1988 Alternate WSBK season

1988 World Superbike Championship season
The 1988 season was the first season of the World Superbike Championship
Season
Races
Start date	3rd April 1988
Start Event	Template:GBR Round of Britain
End date	11th September 1988
End Event	Template:AUS Round of Australia
Awards
Driver's Champion	Template:AUS Mick Doohan
Constructor's Champion	Bimota
Seasons
Previous season	Next season
None	1989

The 1988 World Superbike Championship season was the inaugural season of the World Superbike Championship, a new series sanctioned by the FIM to showcase adapted production motorbikes.

Despite american Honda rider Fred Merkel's 9 wins, Australian Bimota Rider Mick Doohan was crowned the first ever world superbike champion, narrowly beating the american by 2 points thanks to slightly better consistency. The Surfers Paradise native impressed so much that, shortly after the season's end, He signed a long-term contract with Honda Racing Corporation to ride a factory NSR500 in the 500cc world championship the following year.

Teams and riders

All teams and riders used Michelin tyres

Team	Bike	#	Rider	Rounds
Team Green Kawasaki Deutschland [?]	Kawasaki GPX750R	28	Michael Galinski	1-4, 7-10
		20	Template:FRA Adrien Morillas	1-4, 7-10
Template:GBR BP Racing [?]	Yamaha FZR750R	14	Template:GBR Rob McElnea	All
		5	Template:GBR Carl Fogarty	All
Lucky Strike Fior [?]	Bimota YB4	7	Loris Reggiani	1-6, 9, 12
			Fausto Gresini	7-8, 10-11
		27	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	All
Bimota Corse [?]	Bimota YB4	4	Template:FRA Alex Vieira	1-7, 9-12
			Mauro Ricci	8
		2	Davide Tardozzi	All
Yoshimura Suzuki [?]	Suzuki GSX-R 750	6	Template:BEL Stephane Mertens	All
		23	Template:USA Doug Polen	All
Flor Bath Honda [?]	Honda VFR750R	81	Violetta Cacciatori	All
		32	Zoè Ferrer	All
Team Rumi RCM [?]	Honda VFR750R	12	Template:USA Fred Merkel	All
		3	Template:GBR Joey Dunlop	1-3, 6-9, 12
			Gianluigi Spinelli	4-5, 10-11
De Kruiser De Ruyter [?]	Ducati 851 Strada	78	Karel Vandroogenbroeck	All
		15	Gary Goodfellow	All
Petronas Racing Group [?]	Yamaha FZR750R	55	Template:FRA Dominique Sarron	All
Uponor Pennanen Suzuki [?]	Suzuki GSX-R 750	11	Jari Suhonen	All
Template:SUI Römer Racing [?]	Bimota YB4	24	Template:SUI Bruno Kneubühler	All
		32	Template:SUI Marco Gentile	All
Fast by Ferracci [?]	Ducati 851 Strada	21	Template:FRA Raymond Roche	All
		10	Fabrizio Pirovano	All
Template:AUS Hardwick Racing [?]	Yamaha FZR750R	19	Template:AUS Malcom Campbell	All
		30	Template:AUS Rob Phillis	All
Template:USA Rob Muzzy Racing [?]	Kawasaki GPX750R	8	Template:USA Doug Chandler	All
		18	Template:USA Mike Baldwin	All

