# 1988 Superbike World Championship

The 1988 Superbike World Championship was the inaugural FIM Superbike World Championship season. The season started on 3 April at Donington Park and finished on 3 October at Manfeild Autocourse after 9 rounds.
American Fred Merkel won the riders' championship and Honda won the manufacturers' championship.

## Race calendar and results

The second Le Mans race was not held due to schedule issues.
| Round | Round | Country | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning rider | Winning team | Report |
| 1 | R1 | Great Britain | Donington Park | 3 April | Roger Burnett | Marco Lucchinelli | Davide Tardozzi | Bimota SpA | Report |
| 1 | R2 | Great Britain | Donington Park | 3 April | Roger Burnett | Bubba Shobert | Marco Lucchinelli | Ducati Team Lucky | Report |
| 2 | R1 | Hungary | Hungaroring | 30 April | Davide Tardozzi | Fred Merkel | Fred Merkel | RCM | Report |
| 2 | R2 | Hungary | Hungaroring | 30 April | Davide Tardozzi | Marco Lucchinelli | Adrien Morillas | Team Kawasaki France | Report |
| 3 | R1 | West Germany | Hockenheimring | 8 May | Alex Vieira | Christophe Bouheben | Davide Tardozzi | Bimota SpA | Report |
| 3 | R2 | West Germany | Hockenheimring | 8 May | Alex Vieira | Virginio Ferrari | Davide Tardozzi | Bimota SpA | Report |
| 4 | R1 | Austria | Zeltweg | 3 July | Malcolm Campbell | Davide Tardozzi | Marco Lucchinelli | Ducati Team Lucky | Report |
| 4 | R2 | Austria | Zeltweg | 3 July | Malcolm Campbell | Christophe Bouheben | Davide Tardozzi | Bimota SpA | Report |
| 5 | R1 | Japan | Sugo | 28 August | Marco Lucchinelli | Gary Goodfellow | Gary Goodfellow | Don Knit Sugano Racing Team | Report |
| 5 | R2 | Japan | Sugo | 28 August | Marco Lucchinelli | Kenichiro Iwahashi | Mick Doohan | Marlboro Yamaha Dealer Team | Report |
| 6 | R1 | France | Le Mans | 4 September | Marco Lucchinelli | Fabrizio Pirovano | Fabrizio Pirovano | Moto Club Carate Brianza | Report |
| 6 | R2 | France | Le Mans | 4 September | Marco Lucchinelli | Race cancelled | Race cancelled | Race cancelled | | Report |
| 7 | R1 | Portugal | Estoril | 11 September | Stéphane Mertens | Davide Tardozzi | Davide Tardozzi | Bimota SpA | Report |
| 7 | R2 | Portugal | Estoril | 11 September | Stéphane Mertens | Raymond Roche | Stéphane Mertens | Bimota SpA | Report |
| 8 | R1 | Australia | Oran Park | 25 September | Mick Doohan | Fred Merkel | Mick Doohan | Marlboro Yamaha Dealer Team | Report |
| 8 | R2 | Australia | Oran Park | 25 September | Mick Doohan | Mick Doohan | Mick Doohan | Marlboro Yamaha Dealer Team | Report |
| 9 | R1 | New Zealand | Manfeild | 2 October | Davide Tardozzi | Fred Merkel | Fred Merkel | RCM | Report |
| 9 | R2 | New Zealand | Manfeild | 2 October | Davide Tardozzi | Stéphane Mertens | Stéphane Mertens | Bimota SpA | Report |

## Championship standings

Scoring system :
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th |
| Original | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Revised | 10 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 |
For the first ever Superbike World Championship round at Donington Park, and for the only time in the championship's history, the race results were combined to determine an overall winner. For future weekends, it was decided to award half points for each race instead, although the original system was used again at Le Mans due to only one race being run.

