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25 of the best… WorldSBK races

Thursday, 9 April 2020 08:21 GMT

The boxset is complete, with 25 of our favourite races now able to be found in one, simple place!

With the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship proving to be one of the best seasons for many reasons, reminisce about the best classic races from years gone by. Five volumes of classic races will keep you entertained and gives you time to relive those iconic moments that continue to define the Championship today.

Volume 1 was about underdogs: Carl Fogarty taking his first win for Honda in 1996, Regis Laconi’s first career win at Imola in 2001 and Toprak Razgatlioglu triumphing in a final lap battle over Jonathan Rea. Also, in the volume: Leon Haslam beating Michel Fabrizio in 2010 at Phillip Island in the closest finish of all time, whilst Chaz Davies overcame Jonny Rea at Sepang in Race 2 of 2015.

Final lap battles starred in volume 2. Starting with Neil Hodgson’s first win at Donington Park in 2000, it’s then on to Imola in 2002 and the title duel with Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss. In 2015 at Phillip Island, last lap bravery saw Leon Haslam beat Jonathan Rea. Chaz Davies beat Rea at Aragon in 2017, whilst Michael van der Mark headed Razgatlioglu and Rea in 2018 at Donington Park.

Heading to volume 3, it’s all about hidden gems. We start by unearthing Chris Vermeulen’s Race 2 win at Assen in 2004, before reliving the only South American WorldSBK win by Alex Barros at Imola. A year later and it is back to Assen as Troy Bayliss and James Toseland duel, before attention turns to Marco Melandri and his first win in 2011. We end with Eugene Laverty vs Melandri at Jerez in 2013.

Significant wins make volume 4 special. Pierfrancesco Chili’s last win will bring a tear to your eye in 2004 at Misano, before Chris Walker’s wet weather prowess at Assen in 2006. Monza in 2008 sees Noriyuki Haga and Ryuichi Kiyonari battle in a last lap showdown, whilst there’s more Monza battles in 2013. Emotions run high next, with Nicky Hayden’s first and only WorldSBK win at Sepang in 2016.

Volume 5 features modern classics: team orders play their role at Magny-Cours in 2014, a last lap battle on worn tyres between Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea at Sepang in 2015 and Tom Sykes’ resilience in the battle of Buriram in 2016. A last lap crash between Davies and Rea features in 2017 at Misano before 2018 welcomes the first Dutch winner in Michael van der Mark at Donington Park.

Enjoy all that and more with the WorldSBK VideoPass!