2003 Superbike World Championship

The 2003 Superbike World Championship was the sixteenth FIM Superbike World Championship season. The season started on 2 March at Valencia and finished on 19 October at Magny-Cours after 12 rounds.

Rule changes for 2003 allowed 1000cc machines (either twins, triples or four-cylinder) to race. The rule changes in MotoGP which allowed 4-stroke engines starting from 2002 meant that the Japanese manufacturers had focused their resources there; as a result the Superbike World Championship was left with limited factory involvement,^[1] with Ducati, Suzuki and the new-for-2003 Carl Fogarty's Foggy Petronas as the only factory teams. As a result of most of the field being formed of Ducati motorcycles, the championship was given the derogatory label of the "Ducati Cup" in some quarters.^[2]

The factory Ducati Team entered the only two Ducati 999s in the field, taking 20 wins from 24 races in a season where all races were won by Ducati. Neil Hodgson won the riders' championship and Ducati won the manufacturers' championship.

Race calendar and results[]

Round		Circuit	Date	Superpole	Fastest lap	Winning rider	Winning team	Report
1	R1	Valencia	2 March	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
	R2				Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
2	R1	Phillip Island	30 March	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
	R2				Rubén Xaus	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
3	R1	Sugo	27 April	Régis Laconi	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
	R2				Pierfrancesco Chili	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
4	R1	Monza	18 May	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
	R2				Régis Laconi	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
5	R1	Oschersleben	1 June	Neil Hodgson	Pierfrancesco Chili	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
	R2				Neil Hodgson	James Toseland	HM Plant Ducati
6	R1	Silverstone	15 June	Neil Hodgson	Gregorio Lavilla	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
	R2				Gregorio Lavilla	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
7	R1	Misano	22 June	Neil Hodgson	Rubén Xaus	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
	R2				Rubén Xaus	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
8	R1	Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca	13 July	Mat Mladin	Régis Laconi	Pierfrancesco Chili	Team PSG-1
	R2				Rubén Xaus	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
9	R1	Brands Hatch	27 July	John Reynolds	Shane Byrne	Shane Byrne	Monstermob Ducati
	R2				John Reynolds	Shane Byrne	Monstermob Ducati
10	R1	Assen	7 September	Pierfrancesco Chili	Gregorio Lavilla	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
	R2				Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
11	R1	Imola	28 September	Rubén Xaus	Neil Hodgson	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
	R2				Rubén Xaus	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
12	R1	Magny-Cours	19 October	James Toseland	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
	R2				Neil Hodgson	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati

Championship standings[]

Riders' standings[]

