The 2004 Superbike World Championship was the seventeenth FIM Superbike World Championship season. The season started on 29 February at Valencia and finished on 3 October at Magny-Cours after 11 rounds. The traditional Japanese round at Sugo was replaced with a new Canadian round which was scheduled for 4 July at the Mont-Tremblant, near Quebec. Though no explanation was given for the change, it was seen as some form of revenge after the refusal of the Japanese manufacturers to back the 2004 rules.^[1] The Canadian round was eventually canceled after a circuit inspection determined that the amount of work necessary to bring the venue up to WSBK standard could not be carried out in time for the proposed date.^[2]

2004 was the first season all bikes had to use control tyres, provided by Pirelli.^[3] Partly because of the control tyre rule, no factory bikes were entered by Japanese manufacturers.

James Toseland won the riders' championship and Ducati won the manufacturers' championship.

Race calendar and results

Round		Circuit	Date	Superpole	Fastest lap	Winning rider	Winning team	Report
1	R1	Valencia	29 February	Régis Laconi	Garry McCoy	James Toseland	Ducati Fila	Report
	R2				Noriyuki Haga	Noriyuki Haga	Renegade Ducati
2	R1	Phillip Island	28 March	Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Ducati Fila	Report
	R2				Garry McCoy	Garry McCoy	XEROX - Ducati Nortel Net.
3	R1	Misano	18 April	Steve Martin	Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Ducati Fila	Report
	R2				Pierfrancesco Chili	Pierfrancesco Chili	PSG - 1 Corse
4	R1	Monza	16 May	Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Ducati Fila	Report
	R2				Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Ducati Fila
5	R1	Oschersleben	30 May	Troy Corser	Noriyuki Haga	Noriyuki Haga	Renegade Ducati	Report
	R2				Noriyuki Haga	Régis Laconi	Ducati Fila
6	R1	Silverstone	13 June	Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Noriyuki Haga	Renegade Ducati	Report
	R2				Chris Vermeulen	Chris Vermeulen	Ten Kate Honda
7	R1	Laguna Seca	11 July	Steve Martin	Chris Vermeulen	Chris Vermeulen	Ten Kate Honda	Report
	R2				Chris Vermeulen	Chris Vermeulen	Ten Kate Honda
8	R1	Brands Hatch	1 August	Steve Martin	Pierfrancesco Chili	Noriyuki Haga	Renegade Ducati Koji	Report
	R2				Pierfrancesco Chili	Noriyuki Haga	Renegade Ducati Koji
9	R1	Assen	5 September	Pierfrancesco Chili	Noriyuki Haga	James Toseland	Ducati Fila	Report
	R2				Noriyuki Haga	Chris Vermeulen	Ten Kate Honda
10	R1	Imola	26 September	Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Régis Laconi	Ducati Fila	Report
	R2				Noriyuki Haga	Régis Laconi	Ducati Fila
11	R1	Magny-Cours	3 October	Troy Corser	Steve Martin	James Toseland	Ducati Fila	Report
	R2				Noriyuki Haga	Noriyuki Haga	Renegade Ducati Koji