Calendar

Championship Grands Prix

	Event	Track	Date	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning rider	Team	Manufacturer
1	Template:GBR Round of Donington	Donington Park	3 April	1	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Template:USA Fred Merkel 1:14.653	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
				2	Template:GBR Joey Dunlop	Davide Tardozzi 1:14.620	Davide Tardozzi	Bimota Corse	Bimota
2	Round of Hungary	Hungaroring	30 April	3	Davide Tardozzi	Davide Tardozzi 1:58.186	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Lucky Strike Fior	Bimota
				4	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:USA Fred Merkel 1:57.885	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
3	Round of Germany	Hockenheimring	8 May	5	Template:GBR Joey Dunlop	Template:USA Fred Merkel 2:12.986	Template:USA Doug Chandler	Template:USA Rob Muzzy Racing	Kawasaki
				6	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Template:FRA Raymond Roche 2:12.990	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Lucky Strike Fior	Bimota
4	Template:AUT Round of Austria	Österreichring	14 May	7	Davide Tardozzi	Template:AUS Mick Doohan 1:57.411	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Lucky Strike Fior	Bimota
				8	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
5	Round of Canada	Mosport Park	5 June	9	Davide Tardozzi	Template:FRA Raymond Roche	Davide Tardozzi	Bimota Corse	Bimota
				10	Davide Tardozzi	Template:FRA Raymond Roche 1:27.936	Template:BEL Stéphane Mertens	Yoshimura Suzuki	Suzuki
6	Template:USA Round of America	Road America	19 June	11	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Template:GBR Joey Dunlop 1:41.832	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
				12	Template:FRA Raymond Roche	Template:GBR Joey Dunlop	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
7	Round of Italy	Misano	3 July	13	Davide Tardozzi	Template:FRA Raymond Roche	Davide Tardozzi	Bimota Corse	Bimota
				14	Davide Tardozzi	Template:GBR Joey Dunlop 1:18.217	Template:FRA Raymond Roche	Fast by Ferracci	Ducati
8	Template:FRA Round of France	Le Mans	17 July	15	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
				16	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
9	Round of Spain	Jarama	31 July	17	Davide Tardozzi	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:FRA Raymond Roche	Fast by Ferracci	Ducati
				18	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Davide Tardozzi	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Lucky Strike Fior	Bimota
10	Round of Portugal	Estoril	7 August	19	Fabrizio Pirovano	Davide Tardozzi	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Lucky Strike Fior	Bimota
				20	Davide Tardozzi	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Lucky Strike Fior	Bimota
11	Round of Japan	Sugo	28 August	21	Template:AUS Mick Doohan	Template:FRA Raymond Roche	Davide Tardozzi	Bimota Corse	Bimota
				22	Davide Tardozzi	Davide Tardozzi	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
12	Template:AUS Round of Australia	Oran Park	11 September	23	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Template:USA Fred Merkel	Team Rumi RCM	Honda
				24	Davide Tardozzi	Davide Tardozzi	Davide Tardozzi	Bimota Corse	Bimota

Standings

Riders' Championship

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
Points	20	16	14	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

