News

Following in the footsteps of recent documentaries in ‘The Final Stunt’ and ‘The Return’, the latest WorldSBK documentary tells the story of one of the greatest season-long battles ever seen in motorcycle racing. ‘The Showdown – Imola 2002’ rekindles the magic of Sunday, 29th of September, 2002, when fierce rivals Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss duked it out for the Championship until the final lap of the season and ahead of our return to Imola in 2023, the magic remains unrivalled from over 20 years ago. The documentary is now available to watch for FREE and you won’t want to miss out on the story of Imola 2002!

However, this latest WorldSBK documentary doesn’t just go back to the day of that famous race, but it looks at the 2002 season and how Troy Bayliss and Ducati’s domination at the start of the year couldn’t resist the late charge and tenacity of Colin Edwards and his Honda team. From six race wins and making history in the opening three rounds, the Championship lead was 58 points with nine races to go; it would need to be the greatest comeback ever seen for Colin Edwards to have a real chance at the title. Laguna Seca’s Race 2 welcomed a home win for Edwards and whilst Bayliss encountered bad luck in the next rounds – notably a scary Warm Up crash at the next round at Brands Hatch and a crash from the podium at the penultimate round at Assen – Edwards kept winning.

Arriving to Imola as the new Championship leader and going into the final race with just six points between them, the stage was set for one of the biggest battles in dramatic fashion. With a capacity 97,700 crowd watching on, countless passes for victory, the strategy of tactics and of course, the sensational, hair-raising final lap, the story and rivalry comes alive just like it did on the day itself.

With all of the emotion of that day revisited by people who were part of it first-hand, including Edwards and Bayliss themselves, Edwards’ crew chief Adrian Gorst, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi and Ducati project director Paolo Ciabatti. The most successful rider of all-time in WorldSBK, six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea, casts his mind back to that incredible day, whilst double WorldSBK Champion and current commentator within the paddock James Toseland reflects on it all too. There’s also valuable insight from journalists Gordon Ritchie and Carlo Baldi.

For many, this is you – the fans’ – favourite race of all-time and the one that remains synonymous with WorldSBK to this day. Now, you can enjoy it like you’ve never been able to before, with all the edge-of-your-seat drama, tense moments of doubt, illustrious times of celebration and the story from the stars themselves – from both then and now – in a compelling documentary.

Enjoy ‘The Showdown’ and plenty more original videos alongside our comprehensive LIVE coverage of the 2023 season with the WorldSBK VideoPass!