Championship standings

Riders' standings

2004 final riders' standings[4] Pos. Rider Bike ESP AUS SMR ITA GER GBR 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 1 Toseland Ducati 1 2 3 Ret 10 6 2 2 2 2 Ret 5 4 2 7 Ret 1 2 3 2 1 2 336 2 Laconi Ducati Ret Ret 1 Ret 1 2 1 1 6 1 Ret 3 5 3 2 Ret 3 5 1 1 3 3 327 3 Haga Ducati Ret 1 8 6 4 4 Ret Ret 1 Ret 1 2 6 4 1 1 4 3 4 Ret 2 1 299 4 Vermeulen Honda 12 5 2 2 5 12 4 DSQ 15 8 2 1 1 1 4 3 5 1 2 6 Ret Ret 282 5 Chili Ducati 2 4 9 3 3 1 Ret Ret 3 Ret 3 Ret 2 5 Ret 2 2 4 7 Ret 6 5 243 6 McCoy Ducati 7 6 5 1 Ret 17 3 3 9 4 4 8 7 7 Ret 7 8 Ret 5 5 9 9 199 7 Martin Ducati Ret 3 4 Ret 7 3 Ret 8 5 Ret 6 6 3 6 3 Ret 7 Ret 6 3 5 Ret 181 8 Haslam Ducati 5 9 Ret 10 11 5 5 4 7 3 5 4 9 Ret Ret Ret 6 6 10 12 7 6 169 9 Corser Petronas Ret 11 13 5 2 7 9 5 4 Ret 7 9 10 Ret 5 Ret 10 7 12 10 Ret 7 146 10 Borciani Ducati 4 8 7 4 21 10 7 6 Ret Ret 8 11 11 8 11 Ret 9 8 8 8 Ret Ret 130 11 Walker Petronas 3 7 10 8 6 13 8 7 Ret 7 Ret 12 Ret Ret 9 4 12 10 Ret 16 8 8 128 12 Clementi Kawasaki Ret 14 11 9 12 Ret 11 10 11 9 10 10 Ret 10 14 11 Ret 9 11 9 Ret Ret 85 13 Sanchini Kawasaki 14 10 6 7 Ret 11 Ret 9 10 6 Ret 13 8 9 Ret 10 Ret DNS WD WD 79 14 Nannelli Ducati 6 Ret 12 12 8 Ret Ret Ret 12 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 Ret 11 Ret 9 4 Ret Ret 72 15 Bontempi Suzuki 15 16 NC 11 9 15 10 11 14 11 9 14 13 12 15 12 13 12 13 Ret 11 Ret 68 16 Pedercini Ducati Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 15 12 11 13 Ret Ret DNS Ret 7 12 DNS 41 17 Fuertes Suzuki 8 12 Ret Ret Ret 18 6 Ret DNS DNS 13 Ret Ret 13 15 14 Ret Ret Ret 12 35 18 Gimbert Yamaha Ret 9 4 4 33 19 Ellison Yamaha Ret 7 6 5 30 20 Nowland Suzuki 11 17 15 14 18 Ret DNS DNS DNS DNS 11 Ret Ret 13 16 Ret 14 13 17 18 16 10 27 21 Bussei Ducati 12 6 Ret 11 Ret 11 Ret DNS 24 22 Velini Yamaha Ret 18 14 13 13 Ret Ret 13 16 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret 17 14 Ret Ret 20 Ducati Ret 15 14 Ret 23 Saiger Yamaha 9 15 13 14 14 14 17 24 Coxhell Honda 8 8 16 25 Mrkývka Ducati 10 Ret DNS DNS 19 16 Ret Ret Ret 13 12 16 Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret 19 19 Ret Ret 13 26 Pini Suzuki Ret 9 14 13 12 27 Duterne Kawasaki Ret 24 10 11 11 28 Meklau Suzuki 13 10 9 29 Oelschläger Honda 8 Ret 8 30 Praia Ducati 13 19 16 Ret DNQ DNQ Ret Ret 17 Ret 14 Ret DNS Ret Ret 15 Ret 16 Ret 21 18 14 8 31 De Matteis Ducati 16 Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 21 DNS 4 32 Szkopek Suzuki Ret 23 15 13 4 33 Sala Suzuki 14 20 14 Ret 4 34 Cruciani Kawasaki 13 Ret 3 35 Romboni Yamaha DNS DNS 15 14 3 36 Liverani Ducati 15 14 3 37 Berthelsen Suzuki 18 14 19 Ret 2 38 Camlek Yamaha 20 Ret 17 15 1 39 Menzen Suzuki 16 15 1 Pos. Rider Bike ESP AUS SMR ITA GER GBR USA GBR NED ITA FRA Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (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

