2003 Superbike World Championship

The 2003 Superbike World Championship was the sixteenth FIM Superbike World Championship season. The season started on 2 March at Valencia and finished on 19 October at Magny-Cours after 12 rounds.

Rule changes for 2003 allowed 1000cc machines (either twins, triples or four-cylinder) to race. The rule changes in MotoGP which allowed 4-stroke engines starting from 2002 meant that the Japanese manufacturers had focused their resources there; as a result the Superbike World Championship was left with limited factory involvement, with Ducati, Suzuki and the new-for-2003 Carl Fogarty's Foggy Petronas as the only factory teams. As a result of most of the field being formed of Ducati motorcycles, the championship was given the derogatory label of the "Ducati Cup" in some quarters.

The factory Ducati Team entered the only two Ducati 999s in the field, taking 20 wins from 24 races in a season where all races were won by Ducati. Neil Hodgson won the riders' championship and Ducati won the manufacturers' championship.

Entry list

2003 Entry List Team Constructor Motorcycle Tyre No. Rider Rounds RTZ powered by ROTAX Aprilia Aprilia RSV 1000 P 70 Christian Zaiser 7 Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati Ducati 996RS D 50 Marco Masetti 4 Firepower Ducati 89 Dean Ellison 9 Gi.Bi. Team P 82 Lorenzo Mauri 4 Lucido Corse D 113 Paolo Blora 4, 7 Team Foundation D 79 Noriyasu Numata 3 HM Plant Ducati Ducati 998F02 D 9 Chris Walker All 52 James Toseland All Monstermob Ducati D 67 Shane Byrne 9 Renegade Ducati D 60 Michael Rutter 6, 9 62 Sean Emmett 6 Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati 998RS D 38 Giancarlo De Matteis 9 48 David García 1–3, 5–8, 10–12 55 Régis Laconi All D.F.X. Racing Team P 20 Marco Borciani All 33 Juan Borja All 99 Steve Martin All Ducati Austin D 15 Giovanni Bussei 8 ETI Racing D 62 Sean Emmett 9 JM SBK Team D 23 Jiří Mrkývka 4–5, 7–12 Renegade Ducati D 40 Nick Medd 9 90 Leon Haslam 9–10, 12 Team Pedercini D 19 Lucio Pedercini All 26 Luca Pedersoli 8–11 28 Serafino Foti 1, 4–7 35 Nello Russo 1–2, 5–7 82 Lorenzo Mauri 11 Team Pro.Con. D 29 Giuseppe Zannini 7, 11 Team PSG-1 D 7 Pierfrancesco Chili All Ducati Fila Ducati 999F03 M 11 Rubén Xaus All 100 Neil Hodgson All Michelin Honda Honda Honda CBR954RR M 75 Alistair Maxwell 2 Blue Helmet MSC Honda VTR 1000SP2 D 74 Kenichiro Nakamura 3 White Endurance D 68 Bertrand Stey 12 91 Walter Tortoroglio 1–11 Team HRC Honda VTR 1000SPW M 77 Hitoyasu Izutsu 3 Greven Mc Delar Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-7RR P 45 Jan Greven 10 Kawasaki Bertocchi D 5 Ivan Clementi All 6 Mauro Sanchini All Kawasaki Road Racing D 32 Eric Bostrom 8 Alstare Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 D 10 Gregorio Lavilla All 31 Vittorio Iannuzzo 4–7, 10 Bertus Folkertsma Racing P 43 Bertus Folkertsma 10 Boselli Racing D 96 Luca Pini 7, 11 Elf Yoshimura Shafer Motorsport P 44 Stefan Nebel 10 Kruisinga Motoren Racing P 42 Paul Mooijman 10 MIR Racing D 16 Sergio Fuertes 1, 4–7, 9–12 Motorcycle Weaponry D 73 Steven Cutting 2 Racing Team R.Menzen 41 Robert Menzen 10 Racing Team Zaiser P 70 Christian Zaiser 12 Rizla Suzuki D 61 John Reynolds 6, 9–10 64 Yukio Kagayama 6, 9 Scuderia HF D 57 Simone Conti 11 SERT D 93 Sébastien Gimbert 12 Suzuki Yoshimura D 66 Mat Mladin 8 120 Aaron Yates 8 Team Suzuki D 76 Atsushi Watanabe 3 Warren & Brown Lightpaths D 78 Jay Normoyle 2 Foggy PETRONAS Racing Petronas Petronas FP1 M 4 Troy Corser All 8 James Haydon 1–5, 8–12 82 Lorenzo Mauri 7 Acumoto Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 D 71 Martin Benito Isaac 1 Komatsu Sundby Racing P 36 Sundby Dag Steinar 5 Nuvolari 391 D 39 Alessandro Gramigni 4, 7, 9–12 Remus Racing Austria P 22 Horst Saiger 10–12 69 Karl Truchsess 10 Team X-Racing D 95 Redamo Assirelli 7 UnionBike GIMotorsport D 15 Giovanni Bussei 1–7 39 Alessandro Gramigni 1 51 Davide Messori 2 95 Redamo Assirelli 9 P 92 Frédéric Protat 12 98 Gianmaria Liverani 10–11

