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Two rounds and four races remain in the 2022 FIM Supersport World Championship and whilst the title is guaranteed to go to Yamaha – almost certainly, barring major misfortune, Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) – there’s still plenty at stake. One of the major headlines that is yet to be written is “Ducati return to winning ways in WorldSSP”, but will we get that opportunity before the end of the year? They’ve come tantalisingly close on multiple occasions with multiple riders in what has been an impressive comeback season, but they’ve just missed out. Will Mandalika or Phillip Island yield for the Italian manufacturer, who are enjoying a stunning season in the WorldSBK paddock?

NEW BEGINNINGS: Ducati’s comeback to WorldSSP from the start

Four second places, ten third places across three riders after ten rounds, but still without a win. Ducati can’t get much closer in World Supersport in 2022. Back in the Championship for the first time since 2007 following the evolution of the WorldSSP class to incorporate more manufacturers with a wider variety of motorcycles – the Ducati Panigale V2 is a twin-cylinder 955cc, in comparison to the Triumph Triple 765cc and the Yamaha inline-four 600cc – Ducati have been a popular choice for many teams.

Six full-time teams use the bike, of which three are totally new to the class (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team, BARNI Spark Racing Team and the D34G Racing Team), whilst two teams switched to the brand (CM Racing from Yamaha and Orelac Racing VerdNatura from Kawasaki). The other team, Althea Racing, returned to the paddock overall, following their departure from Honda in 2020.

2022 IN REVIEW: how close have they come?

So, how has 2022 been so far? The first rider to prominently feature at the front for Ducati was Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team), who was on the podium in the second race of the season in third. He backed it up at Assen and took a podium in at least one race per round all the way until the summer break, with a best of second coming at Most. However, by that time, other Ducati teams were coming to the fore, with Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) battling to a hard-fought third at Donington Park.

After the summer break and it was clear that with further development due to the data acquired in races that Ducati teams were starting to really make their presence felt; Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) took pole at Magny-Cours but a mechanical issue in Race 1 and a crash in Race 2 took him out of winning contention. More misfortune came in Barcelona and no Ducati managed to take a podium, whilst Triumph’s Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) was making big gains. At the next round, he took victory in Race 1 at Portimao, the first ever win for the iconic British marque.

With the European season done and dusted, the paddock leapt to South America and Ducati looked extremely strong. In the battle for a second career win, De Rosa was back at the front and in the mix, leading into the final lap, only for Aegerter and Yamaha to spoil the party with a pass at Turn 8. In Race 2, Aegerter battled with fellow Yamaha title contender Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) on the last lap and pushed him wide at Turn 16, giving Caricasulo an opportunity to take second. Three Ducati riders have achieved a second-place finish, so surely one step away will be made before the end of the year?

BLEAK FUTURE OR PROSPEROUS FORTUNES: Mandalika and Phillip Island have the answer

After looking back at what has been an impressive season of racing in WorldSSP, Ducati are on the cusp of their first win since Gianluca Nannelli at Imola in 2005. However, they have one disadvantage: the two remaining circuits are circuits that they’ll have never been to. With Mandalika, that’s off-set by the fact that the circuit is very new, so data is of a premium for all teams. The usual contenders, including the aforementioned podium-achieving Ducati teams, will make their way to the front and whilst the likes of Aegerter and Ten Kate Yamaha may have an advantage, it should still be pretty equal – don’t forget, De Rosa beat Aegerter in Race 1’s head-to-head in 2021.

However, for Phillip Island, more teams will be up to speed, even if the circuit has been away for two years. Of the top 20 riders in WorldSSP, eight have been to Phillip Island but contrary to that, only three will have had experience on their current bike at the track. It will be slightly more difficult, considering they have no data at all at the track in WorldSSP-spec, but perhaps the lack of experience for a lot of riders at the track on a WorldSSP bike may help.

CONCLUDING: WorldSSP’s ‘Next Generation’ has been a success

Despite Ducati not able to take that elusive first win in 15 years, it’s hard to argue against the fact that the new-look to World Supersport and its immediate future has been a success. Yamaha may still be the cream of the crop, but more teams and manufacturers are right behind and each round, making further gains. Four manufacturers have been able to take podiums, whilst both the ‘traditional’ WorldSSP motorcycle of Yamaha’s R6 and the ‘next generation’ of Triumph’s 765cc have tasted victory – impressive for Triumph, with Simon Buckmaster’s PTR team being the only team running the bike.

On six occasions, the top seven at the end of the race has been made up of five different manufacturers – including in the last two races in Argentina. However, one of the season highlights came at Most in Race 2, when all five manufacturers locked out the top five places. The last time it had happened before that was in 2007 at Monza, when Kenan Sofuoglu took victory on the way to his first title; 15 years later, his nephew Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) took fifth at the flag at Most. Those two races are the only times there’s been five manufacturers inside the top five, but don’t be surprised if we see it more often in the not-too-distant future.

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