2009 Superbike World Championship

2009 Superbike World Championship
Previous: 2008 Next: 2010
Support series:
Supersport World Championship
FIM Superstock 1000 Cup
European Superstock 600 Championship
Series rookie Ben Spies held off veteran Noriyuki Haga to win the title by six points. Spies did not defend his title in 2010, as he replaced James Toseland at the Tech 3 team in MotoGP.

The 2009 Superbike World Championship was the twenty-second season of the Superbike World Championship. It was the second season in which HANNspree had been the title sponsor of the championship.[1] The South African round returned on 15–17 May at Kyalami for first time since the 2002 season that the Superbike World Championship had raced there; other changes in the calendar were the return of Imola after a two-season absence as the replacement for Vallelunga and the discontinuation of Brands Hatch as one of the British venues.[2]

The season saw the revision of the Superpole system, as the single-lap format was replaced by a three-part knockout system: after two timed qualifying sessions, the twenty fastest riders were admitted to Superpole 1, then the first sixteen SP1 riders progressed to Superpole 2 and the first eight SP2 riders contested Superpole 3, which finally awarded the pole position.[3][4] In addition, changing bike during a race (also known as flag-to-flag) was allowed in order to avoid interruptions caused by variable weather conditions.[3][4]

Ben Spies won the championship in his rookie season, bettering Noriyuki Haga in a final round decider. Ducati were the winners of the manufacturers' championship, winning eleven races.

  1. ^ "HANNspree Will Sponsor Superbike World Championship Through 2010, And Will Sponsor American Round At Miller In 2008". roadracingworld.com. 19 February 2005. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2007.
  2. ^ "Imola returns to WSBK calendar". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b "WSBK goes 'knockout', 'flag to flag' in 2009". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. September 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Road Racing FIM Superbike & Supersport World Championships and FIM Superstock Cup Regulations 2009" (PDF). spelregels.eu. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2016.