# 1991 Superbike World Championship

The 1991 Superbike World Championship was the fourth FIM Superbike World Championship season. The season started on 1 April at Donington Park and finished on 19 October at Phillip Island after 13 rounds.
Doug Polen won the riders' championship with 17 victories and Ducati won the manufacturers' championship.
The third round of the championship at Mosport was boycotted by the regular riders on safety grounds.
1991 calendar :
| Round | Round | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning rider | Winning team |
| 1 | R1 | Donington | 1 April | Doug Polen | Stéphane Mertens | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 1 | R2 | Donington | 1 April | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Stéphane Mertens | Total Wanty Mertens Racing |
| 2 | R1 | Jarama | 28 April | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 2 | R2 | Jarama | 28 April | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 3 | R1 | Mosport | 2 June | Tom Kipp | Pascal Picotte | Pascal Picotte | Fast Yamaha/Sunoco |
| 3 | R2 | Mosport | 2 June | Tom Kipp | Rueben McMurter | Tom Kipp | Wiseco Piston |
| 4 | R1 | Brainerd | 9 June | Stéphane Mertens | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 4 | R2 | Brainerd | 9 June | Stéphane Mertens | Stéphane Mertens | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 5 | R1 | Österreichring | 30 June | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Stéphane Mertens | Total Wanty Mertens Racing |
| 5 | R2 | Österreichring | 30 June | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 6 | R1 | Misano | 4 August | Doug Polen | Rob Phillis | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 6 | R2 | Misano | 4 August | Doug Polen | Raymond Roche | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 7 | R1 | Anderstorp | 11 August | Doug Polen | Stéphane Mertens | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 7 | R2 | Anderstorp | 11 August | Doug Polen | Raymond Roche | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 8 | R1 | Sugo | 25 August | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 8 | R2 | Sugo | 25 August | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 9 | R1 | Shah Alam | 1 September | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Raymond Roche | Squadra Corse Ducati Lucchinelli |
| 9 | R2 | Shah Alam | 1 September | Doug Polen | Raymond Roche | Raymond Roche | Squadra Corse Ducati Lucchinelli |
| 10 | R1 | Hockenheim | 15 September | Doug Polen | Raymond Roche | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 10 | R2 | Hockenheim | 15 September | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Raymond Roche | Squadra Corse Ducati Lucchinelli |
| 11 | R1 | Magny-Cours | 29 September | Rob Phillis | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 11 | R2 | Magny-Cours | 29 September | Rob Phillis | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 12 | R1 | Mugello | 6 October | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |
| 12 | R2 | Mugello | 6 October | Doug Polen | Giancarlo Falappa | Raymond Roche | Squadra Corse Ducati Lucchinelli |
| 13 | R1 | Phillip Island | 19 October | Doug Polen | Aaron Slight | Kevin Magee | Peter Jackson Yamaha Racing |
| 13 | R2 | Phillip Island | 19 October | Doug Polen | Aaron Slight | Doug Polen | Team Fast by Ferracci |

## Championship standings

In each race, points were awarded as follows:
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th |
| Points | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |

