WorldSBK.com takes a look at the numbers of the FIM Superbike World Championship, which gets underway at Phillip Island (Australia) on February 26.

1 - the most successful number: 80 races have been won by the bike carrying the number 1 plate

2 - the manufacturers present in every race run so far: Ducati and Kawasaki

11 - the bike manufacturers with at least one race started in the Superbike World Championship

11 - the race number most used, present in 514 races

14 World Champions

18 years old: the youngest winner, Yuichi Takeda in Japan, 1996

25th championship, starting in Phillip Island this year

25 hosting countries so far. Russia will be the 26th

40 - the only rider able to win at 40 years old so far has is Max Biaggi (Brno 2011)

41 - the races run in Phillip Island, the most visited track

41 - the highest number of race finishers (Zeltweg 1989, race 1)

44 - the tracks visited by the Superbike World Championship

59 - Carl Fogarty's wins, the most successful rider

67 different winners, from Davide Tardozzi (Donington 1988) to Tom Sykes (Nurburgring 2011)

118 - the wins by Australia and United States, the two most successful countries

204 - the highest speed ever reached for pole position (Max Biaggi, Monza 2011, 204.405 km/h)

306 wins by Ducati, 51% of the total

377 races run by Troy Corser, accounting for more than 60% of the total

590 races run so far

940 riders with at least one race start, 1150 in total, from 42 different countries

1,356,498 kilometers raced so far by all the riders in all the races run

Statistics compiled by Michele Merlino

One man who has truly established himself as an all-time Superbike great since his series debut in 1997 is Troy Bayliss from Taree, NSW in Australia. Bayliss was something of a late starter, and he made his initial claim to fame in SBK racing, on a Suzuki as a wild card at Phillip Island in the mid-nineties.

For Bayliss, he is certain that showcasing himself well in the SBK races at home led to what would become much greater things. "I think honestly it was a very big help," said Bayliss. "I never won the Australian Superbike championship but finished second a couple of times. Even if you won the championship it did not mean you would get a ride overseas. So those wild card rides helped me and that is how I got noticed, basically. Always the top guys in domestic Superbike classes can be competitive at a world-class level. Then it is fine picking if you can actually win after that."

For Bayliss, Phillip Island is one of the great tracks, but it really did bring a unique pressure for him. "Phillip Island was always one of the hardest ones because I had so much more work to do, so many family and friends came there and so the whole thing was like a tough weekend! Sometimes the Aussies seem to pull out some great riders at their home track, but to race in the World Championship you have to be fast at every track. It was always good winning at Phillip Island but I felt just as much to win at Monza, Misano and anywhere else."

He is still enthusiastic about SBK racing, as his parting comment demonstrates. "Something that has always been in Superbike is the friendliness, the open pit and you can be a part of it. SBK has a good atmosphere and it is run by Italians. What I love about them, they are family oriented, friendly and the passion is very high."

The Indonesian Government will furthermore start up the promotion of the event by means of the creation of a government task force that will sustain the economic, logistical, promotion and administrative requirements of the organiser.

Maurizio Flammini declared: "We are proud of the growth of the Superbike calendar, which thanks to the inclusion of the latest rounds is obtaining a presence in countries of major importance for the development of our championship on a sporting and commercial level. After Russia, where Superbike has now arrived before any other world motorsport championship, thanks to more than two years of intense work in the Asian area, we have now been able to insert Indonesia, which has in the past already played host to a race of considerable success and appeal, in the calendar. Indonesia today is a country with the largest growth factors: GDP is more than one trillion dollars, with a 2011 growth of more than 6%, and the sale of bikes widely exceeds 7 million units per year. The Superbike race will therefore be a great opportunity for the motorcycle manufacturers present in our championship. We are also negotiating with the Buddh International Circuit in India, where the Formula 1 race was recently held, in order to complete a presence in Asia that in this case will be absolutely extraordinary".

It should also be added that Superbike, together with its sponsors, teams and entrepreneurs, will be able to benefit for the agreements that Maurizio Flammini, as President of FEDERLAZIO and PMItalia, organisations that represent more than 30,000 Italian firms, has started with the Indonesian Government to set up close collaboration between the companies of the two continents and the creation of B2B opportunities.

The Sentul Circuit has its own particular fascination, both due to its natural environment in the middle of a tropical forest, and due to its technical and design features.