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider D Dunlop M Michelin P Pirelli

Race calendar and results

Round		Circuit	Date	Superpole	Fastest lap	Winning rider	Winning team	Report
1	R1	Valencia	2 March	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
2	R1	Phillip Island	30 March	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Rubén Xaus	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
3	R1	Sugo	27 April	Régis Laconi	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Pierfrancesco Chili	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
4	R1	Monza	18 May	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Régis Laconi	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
5	R1	Oschersleben	1 June	Neil Hodgson	Pierfrancesco Chili	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Neil Hodgson	James Toseland	HM Plant Ducati
6	R1	Silverstone	15 June	Neil Hodgson	Gregorio Lavilla	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Gregorio Lavilla	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
7	R1	Misano	22 June	Neil Hodgson	Rubén Xaus	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Rubén Xaus	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
8	R1	Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca	13 July	Mat Mladin	Régis Laconi	Pierfrancesco Chili	Team PSG-1	Report
	R2				Rubén Xaus	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
9	R1	Brands Hatch	27 July	John Reynolds	Shane Byrne	Shane Byrne	Monstermob Ducati	Report
	R2				John Reynolds	Shane Byrne	Monstermob Ducati
10	R1	Assen	7 September	Pierfrancesco Chili	Gregorio Lavilla	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati
11	R1	Imola	28 September	Rubén Xaus	Neil Hodgson	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Rubén Xaus	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati
12	R1	Magny-Cours	19 October	James Toseland	Neil Hodgson	Neil Hodgson	Fila Ducati	Report
	R2				Neil Hodgson	Rubén Xaus	Fila Ducati