2003 final riders' standings[3] Pos. Rider Bike Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1 Hodgson Ducati 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 Ret 2 2 2 2 5 2 1 2 4 1 Ret 489 2 Xaus Ducati 2 2 2 2 4 4 7 Ret Ret 5 3 3 1 1 Ret 1 Ret 4 1 2 1 1 2 1 386 3 Toseland Ducati 4 3 DSQ 5 3 5 4 5 3 1 2 4 2 Ret 3 Ret 6 3 4 Ret Ret Ret 5 2 271 4 Laconi Ducati 5 Ret 6 4 2 7 2 4 4 4 4 6 3 4 Ret 4 4 8 Ret 4 3 2 6 16 267 5 Lavilla Suzuki 7 6 3 7 5 2 3 2 Ret Ret Ret 2 4 5 Ret 5 7 6 Ret 3 4 3 4 4 256 6 Walker Ducati 3 4 7 6 Ret Ret 6 6 5 3 9 8 5 8 5 3 3 Ret 5 8 Ret 5 3 3 234 7 Chili Ducati Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 3 5 3 2 11 7 7 Ret 3 1 Ret 9 7 3 5 5 Ret Ret Ret 197 8 Martin Ducati 6 5 4 9 15 Ret 9 7 6 6 Ret Ret 6 9 Ret Ret 14 Ret 9 11 6 Ret 7 5 139 9 Pedercini Ducati 8 9 10 14 7 Ret 10 10 9 10 11 11 8 6 Ret 10 Ret 16 12 14 Ret 6 Ret 11 112 10 Borciani Ducati 9 10 9 10 13 13 8 8 7 9 10 13 11 14 10 9 Ret 14 Ret 13 10 11 Ret 14 111 11 Kawasaki Ret 13 13 12 11 10 14 12 11 12 13 14 9 11 9 8 15 15 10 12 8 8 10 10 108 12 Corser Petronas Ret 7 5 8 Ret 12 13 Ret 12 14 16 Ret 7 10 8 Ret Ret Ret 6 9 7 7 8 Ret 107 13 Borja Ducati 14 8 12 15 10 9 DNS DNS Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 12 11 7 12 Ret Ret 16 11 9 9 7 87 14 Kawasaki 11 14 11 11 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 13 14 16 10 13 Ret Ret 13 13 8 7 9 Ret Ret 9 76 15 Yamaha Ret 11 14 Ret 12 11 Ret 13 10 Ret 12 12 16 16 52 Ducati 7 6 16 Byrne Ducati 1 1 50 17 Reynolds Suzuki 6 10 Ret 2 Ret 10 42 18 Iannuzzo Suzuki 12 9 8 8 Ret 15 Ret 7 DNS DNS 37 19 Gramigni Yamaha Ret DNS 11 11 12 15 16 11 11 15 13 12 Ret 12 37 20 Kagayama Suzuki 5 5 10 9 35 21 Haslam Ducati Ret 10 7 6 Ret 6 35 22 Ducati 10 12 8 Ret DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS Ret Ret DNS DNS 12 10 Ret Ret 28 23 Rutter Ducati 8 9 8 Ret 23 24 Honda 6 6 20 25 Mladin Suzuki 4 DNS 13 26 Haydon Petronas 12 Ret 15 16 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret 17 Ret DNS DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 27 Suzuki 15 Ret 16 Ret 17 17 15 16 Ret 17 Ret Ret 14 13 11 Ret 12 28 Emmett Ducati 5 Ret 11 29 Ducati 13 15 16 13 13 Ret 15 18 Ret Ret 11 30 Yates Suzuki 6 Ret 10 31 Ellison Ducati 11 12 9 32 Gimbert Suzuki Ret 8 8 33 Suzuki 8 Ret 8 34 Ducati Ret Ret 15 14 14 15 Ret Ret 14 Ret 8 35 Honda Ret 16 Ret 17 Ret 15 Ret 15 Ret 18 Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS 18 16 6 36 Honda 13 13 6 37 Yamaha 13 Ret 17 14 15 17 6 38 Aprilia Ret DNS 4 Suzuki 12 Ret 39 Honda 14 14 4 40 Ducati 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 19 Ret 3 41 Ducati 13 17 3 42 Protat Yamaha 14 15 3 43 Yamaha 14 19 20 Ret 2 44 Suzuki 17 19 15 15 2 45 Ducati DNQ DNQ 15 17 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret Ret DNQ DNQ 2 Pos. Rider Bike Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap

Manufacturers' standings[]

2003 final manufacturers' standings[4]
Pos.	Manufacturer																									Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1	Ducati	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	600
2	Suzuki	7	6	3	7	5	2	3	2	8	8	5	2	4	5	4	5	7	2	16	3	4	3	4	4	306
3	Kawasaki	11	13	11	11	11	8	14	12	11	12	13	14	9	11	9	8	13	13	8	7	8	8	10	9	130
4	Petronas	12	7	5	8	9	12	13	Ret	12	14	16	Ret	7	10	8	Ret	17	Ret	6	9	7	7	8	Ret	118
5	Yamaha	16	11	14	Ret	12	11	11	11	10	19	12	12	12	15			16	11	11	15	13	12	14	12	69
6	Honda	Ret	16	19	20	6	6	Ret	15	Ret	18	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	18	16	13	13	31
	Aprilia													Ret	DNS											0
Pos.	Manufacturer																									Pts

