It was a three-man battle for supremacy in the 2021 World Superbike Championship Series, and a tale of two seasons.
Six-time and reigning WSBK titleholder Jonathan Rea got off to a strong start, winning four of the first ten races while scoring nine podiums. That gave Rea a 37-point lead over Toprak Razgatlıoğlu after five rounds of the 13-round series. Scott Redding had two wins and four podiums in the first four rounds, but suffered DNFs and other poor finishes to put him 81 points behind Rea.
However, Rea struggled from Round 6 to the first race of round 11, going without a win. During that stretch, Razgatlıoğlu scored seven race wins, taking over the series lead at Round 9 in Barcelona. Rea finished strongly, with three wins and two P2s in the final five races. However, Razgatlıoğlu’s win and three podiums in the stretch were good enough for him to take the crown by 13 points. Redding finished 63 points behind Razgatlıoğlu, and a staggering 210 points ahead of Rookie of the Year Andrea Locatelli, Redding’s closest pursuer.
The triumvirate of Razgatlıoğlu, Rea, and Redding accounted for 24 of the 2021 World Superbike Championship Series’ 26 available wins. Michael Rinaldi took the two remaining victories on his way to P5 in the final standings.
2021 World Superbike Championship Final Standings
- Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, Yamaha, 564 points (11 race wins)
- Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki, 551 (7 race wins)
- Scott Redding, Ducati, 501 (6 race wins)
- Andrea Locatelli, Yamaha, 291
- Michael Rinaldi, Ducati, 282 (2 race wins)
- Michael Van Der Mark, BMW, 262
- Garrett Gerloff, Yamaha, 228
- Alex Lowes, Kawasaki, 213
- Axel Bassani, Ducati, 210
- Álvaro Bautista, Honda, 195
- Tom Sykes, BMW, 184
- Chaz Davies, Ducati, 143
- Leon Haslam, Honda, 134
- Kohta Nozane, Yamaha, 64
- Loris Baz, Ducati, 53
- Tito Rabat, Ducati, 53
- Isaac Viñales, Kawasaki, 45
- Lucas Mahias, Kawasaki, 44
- Eugene Laverty, BMW, 40
- Christophe Ponsson, Yamaha, 36
- Leandro Mercado, Honda, 33
- Jonas Folger, BMW, 21
- Samuele Cavalieri, Ducati, 16
- Marvin Fritz, Yamaha, 6
- Loris Cresson, Kawasaki, 3
- Andrea Mantovani, Kawasaki, 2