Championship standings

Riders' standings

2003 final riders' standings Pos. Rider Bike ESP AUS JPN ITA GER GBR SMR USA GBR NED ITA FRA Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1 Neil Hodgson Ducati 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 Ret 2 2 2 2 5 2 1 2 4 1 Ret 489 2 Rubén Xaus Ducati 2 2 2 2 4 4 7 Ret Ret 5 3 3 1 1 Ret 1 Ret 4 1 2 1 1 2 1 386 3 James Toseland Ducati 4 3 DSQ 5 3 5 4 5 3 1 2 4 2 Ret 3 Ret 6 3 4 Ret Ret Ret 5 2 271 4 Régis Laconi Ducati 5 Ret 6 4 2 7 2 4 4 4 4 6 3 4 Ret 4 4 8 Ret 4 3 2 6 16 267 5 Gregorio Lavilla Suzuki 7 6 3 7 5 2 3 2 Ret Ret Ret 2 4 5 Ret 5 7 6 Ret 3 4 3 4 4 256 6 Chris Walker Ducati 3 4 7 6 Ret Ret 6 6 5 3 9 8 5 8 5 3 3 Ret 5 8 Ret 5 3 3 234 7 Pierfrancesco Chili Ducati Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 3 5 3 2 11 7 7 Ret 3 1 Ret 9 7 3 5 5 Ret Ret Ret 197 8 Steve Martin Ducati 6 5 4 9 15 Ret 9 7 6 6 Ret Ret 6 9 Ret Ret 14 Ret 9 11 6 Ret 7 5 139 9 Lucio Pedercini Ducati 8 9 10 14 7 Ret 10 10 9 10 11 11 8 6 Ret 10 Ret 16 12 14 Ret 6 Ret 11 112 10 Marco Borciani Ducati 9 10 9 10 13 13 8 8 7 9 10 13 11 14 10 9 Ret 14 Ret 13 10 11 Ret 14 111 11 Mauro Sanchini Kawasaki Ret 13 13 12 11 10 14 12 11 12 13 14 9 11 9 8 15 15 10 12 8 8 10 10 108 12 Troy Corser Petronas Ret 7 5 8 Ret 12 13 Ret 12 14 16 Ret 7 10 8 Ret Ret Ret 6 9 7 7 8 Ret 107 13 Juan Borja Ducati 14 8 12 15 10 9 DNS DNS Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 12 11 7 12 Ret Ret 16 11 9 9 7 87 14 Ivan Clementi Kawasaki 11 14 11 11 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 13 14 16 10 13 Ret Ret 13 13 8 7 9 Ret Ret 9 76 15 Giovanni Bussei Yamaha Ret 11 14 Ret 12 11 Ret 13 10 Ret 12 12 16 16 52 Ducati 7 6 16 Shane Byrne Ducati 1 1 50 17 John Reynolds Suzuki 6 10 Ret 2 Ret 10 42 18 Vittorio Iannuzzo Suzuki 12 9 8 8 Ret 15 Ret 7 DNS DNS 37 19 Alessandro Gramigni Yamaha Ret DNS 11 11 12 15 16 11 11 15 13 12 Ret 12 37 20 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki 5 5 10 9 35 21 Leon Haslam Ducati Ret 10 7 6 Ret 6 35 22 David García Ducati 10 12 8 Ret DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS Ret Ret DNS DNS 12 10 Ret Ret 28 23 Michael Rutter Ducati 8 9 8 Ret 23 24 Hitoyasu Izutsu Honda 6 6 20 25 Mat Mladin Suzuki 4 DNS 13 26 James Haydon Petronas 12 Ret 15 16 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret 17 Ret DNS DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 27 Sergio Fuertes Suzuki 15 Ret 16 Ret 17 17 15 16 Ret 17 Ret Ret 14 13 11 Ret 12 28 Sean Emmett Ducati 5 Ret 11 29 Nello Russo Ducati 13 15 16 13 13 Ret 15 18 Ret Ret 11 30 Aaron Yates Suzuki 6 Ret 10 31 Dean Ellison Ducati 11 12 9 32 Sébastien Gimbert Suzuki Ret 8 8 33 Atsushi Watanabe Suzuki 8 Ret 8 34 Serafino Foti Ducati Ret Ret 15 14 14 15 Ret Ret 14 Ret 8 35 Walter Tortoroglio Honda Ret 16 Ret 17 Ret 15 Ret 15 Ret 18 Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS 18 16 6 36 Bertrand Stey Honda 13 13 6 37 Horst Saiger Yamaha 13 Ret 17 14 15 17 6 38 Christian Zaiser Aprilia Ret DNS 4 Suzuki 12 Ret 39 Kenichiro Nakamura Honda 14 14 4 40 Luca Pedersoli Ducati 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 19 Ret 3 41 Paolo Blora Ducati 13 17 3 42 Frédéric Protat Yamaha 14 15 3 43 Gianmaria Liverani Yamaha 14 19 20 Ret 2 44 Luca Pini Suzuki 17 19 15 15 2 45 Jiří Mrkývka Ducati DNQ DNQ 15 17 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret Ret DNQ DNQ 2 Pos. Rider Bike ESP AUS JPN ITA GER GBR SMR USA GBR NED ITA FRA Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap

Manufacturers' standings

2003 final manufacturers' standings
Pos.	Manufacturer	ESP		AUS		JPN		ITA		GER		GBR		SMR		USA		GBR		NED		ITA		FRA		Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1	Ducati	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	600
2	Suzuki	7	6	3	7	5	2	3	2	8	8	5	2	4	5	4	5	7	2	16	3	4	3	4	4	306
3	Kawasaki	11	13	11	11	11	8	14	12	11	12	13	14	9	11	9	8	13	13	8	7	8	8	10	9	130
4	Petronas	12	7	5	8	9	12	13	Ret	12	14	16	Ret	7	10	8	Ret	17	Ret	6	9	7	7	8	Ret	118
5	Yamaha	16	11	14	Ret	12	11	11	11	10	19	12	12	12	15			16	11	11	15	13	12	14	12	69
6	Honda	Ret	16	19	20	6	6	Ret	15	Ret	18	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	18	16	13	13	31
	Aprilia													Ret	DNS											0
Pos.	Manufacturer	ESP		AUS		JPN		ITA		GER		GBR		SMR		USA		GBR		NED		ITA		FRA		Pts