Entry list[]

2003 Entry List [5] No Rider Team Motorcycle Tyre 4 Troy Corser Foggy PETRONAS Racing Petronas FP1 M 5 Kawasaki Bertocchi Kawasaki ZX-7RR D 6 Kawasaki Bertocchi Kawasaki ZX-7RR D 7 Pierfrancesco Chili Team PSG-1 Ducati 998RS D 8 James Haydon Foggy PETRONAS Racing Petronas FP1 M 9 Chris Walker HM Plant Ducati Ducati 998F02 D 10 Gregorio Lavilla Alstare Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 D 11 Rubén Xaus Ducati Fila Ducati 999F03 M 16 MIR Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 D 19 Lucio Pedercini Team Pedercini Ducati 998RS D 20 Marco Borciani D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati 998RS P 23 JM SBK Team Ducati 998RS D 26 Team Pedercini Ducati 998RS D 27 Mark Heckles Team Rumi Honda VTR1000SP2 M 28 Team Pedercini Ducati 998RS D 31 Vittorio Iannuzzo Alstare Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 D 33 Juan Borja D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati 998RS P 35 Team Pedercini Ducati 998RS D 38 Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati 998RS D 48 Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati 998RS D 51 UnionBike GiMotorsport Yamaha YZF-R1 D 52 James Toseland HM Plant Ducati Ducati 998F02 D 55 Régis Laconi Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati 998RS D 68 White Endurance Honda VTR1000SP2 D 91 White Endurance Honda VTR1000SP2 D 92 Frédéric Protat UnionBike GiMotorsport Yamaha YZF-R1 D 98 UnionBike GiMotorsport Yamaha YZF-R1 D 99 Steve Martin D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati 998RS P 100 Neil Hodgson Ducati Fila Ducati 999F03 M 15 Ducati Austin Ducati 998RS 22 Remus Racing Austria Yamaha YZF-R1 29 Team Pro.Con. Ducati 998RS 32 Eric Bostrom Kawasaki Road Racing Kawasaki ZX-7RR 36 Komatsu Sundby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 39 Alessandro Gramigni Nuvolari 391 Yamaha YZF-R1 40 Renegade Ducati Ducati 998RS 41 Racing Team R. Menzen Suzuki GSX-R1000 42 Kruisinga Motoren Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 44 Elf Yoshimura Shafer Motorsp. Suzuki GSX-R1000 50 Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati 996RS 57 Scuderia HF Suzuki GSX-R1000 60 Michael Rutter Renegade Ducati Ducati 998F02 61 John Reynolds Rizla Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 62 Sean Emmett ETI Racing Ducati 998RS 64 Yukio Kagayama Rizla Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 66 Mat Mladin Suzuki Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 67 Shane Byrne Monstermob Ducati Ducati 998F02 D 69 Remus Racing Austria Yamaha YZF-R1 70 Racing Team Zaiser Suzuki GSX-R1000 71 Acumoto Racing Team Yamaha YZF-R1 73 Motorcycle Weaponry Suzuki GSX-R1000 74 Blue Helmet MSC Honda VTR1000SP2 75 Michelin Honda Honda CBR954RR M 76 Team Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 77 Team HRC Honda VTR1000SPW 78 Warren & Brown Lightpaths Suzuki GSX-R1000 79 Noriyasu Numata Team Foundatlon Ducati 996RS 82 Team Pedercini Ducati 998RS 89 Dean Ellison Firepower Ducati Ducati 996 90 Leon Haslam Renegade Ducati Ducati 998RS 93 Sébastien Gimbert SERT Suzuki GSX-R1000 96 Boselli Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 113 Lucido Corse Ducati 996RS 120 Aaron Yates Suzuki Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000

Key Wildcard Rider D Dunlop M Michelin P Pirelli

References[]