The World Superbike Championship Circuits
No less than 49 circuits have been used in the World Superbike Championship since the inaugural round was held at Donington Park, England in April 1988 although not one of them has been visited in each of the 33 years the Championship has been running.
Phillip Island, Australia is the closest having hosted a round on 30 occasions closely followed by Assen on 29 and Donington with 27. The latter is the only circuit still on the calendar that was used in that inaugural season.
25 countries have hosted WSBK
25 countries have hosted a round since 1988 with Italy having the highest number of circuits used at six, closely followed by Spain (6) and Germany (4). Each country has hosted a round at least twice with the exception of Belgium and Turkey who only ever played host to the series once at Spa in 1992 and Istanbul Park in 2013 respectively.
Four other circuits have only been visited once though, these being Enna-Pergusa in Italy (1989), Paul Ricard in France (1989), Salzburgring, Austria (1995) and Catalunya, Spain (2020).
World Superbike Championship at Donington Park…
In the early years, the series had a reputation for visiting some of the lesser known venues, Enna-Pergusa, Brainerd, Mosport and Manfield being examples, and some which didn’t necessarily always meet the standards and facilities of those used in the World 500cc Championship.
However, as safety became more and more prevalent during the 1990s and professionalism in racing in general soared, they soon moved to world class circuits with world class facilities.
Despite of this, it does still visit some venues that may never be deemed suitable for MotoGP and in many countries, the MotoGP and World Superbike rounds take place at different circuits.
One strange fact about the current World Superbike Championship calendar is that Japan doesn’t currently host a round despite having major manufacturer presence from Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda. The last time the country held a round was back in 2003. Meanwhile, South America hosted its first round in 2018 at the San Juan circuit in Argentina.
Full list of circuits and years hosted rounds
Albacete, Spain – 1992-1999 (8 times in total)
Anderstorp, Sweden – 1991, 1993 (2)
Assen, Netherlands – 1992-2019 (29)
Brainerd, USA – 1989-1991 (3)
Brands Hatch, Great Britain – 1993, 1995, 1997-2008 (twice in 2000 – 15 times)
Brno, Czech Republic – 1993, 1996, 2005-2012, 2018 (11)
Catalunya, Spain – 2020 (1)
Chang, Thailand – 2015-2019 (5)
Donington Park, Great Britain – 1988-2001, 2007-2009, 2011-2019(27)
Enna-Pergusa, Italy – 1989 (1)
Estoril, Portugal – 1988, 1993, 2020 (3)
EuroSpeedway Lausitzring, Germany – 2001-2002, 2005-2007, 2016-17 (7)
Hockenheim, Germany – 1988-2000 (13)
Hungaroring, Hungary – 1988-1990 (3)
Imola, Italy – 2001-2006, 2009-2019 (17)
Istanbul Park, Turkey – 2013 (1)
Johor, Malaysia – 1992-1993 (2)
Jarama, Spain – 1991-1992 (2)
Jerez, Spain – 1990, 2013-2017, 2019- Present (8)
Kyalami, South Africa – 1998-2002, 2009-2010 (7)
Laguna Seca, USA – 1995-2004, 2013-2019 (17)
Le Mans, France – 1988, 1990 (2)
Losail, Qatar – 2005-2009, 2014-2019 (11)
Magny Cours, France – 1991, 2002-Present (20)
Manfield, New Zealand – 1988-1990, 1992 (4)
Miller Park, USA – 2008-2012 (5)
Misano, Italy – 1993-2012, 2014-2019 (26)
Monza, Italy – 1990, 1992-1993, 1995-2013, 2016 (23)
Moscow Raceway, Russia – 2012-2013 (2)
Motorland Aragon, Spain – 2011-Present (twice in 2020 – 11)
Mosport, Canada – 1989-1991 (3)
Mugello, Italy – 1991-1992, 1994 (3)
Nurburgring, Germany – 1998-1999, 2008-2013 (8)
Oran Park, Australia – 1988-1989 (2)
Oschersleben, Germany – 2004-2005 (2)
Osterreichring, Austria – 1988-1994 (7)
Paul Ricard, France – 1989 (1)
Phillip Island, Australia – 1990-1992, 1994-Present (30)
Portimao, Portugal – 2008-2015, 2017-Present (12)
Salzburgring, Austria – 1995 (1)
San Juan Villicum, Argentina – 2018-2019 (2)
Sentul, Indonesia – 1994-1997 (4)
Sepang, Malaysia – 2014- 2016 (3)
Shah Alam, Malaysia – 1990-1991 (2)
Silverstone, Great Britain – 2002-2007, 2010-2013 (10)
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – 1992 (1)
Sugo, Japan – 1988-2003 (16)
Valencia, Spain – 2000-2010 (11)
Vallelunga, Italy – 2007-2008 (2)
Zeltweg, Austria – 1997-1999 (3)
Words by Phil Wain.