Pos.	Manufacturer	ESP		AUS		SMR		ITA		GER		GBR		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
1	Ducati	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	530
2	Honda	12	5	2	2	5	12	4	Ret	8	8	2	1	1	1	4	3	5	1	2	6	Ret	Ret	289
3	Petronas	3	7	10	5	2	7	8	5	4	7	7	9	10	Ret	5	4	10	7	12	10	8	7	200
4	Kawasaki	14	10	6	7	12	11	11	9	10	6	10	10	8	9	14	10	Ret	9	11	9	10	11	129
5	Suzuki	8	12	15	11	9	9	6	11	13	10	9	14	13	12	15	12	13	12	13	13	11	10	101
6	Yamaha	9	15	14	13	13	Ret	13	13	16	12	Ret	7	14	14	6	5	Ret	Ret	15	14	4	4	89
NC	MV Agusta																			16	17			0
Pos.	Manufacturer	ESP		AUS		SMR		ITA		GER		GBR		USA		GBR		NED		ITA		FRA		Pts

Entry list

2004 entry list[5] Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds Foggy Petronas Racing Petronas Petronas FP1 4 Troy Corser All 9 Chris Walker All Zongshen Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 5 Piergiorgio Bontempi All 12 Warwick Nowland All Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX 10 39 Stéphane Duterne 10–11 Kawasaki Bertocchi Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX 10 6 Mauro Sanchini 1–10 8 Ivan Clementi All 15 Stefano Cruciani 11 PSG - 1 Corse Ducati Ducati 998 RS Ducati 999 RS 7 Pierfrancesco Chili All 27 Giancarlo De Matteis 8, 10 Carbon Dream Ducati Ducati 998 RS 11 Gianmaria Liverani 3 MIR Racing Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 16 Sergio Fuertes 1–6, 8–11 Ten Kate Honda Honda Honda CBR1000RR 17 Chris Vermeulen All Pedercini Ducati Ducati 998 RS 19 Lucio Pedercini All 25 Alessio Velini 10–11 69 Gianluca Nannelli 1–9 D.F.Xtreme Sterilgarda Ducati Ducati 999 RS 20 Marco Borciani All 99 Steve Martin All Life Haus RT Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 22 Horst Saiger 1, 4, 7 JM SBK Ducati Ducati 998 RS 23 Jiří Mrkývka All XEROX – Ducati Nortel Net. Ducati Ducati 999 RS 24 Garry McCoy All 27 Giancarlo De Matteis 3–4 48 David García 5–6 50 Miguel Praia All 69 Gianluca Nannelli 10–11 UnionBike GiMotorsport Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 25 Alessio Velini 1–9 78 Teodor Myszkowski 11 113 Paolo Blora 10 Giesse Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 28 Doriano Romboni 3, 10 Boselli Racing Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 29 Luca Pini 3, 10 Penta Race Ducati Ducati 998 RS 31 Giuseppe Zannini 3, 10 Yamaha France Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 32 Sébastien Gimbert 8, 11 Suzuki Netthandelen Suzuki Nederland Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 33 Carl Berthelsen 5, 11 Yoshimura Schäfer Motorsport Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 34 Andreas Meklau 5 Vitrans Honda Honda Honda 35 Craig Coxhell 8 Robert Menzen Racing Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 36 Robert Menzen 9 Pajic-Kawasaki Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX 10 38 Arno Visscher 9 Renegade Ducati Renegade Ducati Koji Ducati Ducati 999 RS 41 Noriyuki Haga All 91 Leon Haslam All Team Anyway Fidoweb Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 45 Ivan Sala 3–4 Ducati Fila Ducati Ducati 999 F04 52 James Toseland All 55 Régis Laconi All Alpha Technik Honda Honda CBR1000RR 71 Michael Schulten 5 72 Jürgen Oelschläger 5 Mazzali Racing Team MV Agusta MV Agusta 74 Andrea Mazzali 10 Inoterm Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 77 Berto Camlek 3, 11 Szkopek Agip RT Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 94 Paweł Szkopek 10–11 Yamaha Castrol Poland Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 95 Andrzej Pawelec 11 Jentin Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 100 James Ellison 6, 8 Guandalini Ducati Ducati 999 RS 113 Paolo Blora 4 DeCecco Racing Ducati Ducati 998 RS 200 Giovanni Bussei 8–11

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider

• All entries used Pirelli tyres.

References