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A special ceremony in Australia honours the 2022 World Champions and award winners

Monday, 21 November 2022 07:29 GMT

To celebrate the achievements of the 2022 riders, an awards ceremony took place in Australia to mark the end of the season

The incredible racing throughout the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit during the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round, and shortly after the track action concluded the riders, teams and manufacturers made their way to Penguin Parade to celebrate the 2022 Champions and award winners this season. It was a spectacular ceremony that celebrated the great of the unforgettable 2022 season including World Champions Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kae Racing Yamaha).

Taking place at the stunning Penguin Parade after Sunday’s track action, award winners from both WorldSBK and WorldSSP were presented with their rewards for their success on track in the different categories: the Tissot Superpole Award, the Pirelli Best Lap Award and the Hyundai N-Spired Award, as well as the World Champions from WorldSBK and WorldSSP which were both secured at the penultimate round of the 2022 season in Indonesia. The ceremony also celebrated the winning manufacturer in both WorldSBK and WorldSSP, as well as the winning team.

In WorldSBK, Bautista was celebrated as the 2022 Riders’ Champion after his stunning success this season helped Ducati to a first Championship since 2011, while he also contributed to Ducati winning the Manufacturers’ Championship for the first time since the same year. It was a treble of Championship victories for Ducati in 2022 as the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team wrapped up the Teams’ Championship in Race 1 in Australia.

The Independent Teams’ and Independent Riders’ title winners were also both celebrated at the ceremony and it was a double celebration for Motocorsa Racing as they took the Independent Teams’ honours while Axel Bassani took the Independent Riders’ title for 2022. With three podiums in 2022 and often fighting with the ‘titanic trio’ in 2022, it has been a sensational year for Lorenzo Mauri’s team.

Aegerter’s success in WorldSSP helped propel the Ten Kate Racing Yamaha team to more success in the Championship as the team won the Teams’ Championship for a second successive year thanks to contributions from Aegerter, Leonardo Taccini and Bradley Smith. It was also another year of Yamaha success in WorldSSP as they took home the Manufacturers’ Championship for a sixth consecutive season and all three were celebrated at the prestigious ceremony.

The Tissot Superpole Award was given out and was awarded to the riders who secured the best Superpole results across the season, with the top nine in each Superpole session given points. In WorldSBK, the Tissot Superpole Race also contributed to this score and it was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) who took home this award after four pole positions in 2022 and seven Superpole Race victories; giving him a total of 232 points. In WorldSSP, the award went to Aegerter after his seven poles this season out of a possible 12, giving him 117 points.

The Pirelli Fastest Lap Award was also given out during the ceremony and rewards the riders with the greatest number of fastest laps; one award in WorldSBK and one for WorldSSP. 2022 Champion Bautista took home this award with nine fastest laps in 2022, which accounts for fastest laps in Race 1 and Race 2. He was only one fastest lap ahead of Razgatlioglu at the end of the standings. In WorldSSP, Aegerter returned to the stage as he claimed the award in WorldSSP with 12 fastest laps out of a possible 24 in 2022.

The Hyundai N-Spired award is given to the rider who made up the most positions from their grid slots in Race 1 and Race 2 and this year, Sammarinese rider Luca Bernardi took the award after his nine rounds with the BARNI Spark Racing Team. Bernardi, who finished the season in WorldSSP, gained 86 positions in the full-length races to take win a brand-new gold-liveried Hyundai car. Despite missing the final three rounds of the 2022 WorldSBK campaign, Bernardi finished more than 20 points clear of nearest rival Bassani.

Re-watch some of the classic 2022 moments in style using the WorldSBK VideoPass!