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After a thrilling 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season, in which many records were broken and a huge amount of history was made, it’s time to look back on the year and look at what we learnt throughout. Mid-season highs and end-of-season lows, technical findings and beating the heat, the topics and themes we take forward into 2021 are endless. We picked out some of the best ones across two parts, so catch up on part one here!

Rea and Kawasaki keep on improving…

Before the season resumed at Jerez, the question was asked as to whether Jonathan Rea and his Kawasaki squad had reached their best level. After Jerez, you’d have thought that maybe that was the case but after his then-worst result in Race 2, he hit back a week later with a dominant hat-trick at Portimao – the only hat-trick of the season. With that strike back, it was clear that being beaten motivates both Rea and crew chief Pere Riba even more to perfect an already-unbeatable package. With the perfect environment around him, Rea’s able to thrive on his and the team’s drive to continuously look for more.

European summers bring a whole new dimension…

To be racing in July and August in the Iberian Peninsula is one of the most challenging situations for a motorcycle rider in terms of climate. The heat and humidity of previous years in Thailand and Malaysia has always been noted but the stifling heat of southern Spain and the Portuguese coast really played a part in the 2020 season. In the heat of Jerez, it was the Ducatis that shone, whilst the high temperatures of Aragon allowed the smaller, lighter riders of Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi to achieve a podium and win respectively with the SCX tyre. This in turn didn’t favour Scott Redding as he was isolated away from using the softer tyre but in general, he performed well in the heat. With so many variables stemming from something out of everyone’s control, it’s no wonder why the Championship’s complexion was a fascinating one.

WorldSBK’s got a big international flare at the front…

In the whole season, only three podiums were British lockouts, staggeringly low in comparison to other years. In fact, two of the last three races only had one British rider on the podium. Turkey, Italy and The Netherlands all took victories courtesy of Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMHA WorldSBK Official Team), Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) and Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMHA WorldSBK Official Team) respectively, whilst Spain, France and America all took podiums too. Add into the mix an Irishman on pole at Magny-Cours, a Chilean as top Independent in Australia and an Argentinean rider in the top ten – not to mention Germany’s wildcard in Jonas Folger – and you’ve got to think that the battle of the nationalities is only getting stronger as each year passes.

Manufacturer parity has enhanced further…

With Honda’s return, Ducati’s development, a new Yamaha and Kawasaki’s continuously improving motorcycle, not to mention the outright speed over one lap of the BMW, WorldSBK’s five manufacturers all led races at some point this season. Every manufacturer was inside the top two in Superpole at some point, with all but Honda taking a pole, whilst each one bar BMW took a podium. WorldSBK’s got five manufacturers who have motorcycles that work in such vastly different ways that when it comes to racing, the dynamics and duels are enthralling. With a new BMW motorcycle in the pipelines, Honda’s second year coming up as well as a rumours of new models elsewhere on the grid, the competition level and the depth of quality will only grow stronger in the coming years.

Rivalries formed…

So, at Kawasaki, Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes started to duel in the early part of the season, whilst Scott Redding certainly wasn’t shying away from his attitude towards taking the WorldSBK crown from Rea. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) had plenty of battles that ruffled the feathers of his competitors, especially Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Eugene Laverty. There was no love lost coming into the season between Rea and Sykes and their rivalry heated up again in the first round, whilst heading to 2021, Scott Redding will be dealing with Ducati’s new star in Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Toprak Razgatlioglu will cope with WorldSSP Champion, Andrea Locatelli. There’s a shed load of duels to keep an eye on moving forward.

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