### Riders' standings

| Pos. | Rider | Bike | GBR | GBR | HUN | HUN | FRG | FRG | AUT | AUT | JPN | JPN | FRA | FRA | POR | POR | AUS | AUS | NZL | NZL | Pts |
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | Pts |
| 1 | Fred Merkel | Honda | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 17 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 2 | 11 | 6 | C | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 99 |
| 2 | Fabrizio Pirovano | Yamaha | 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 7 | Ret | 10 | 1 | C | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 93.5 |
| 3 | Davide Tardozzi | Bimota | 1 | Ret | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Ret | 4 | 12 | C | 1 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 5 | DNS | 91.5 |
| 4 | Stéphane Mertens | Bimota | Ret | Ret | 3 | 2 | 13 | 2 | | | 4 | 16 | 3 | C | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 90.5 |
| 5 | Marco Lucchinelli | Ducati | 2 | 1 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 11 | 1 | Ret | 12 | Ret | 10 | C | 3 | 4 | | | | | 63 |
| 6 | Alex Vieira | Honda | | | | | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | | | 4 | C | | | | | | | 42 |
| 7 | Rob Phillis | Kawasaki | | | | | | | 8 | Ret | 6 | 6 | | | | | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 42 |
| 8 | Gary Goodfellow | Suzuki | Ret | DNS | | | | | | | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | 39.5 |
| 8 | Gary Goodfellow | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 39.5 |
| 9 | Malcolm Campbell | Honda | | | | | | | 3 | 6 | 17 | 15 | | | | | 5 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 33.5 |
| 10 | Terry Rymer | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | 8 | C | 5 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 32.5 |
| 11 | Roger Burnett | Honda | Ret | 3 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | Ret | DNS | | | 7 | C | | | | | | | 31.5 |
| 12 | Mick Doohan | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | NC | 1 | | | | | 1 | 1 | | | 30 |
| 13 | Joey Dunlop | Honda | 3 | 5 | 6 | Ret | 7 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 30 |
| 14 | Eric Delcamp | Kawasaki | | | 11 | 13 | 9 | 6 | | | | | 2 | C | | | | | | | 29.5 |
| 15 | Christophe Bouheben | Honda | | | | | 2 | Ret | Ret | 2 | | | 5 | C | | | | | | | 28 |
| 16 | Adrien Morillas | Kawasaki | | | 4 | 1 | 19 | 16 | 7 | 5 | | | Ret | C | | | | | | | 26.5 |
| 17 | Edwin Weibel | Honda | | | | | 4 | Ret | 6 | 4 | Ret | 5 | 16 | C | | | Ret | DNS | | | 23.5 |
| 18 | Jari Suhonen | Yamaha | 7 | 10 | 14 | 10 | Ret | DNS | 17 | 13 | 16 | 27 | 11 | C | Ret | 13 | | | | | 21 |
| 19 | Andy McGladdery | Suzuki | 9 | 7 | 15 | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | 18.5 |
| 19 | Andy McGladdery | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | 19 | C | 15 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 18.5 |
| 20 | Anders Andersson | Suzuki | 25 | 12 | 18 | 12 | 20 | 23 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 13 | C | 8 | 9 | | | | | 18.5 |
| 21 | Robert Scolyer | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 17.5 |
| 22 | Michael Dowson | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | Ret | Ret | | | | | 2 | 2 | | | 17 |
| 23 | Paul Iddon | Bimota | Ret | DNS | 12 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 32 | Ret | | | | | 9 | 8 | | | | | 17 |
| 24 | Virginio Ferrari | Honda | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | 11 | 10 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 8 | Ret | C | | | | | | | 16 |
| 25 | Kenny Irons | Honda | 6 | 8 | | | 14 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 15.5 |
| 26 | Ernst Gschwender | Suzuki | | | 10 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 10 | 10 | | | Ret | C | 12 | Ret | | | | | 14.5 |
| 27 | Roger Marshall | Suzuki | 5 | 6 | | | | | | | 20 | 18 | | | | | | | | | 13 |
| 28 | Marino Fabbri | Bimota | | | | | 28 | Ret | Ret | 9 | | | 9 | C | 16 | 11 | | | | | 13 |
| 29 | Robert Dunlop | Honda | Ret | DNS | 26 | 17 | 29 | 21 | | | 21 | 23 | 18 | C | 10 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 12.5 |
| 30 | Tommy Douglas | Yamaha | 16 | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | Ret | 7 | 11 | 11 |
| 31 | Yukiya Oshima | Suzuki | | | | | | | | | 3 | 13 | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| 32 | René Rasmussen | Suzuki | | | 7 | 7 | 21 | Ret | Ret | DNS | | | DNQ | C | 21 | Ret | | | | | 9 |
| 33 | Kenichiro Iwahashi | Honda | | | | | | | | | Ret | 2 | | | | | | | | | 8.5 |
| 34 | Tadaaki Hanamura | Honda | | | | | | | | | 8 | 9 | | | | | | | | | 7.5 |
| 35 | Steve Williams | Bimota | 11 | 9 | 19 | 16 | 31 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | 7 |
