarty, Edwards, Bayliss and company, but that on-track spectacle that was once always guaranteed by Superbike must constitute the pillar on which to base this long-awaited rebirth.