Pos Rider Manufacturer GBR Template:GBR HUN GER AUT Template:AUT CAN USA Template:USA ITA FRA Template:FRA ESP POR JPN AUS Template:AUS Pts 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 Template:AUS Mick Doohan Bimota 4 2 1 14 Ret 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 2 3 DNS 5 1 1 1 Ret 2 3 4 312 2 Template:USA Fred Merkel Honda 1 3 Ret 1 Ret 3 6 1 9 6 1 1 2 Ret 1 1 Ret 4 6 2 2 1 1 3 310 3 Davide Tardozzi Bimota 3 1 2 2 6 2 Ret 5 1 Ret 2 Ret 1 Ret 5 3 2 5 4 Ret 1 Ret Ret 1 258 4 Template:FRA Raymond Roche Ducati 11 5 4 3 2 4 2 3 2 Ret 11 2 3 1 Ret Ret 1 2 3 Ret 6 11 2 10 241 5 Template:BEL Stéphane Mertens Suzuki 9 6 5 8 7 7 Ret 4 11 1 6 10 Ret 5 2 Ret 4 3 9 Ret 8 4 Ret 17 157 6 Fabrizio Pirovano Ducati 2 9 6 10 10 Ret 4 Ret 4 2 5 Ret 12 7 12 4 6 6 2 8 9 Ret 12 5 156 7 Template:GBR Carl Fogarty Yamaha 5 4 9 7 11 14 3 10 5 5 Ret 9 11 8 7 2 16 15 5 7 5 3 7 13 150 8 Template:USA Doug Polen Suzuki 6 13 Ret 9 5 5 Ret Ret 6 10 8 5 15 4 6 6 3 9 7 6 3 10 10 6 146 9 Template:USA Doug Chandler Kawasaki 12 8 Ret 6 1 6 11 Ret 14 8 9 Ret 7 6 11 5 7 12 Ret 3 7 7 Ret 8 117 10 Template:FRA Alex Vieira Bimota 10 7 3 Ret 3 Ret 10 8 12 Ret 4 8 10 Ret INJ INJ 13 Ret Ret 14 4 5 6 Ret 96 11 Template:AUS Malcom Campbell Yamaha 15 11 7 5 12 17 5 9 7 Ret 13 6 Ret 3 17 12 11 21 11 Ret Ret 13 5 12 76 12 Template:USA Mike Baldwin Kawasaki 8 14 16 11 4 Ret 8 7 Ret 7 12 Ret 6 Ret 15 14 10 7 8 4 Ret 9 15 Ret 75 13 Template:GBR Joey Dunlop Honda 7 Ret Ret 4 Ret 16 10 3 5 Ret 10 Ret 8 10 Ret Ret 56 14 Template:AUS Rob Phillis Yamaha 25 19 14 15 18 8 14 11 17 17 17 12 14 9 8 7 20 11 19 5 Ret 12 22 22 36 15 Template:FRA Dominique Sarron Yamaha 14 12 10 20 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 15 Ret Ret 8 11 9 11 23 Ret 21 11 10 20 23 18 29 16 Loris Reggiani Bimota 19 10 11 12 Ret 10 12 13 18 11 7 17 25 13 Ret 7 24 17 Michael Galinski Kawasaki 20 15 8 Ret 19 9 13 Ret 18 12 4 18 17 22 14 Ret 22 18 Template:AUS Wayne Gardener Honda 8 2 21 19 Fausto Gresini Bimota 16 10 18 8 17 9 Ret 6 20 20 Template:FRA Adrien Morillas Kawasaki 16 17 13 19 13 11 Ret Ret 9 Ret 14 Ret 12 8 10 13 15 21 Template:GBR Rob McElnea Yamaha 17 20 20 Ret 14 22 7 Ret 10 12 14 Ret 22 14 19 Ret 22 19 15 12 12 15 11 16 14 22 Template:AUS Kevin Magee Yamaha 4 23 12 23 Gianluigi Spinelli Honda Ret Ret Ret 4 18 Ret 15 Ret 12 24 Template:SUI Marco Gentile Yamaha 31 22 18 18 8 12 Ret Ret 22 13 18 7 13 16 21 16 24 23 20 16 18 18 Ret 14 12 25 Zoè Ferrer Yamaha 29 23 19 17 17 23 9 14 21 18 Ret 11 Ret Ret 16 9 Ret 14 23 15 14 23 19 24 10 26 Miguel Duhamel Suzuki 8 9 21 Ret 9 27 Aaron Sight Yamaha 9 9 8 28 Shunji Yatsushiro Honda Ret 8 5 29 Gary Goodfellow Ducati 13 28 12 16 9 18 15 15 19 19 19 Ret 20 Ret 24 13 15 17 13 Ret 16 21 Ret 15 5 30 Juan Garriga Yamaha 9 26 4 31 Jari Suhonen Suzuki 32 21 21 22 16 15 17 17 20 14 23 13 Ret 18 23 19 Ret 24 22 10 24 29 16 20 3 32 Karel Vandroogenbroeck Ducati 24 16 15 23 Ret Ret Ret Ret 23 16 20 Ret 21 15 22 10 21 25 16 Ret 22 22 14 21 3 33 Shinichi Itoh Honda 11 16 2 34 Michael Dowson Yamaha 17 11 2 35 Violetta Cacciatori Honda 18 27 17 13 Ret 20 Ret 12 16 21 Ret 14 17 17 13 15 27 Ret 12 17 13 14 18 26 2 36 Template:SUI Bruno Kneubühler Bimota 34 31 22 21 15 13 16 16 25 23 24 Ret 19 13 27 Ret 28 27 Ret 18 19 Ret 21 29 0 37 Tommy Douglas Yamaha 13 22 15 16 0 38 Glenn Williams ? 13 25 0 39 Michael Mercier ? 15 20 Ret 19 0 Teams' Championship 1. Fast By Ferracci 397 pts 2. Team Rumi RCM 377 pts 3. Lucky Strike Fior 356 pts 4. Bimota Corse 354 pts 5. Yoshimura Suzuki 301 pts 6. Template:USA Rob Muzzy Racing 185 pts 7. Template:GBR BP Racing 148 pts 8. Template:AUS Hardwick Racing 112 pts 9. Team Green Kawasaki Deutschland 37 pts 10. Petronas Racing Group 27 pts 11. Moriwaki Engineering 21 pts 12. Template:SUI Römer Racing 12 pts 13. Flor Bath Honda 12 pts 14. Template:AUS Hardwick Racing feat Team Roberts 12 pts 15. Yamaha Dealers NZ 10 pts 16. Mackenzie 9 pts 17. De Kruiser De Ruyter 8 pts 18. Kanemoto Honda 7 pts 19. Garriga 4 pts 20. Uponor Pennanen Suzuki 3 pts Manufacturers' Championship Pos Manufacturer GBR Template:GBR HUN GER AUT Template:AUT CAN USA Template:USA ITA FRA Template:FRA ESP POR JPN AUS Template:AUS Pts 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 Bimota 3 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 3 2 4 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 412 2 Honda 1 3 17 1 17 3 6 1 9 4 1 1 2 17 1 1 8 4 6 2 2 1 1 2 321 3 Ducati 2 5 4 3 2 4 2 3 2 2 5 2 3 1 12 4 1 2 2 8 6 11 2 5 310 4 Suzuki 6 6 5 8 5 5 17 4 6 1 6 5 15 4 2 6 3 3 7 6 3 4 10 6 224 5 Yamaha 5 4 7 5 8 8 3 6 5 5 13 6 8 3 7 2 9 11 5 5 5 3 4 9 205 6 Kawasaki 8 8 8 6 1 6 8 7 14 7 9 Ret 6 6 4 5 7 7 8 3 7 7 15 8 158