Indonesia also makes up an extraordinary market for bikes, with a total of 7,400,000 units sold in 2010 and an estimated 10% increase for 2011, a figure that will shortly be available. In addition the Government also provides subsidies for fuel used for circulation on two wheels.

The date for the Superbike round will be decided shortly. The two possibilities being considered are at the start of the championship together with Australia, or the final round of the season.

Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, declared: "The arrival of the Indonesian round in the Superbike World Championship calendar confirms the growing interest in our series and undoubtedly helps to complete a championship that touches all the world's motorcycle markets and which continues to offer increasingly significant opportunities for the motorcycle industry, sponsors and media".

Australian Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) ended up at the top of the results sheet after two days of World Supersport testing with a time of 1 minute 34.585 seconds. On aggregate over four sessions on Monday and Tuesday Parkes was able to finish ahead of the Kawasakis of Kenan Sofuoglu (Deltafin Lorenzini) and Fabien Foret (Intermoto Step). Britain's Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) also put in a good overall run, after going quickest in the morning session.

The final session saw the red flags come out for Russian rider Vladimir Leonov who suffered a few cuts and bruises to his right elbow and left ankle in a crash but the Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha man will make the race on Sunday.

The championship warm-up threw up a number of surprises. The first was 23-year-old Frenchman Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda), who has moved over from the mid-class GP category this year, and who was fifth quickest. The second was Vittorio Iannuzzo, back up amongst the front-runners once again with sixth quickest time on a three-cylinder Power Team by Suriano Triumph.

Times (Monday-Tuesday)

1 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.585
2 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'34.604
3 99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'34.866
4 11 Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.957
5 16 Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.131
6 31 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'35.362
7 32 Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'35.701
8 34 Quarmby R. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.824
9 38 Nemeth B. (HUN) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.873
10 19 Szkopek P. (POL) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.009
11 25 Baldolini A. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'36.085
12 20 Scholtz M. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.217
13 65 Leonov V. (RUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.256
14 10 Toth I. (HUN) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.410
15 52 Pesek L. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.439
16 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.513
17 22 Tamburini R. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.559
18 3 Metcher J. (AUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.798
19 69 Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.832
20 64 Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'36.985
21 40 Jessopp M. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.140
22 87 Marconi L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'37.146
23 98 Lanusse R. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'37.679
24 61 Menghi F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'37.703
25 13 Lombardi D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'38.057
26 8 Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'39.507
27 27 Caiani T. (SUI) Honda CBR600RR 1'39.856
28 33 Polzer Y. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 1'39.938

Supersport records at Phillip Island
Fastest Lap: Fabien Foret (Honda) 1'34.941 (168.485 km/h) - 2011
Best Lap: Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) 1'33.847 (170.512 km/h) - 2010

Tom Sykes was ultimately the man of the moment in two days of Superbike testing at Phillip Island, the Kawasaki man holding onto the top slot in today's warmer afternoon session that saw only two riders improve. Sykes's time of 1 minute 31.648 seconds remains the benchmark as the riders now gear up for the opening round of the 2012 FIM Superbike World Championship this coming weekend.

Second place overall went to 2011 champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati), who ended up just a whisker behind. The Spaniard set the quickest time of the warmer afternoon session and then packed up for the rest of the day. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) was third on another Ducati 1098R, not far off the pace of the top 2, while Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike) was the only other rider to get into the 1 minute 32 seconds bracket.

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) showed remarkable consistency as he took the fifth slot, while Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad) failed to improve on day 2 and his time set yesterday was good enough for sixth. Superbike rookie Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) crashed harmlessly for the fourth time in this test but was impressive enough for seventh, while Leon Camier (Crescent Suzuki) completed the top 8.

After five days of testing - private and official - the Superbike teams and riders now have a chance to wind down before opening round action begins on Friday.

Times (Monday-Tuesday)
1 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'31.648
2 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'31.652
3 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'31.800
4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.913
5 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'32.034
6 33 Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.232
7 34 Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.319
8 2 Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'32.320
9 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.347
10 91 Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.397
11 17 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.540
12 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.605
13 59 Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.746
14 4 Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.910
15 121 Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.911
16 86 Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.948
17 87 Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'33.136
18 19 Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'33.358
19 44 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.385
20 67 Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.418
21 25 Brookes J. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'33.623
22 18 Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'34.169
23 35 De Rosa R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.341

Superbike records at Phillip Island
Fastest Lap: Troy Corser (Yamaha) 1'31"826 (2007)
Best Lap: Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1'30"882 (2011)

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) went quickest in the first Supersport session on the final day of official pre-season testing. With a time of 1 minute 34.989 seconds, the 21-year-old British rider edged his way in front of Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step), Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) and Turkey's Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Deltafin Lorenzini).