### Riders' standings

1991 final riders' standings :
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | GBR | GBR | SPA | SPA | CAN | CAN | USA | USA | AUT | AUT | SMR | SMR | SWE | SWE | JPN | JPN | MAL | MAL | GER | GER | FRA | FRA | ITA | ITA | AUS | AUS | Pts |
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | Pts |
| 1 | Doug Polen | Ducati | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 432 |
| 2 | Raymond Roche | Ducati | Ret | 2 | Ret | 3 | | | DNS | DNS | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | | | 282 |
| 3 | Rob Phillis | Kawasaki | 4 | 3 | 2 | Ret | | | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 5 | Ret | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | DNS | DNS | 4 | 3 | 267 |
| 4 | Stéphane Mertens | Ducati | Ret | 1 | Ret | 2 | | | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 217 |
| 5 | Fabrizio Pirovano | Yamaha | 3 | 8 | 5 | 5 | | | 5 | 6 | Ret | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | Ret | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 7 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 6 | | | 195 |
| 6 | Terry Rymer | Yamaha | 2 | 4 | 7 | Ret | | | DNS | DNS | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 12 | Ret | 14 | 10 | Ret | 7 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | | | 162 |
| 7 | Carl Fogarty | Honda | Ret | 9 | 9 | 8 | | | 11 | 11 | | | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 7 | Ret | | | 146 |
| 8 | Fred Merkel | Honda | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | | | 6 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 3 | 10 | 8 | Ret | | | 124 |
| 9 | Giancarlo Falappa | Ducati | 14 | Ret | Ret | Ret | | | 7 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 6 | Ret | 6 | 3 | Ret | 8 | 6 | Ret | | | 113 |
| 10 | Davide Tardozzi | Ducati | | | | | | | | | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | | | 9 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 8 | | | DNS | DNS | | | 108 |
| 11 | Udo Mark | Yamaha | | | 8 | 7 | | | | | 7 | 10 | 11 | Ret | 10 | 10 | 18 | Ret | | | 8 | 5 | | | | | | | 68 |
| 12 | Jeffrey de Vries | Yamaha | 9 | 10 | 15 | Ret | | | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 24 | 13 | 13 | 13 | Ret | 12 | 14 | 15 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 66 |
| 13 | Aaron Slight | Kawasaki | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | | | | | | | 3 | Ret | 65 |
| 14 | Kevin Magee | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | 3 | | | | | | | | | 1 | 2 | 63 |
| 15 | Jari Suhonen | Yamaha | DNS | DNS | Ret | 9 | | | | | 9 | 11 | Ret | 15 | 5 | 7 | Ret | 17 | | | 14 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 12 | | | 61 |
| 16 | Juan López Mella | Honda | 11 | 11 | 3 | 4 | | | 14 | DNS | 17 | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | 17 | 18 | 14 | 10 | DNQ | DNQ | 16 | 18 | 13 | 15 | | | 57 |
| 17 | Scott Russell | Kawasaki | | | | | | | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | 8 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 53 |
| 18 | Daniel Amatriain | Honda | Ret | 13 | 4 | 6 | | | | | 12 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 11 | DNS | DNS | | | 15 | 21 | 20 | 13 | | | | | 47 |
| 19 | Edwin Weibel | Honda | 13 | 14 | Ret | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 41 |
| 19 | Edwin Weibel | Ducati | | | | | | | | | | | 18 | Ret | | | | | | | 10 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 7 | | | 41 |
| 20 | Jean-Yves Mounier | Yamaha | DNS | DNS | | | | | 13 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 11 | Ret | DNS | DNS | | | | | 41 |
| 21 | Rob McElnea | Yamaha | 5 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | 8 | | | | | Ret | 16 | | | | | | | 35 |
| 22 | Brian Morrison | Yamaha | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 | 11 | 18 | Ret | | | 33 |
| 23 | Niall Mackenzie | Honda | 7 | 7 | Ret | DNS | | | 15 | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 33 |
| 23 | Niall Mackenzie | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | 33 |
| 24 | Linnley Clarke | Yamaha | | | | | 4 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 30 |
| 25 | Yves Brisson | Honda | | | | | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 30 |
| 26 | Baldassarre Monti | Honda | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | | | 8 | 7 | DNS | DNS | | | | | | | | | | | | | DNS | DNS | | | 27 |
| 27 | Steve Crevier | Kawasaki | | | | | 3 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 26 |
| 28 | Malcolm Campbell | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19 | 21 | | | | | | | | | 6 | 4 | 23 |
| 29 | Rueben McMurter | Honda | | | | | Ret | 3 | 12 | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 22 |
| 30 | Scott Doohan | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | 14 | | | | | | | 7 | 5 | 22 |
| 31 | Massimo Broccoli | Kawasaki | | | 21 | 14 | | | | | DNQ | DNQ | 12 | 12 | | | | | | | 22 | Ret | | | 10 | 11 | | | 21 |
| 32 | Tom Kipp | Yamaha | | | | | Ret | 1 | Ret | Ret | | | | | | | 22 | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | 20 |
| 33 | Pascal Picotte | Yamaha | | | | | 1 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 20 |
| 34 | Benoît Pilon | Yamaha | | | | | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 20 |
| 35 | Piergiorgio Bontempi | Kawasaki | | | | | | | | | | | NC | Ret | 16 | Ret | | | | | DNQ | DNQ | 11 | DNS | Ret | 4 | | | 18 |
| 36 | Steve Martin | Suzuki | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 | 7 | 17 |
| 37 | John Hopperstad | Yamaha | | | | | 8 | 7 | 18 | DNS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 |
| 38 | Peter Rubatto | Yamaha | Ret | 16 | 12 | Ret | | | | | 15 | 13 | | | 13 | DNS | | | | | Ret | 13 | 23 | DNS | Ret | 13 | | | 17 |
| 39 | Jacques Guenette | Kawasaki | | | | | | | 9 | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 15 |
| 40 | Michael O'Connor | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | 8 | 14 |
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | GBR | GBR | SPA | SPA | CAN | CAN | USA | USA | AUT | AUT | SMR | SMR | SWE | SWE | JPN | JPN | MAL | MAL | GER | GER | FRA | FRA | ITA | ITA | AUS | AUS | Pts |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |

### Manufacturers' standings

1991 final manufacturers' standings :
| Pos. | Manufacturer | GBR | GBR | SPA | SPA | CAN | CAN | USA | USA | AUT | AUT | SMR | SMR | SWE | SWE | JPN | JPN | MAL | MAL | GER | GER | FRA | FRA | ITA | ITA | AUS | AUS | Pts |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | Pts |
| 1 | Ducati | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 489 |
| 2 | Yamaha | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 355 |
| 3 | Kawasaki | 3 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 351 |
| 4 | Honda | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 265 |
| 5 | Suzuki | | | | | 11 | 11 | 20 | 15 | Ret | Ret | | | 21 | Ret | 15 | 15 | 21 | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | | | | | 8 | 7 | 30 |
| 6 | Bimota | 15 | 20 | Ret | 13 | | | | | Ret | 15 | 14 | 10 | | | | | | | DNS | DNS | | | | | | | 13 |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | GBR | GBR | SPA | SPA | CAN | CAN | USA | USA | AUT | AUT | SMR | SMR | SWE | SWE | JPN | JPN | MAL | MAL | GER | GER | FRA | FRA | ITA | ITA | AUS | AUS | Pts |