| 36 | Peter Rubatto | Bimota | Ret | Ret | 21 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 16 | Ret | | | 23 | C | 7 | 17 | | | | | 7 |
| 37 | Andreas Hofmann | Honda | | | | | 8 | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 7 |
| 38 | Glenn Williams | Ducati | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| 39 | Mark Farmer | Suzuki | 14 | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 40 | Mauro Ricci | Ducati | | | | | | | 15 | Ret | | | 21 | C | 11 | 10 | | | | | 6 |
| 41 | Mitsuki Watanabe | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | 5 | 24 | | | | | | | | | 5.5 |
| 42 | Aaron Slight | Bimota | | | | | | | | | 7 | 14 | | | | | | | | | 5.5 |
| 43 | Koichi Kobayashi | Honda | | | | | | | | | 9 | 12 | | | | | | | | | 5.5 |
| 44 | Andrew Stroud | Bimota | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | 9 | 5 |
| 45 | Sean Gallagher | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | 12 | | | 5 |
| 46 | Dave Leach | Yamaha | 15 | 13 | 24 | 18 | DNQ | DNQ | | | | | 22 | C | | | | | | | 5 |
| 47 | Brian Morrison | Honda | | | | | | | | | 26 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 4.5 |
| 48 | John Lofthouse | Suzuki | 17 | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 49 | Karl Heinz Riegl | Bimota | | | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 11 | 18 | | | 25 | C | 18 | 19 | | | | | 2.5 |
| 50 | Paul Ramon | Honda | | | | | | | Ret | 11 | | | DNS | C | | | | | | | 2.5 |
| 51 | Toshiharu Kaneko | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | 11 | 25 | | | | | | | | | 2.5 |
| 52 | Dietmar Kemter | Honda | | | | | | | 12 | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | 2.5 |
| 53 | Mike King | Ducati | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12 | 15 | 2.5 |
| 54 | Udo Mark | Bimota | | | | | 22 | 17 | 13 | 14 | | | 27 | C | 17 | 16 | | | | | 2.5 |
| 55 | Anton Gruschka | Honda | | | | | 24 | 24 | | | | | Ret | C | 13 | 14 | | | | | 2.5 |
| 56 | Asa Moyce | Kawasaki | 19 | 16 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 57 | Bodo Schmidt | Bimota | | | | | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 58 | Jean-Yves Mounier | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | C | | | | | | | 2 |
| 59 | Michael Galinski | Bimota | Ret | DNS | 13 | Ret | Ret | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 60 | Jean-Louis Guignabodet | Honda | | | 20 | 15 | 25 | Ret | 18 | 17 | | | 17 | C | 14 | 15 | | | | | 2 |
| 61 | Hisatomo Nakamura | Suzuki | | | | | | | | | 13 | 17 | | | | | | | | | 1.5 |
| 62 | Esko Kuparinen | Kawasaki | 20 | 17 | 25 | 23 | DNQ | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 63 | Dieter Heinen | Honda | | | | | | | 14 | 16 | | | DNS | C | | | | | | | 1 |
| 64 | Satoshi Endoh | Honda | | | | | | | | | 14 | 22 | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 65 | Mark Linscott | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | 15 | C | | | | | | | 1 |
| 66 | Dale Warren | Honda | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 14 | 1 |
| 67 | Iain Pero | Suzuki | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 15 | Ret | | | 0.5 |
| 68 | Len Willing | Yamaha | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | 15 | | | 0.5 |
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | GBR | GBR | HUN | HUN | FRG | FRG | AUT | AUT | JPN | JPN | FRA | FRA | POR | POR | AUS | AUS | NZL | NZL | 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

| Pos. | Manufacturer | GBR | GBR | HUN | HUN | FRG | FRG | AUT | AUT | JPN | JPN | FRA | FRA | POR | POR | AUS | AUS | NZL | NZL | Pts |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | Pts |
| 1 | Honda | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | C | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 142 |
| 2 | Bimota | 1 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | C | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 132.5 |
| 3 | Yamaha | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | C | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 117.5 |
| 4 | Kawasaki | 19 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 2 | C | 25 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 92 |
| 5 | Ducati | 2 | 1 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 11 | 1 | 21 | 12 | Ret | 10 | C | 3 | 4 | 20 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 70 |
| 6 | Suzuki | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 20 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 13 | C | 8 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 57 |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | GBR | GBR | HUN | HUN | FRG | FRG | AUT | AUT | JPN | JPN | FRA | FRA | POR | POR | AUS | AUS | NZL | NZL | Pts |