Good progress was also recorded by the two Triumph 675 machines in the session, in particular by Italian Vittorio Iannuzzo (Power Team by Suriano), who moved his way into fifth with a time of 1'35"362, while Jules Cluzel also continued to make headway on the PTR Honda.

Andrea Antonelli (Honda Team Lorini) suffered a bruised right shoulder and knee when he crashed, while the session was interrupted for a few minutes after a kangaroo strayed onto the track.

Supersport - Tuesday 1st session
1 11 Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.989
2 99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'35.105
3 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.192
4 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'35.339
5 31 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'35.362
6 16 Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.458
7 34 Quarmby R. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.043
8 38 Nemeth B. (HUN) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.077
9 25 Baldolini A. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'36.085
10 65 Leonov V. (RUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.256
11 10 Toth I. (HUN) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.410
12 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.513
13 22 Tamburini R. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.674
14 32 Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'36.689
15 69 Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.832
16 52 Pesek L. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.953
17 40 Jessopp M. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.140
18 20 Scholtz M. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.143
19 19 Szkopek P. (POL) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.218
20 3 Metcher J. (AUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1'37.350
21 64 Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'37.389
22 87 Marconi L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'37.674
23 98 Lanusse R. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'37.679
24 61 Menghi F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'39.058
25 27 Caiani T. (SUI) Honda CBR600RR 1'39.856
26 33 Polzer Y. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 1'39.938
27 13 Lombardi D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'40.598
28 8 Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'42.041

The second day of official testing at Phillip Island started off with a surprise this morning as Tom Sykes powered his Kawasaki to the top slot. The British rider set a time of 1 minute 31.648 seconds on cooler tarmac early in the session to depose Althea Racing Ducati's Carlos Checa from the position he has held virtually since the start of last week's private testing. The reigning world champion's time was just 0.004 seconds slower than Sykes.

Closer to the front was another Ducati, the Liberty Racing Team Effenbert version of Jakub Smrz, who whittled his time down to 1'31"800. Fourth place went to Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) who crashed at the fast Lukey Heights section of the track, but without any harm to the rider. Next up was Max Biaggi (Aprilia) who shaved a further tenth off his yesterday time to finish with a 1'32"034.

Meanwhile Leon Haslam, who crashed yesterday, has returned to hospital: the doctors are deciding if and how to operate on his right leg tibia fracture.

The afternoon session from 1330 to 1500 local time will end these two days of pre-race testing.

Superbike - Tuesday 1st session
1 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'31.648
2 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'31.652
3 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'31.800
4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.913
5 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'32.034
6 33 Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.281
7 34 Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.319
8 2 Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'32.320
9 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.347
10 17 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.540
11 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.605
12 59 Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.746
13 4 Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.910
14 121 Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.911
15 86 Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.948
16 87 Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'33.136
17 44 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.385
18 67 Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.418
19 19 Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'33.561
20 25 Brookes J. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'33.623
21 35 De Rosa R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.341
22 18 Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'34.634

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad) moved closer to Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) in today's second session of official testing at Phillip Island.

In the warmer afternoon track conditions the world champion was unable to improve on his best time of 1'31"947 set in the morning. Biaggi however improved by a fraction with a sequence of fast laps towards the end, all in the low 1.32s. Melandri also made good progress, ending up with a time of 1'32.232, a full second better than the time he set in last week's private test.

Leon Haslam, who crashed in the morning, did not take part in the afternoon run. Checks carried out in hospital diagnosed a fractured tibia in his right leg and the BMW man is considering having a screw put in to race in a few day's time.

In the overall timesheets, Haslam was sandwiched by two more Brits, Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike) in fourth and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) in sixth.

Superbike Day 1 - overall
1 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'31.947
2 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'32.132
3 33 Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.232
4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.379
5 91 Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.397
6 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.465
7 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.768
8 59 Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.836
9 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'32.848
10 17 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.005
11 2 Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'33.104
12 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.141
13 121 Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'33.246
14 34 Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'33.366
15 4 Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.479
16 87 Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'33.566
17 67 Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.704
18 44 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.812
19 86 Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1'34.234
20 19 Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'34.303
21 35 De Rosa R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.400
22 25 Brookes J. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'34.667
23 18 Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'35.223