Michele Pirro Clinches Seventh CIV Italian Superbike Title with Dominant Season for Ducati

Michele Pirro clinches his seventh Italian Superbike championship

Ducati MotoGP test rider Michele Pirro has won the CIV Italian Superbike title once again.

Michele Pirro, who serves as the designated test rider for Ducati Corse’s MotoGP and WorldSBK teams, has secured his seventh title in the CIV Italian Superbike championship.

Pirro, who competes for the Barni Ducati team which also includes Danilo Petrucci in the World Superbike Championship and Yari Montella in the World Supersport Championship, claimed the championship last weekend at Mugello.

Pirro secured his seventh championship in the CIV Superbike category, adding to his previous victories in 2015, from 2016 to 2019, and in 2021 and 2022. This achievement also marked his 10th overall title in the CIV series, which includes winning the Superstock 1000 championships in 2007 and 2008, and a Supersport title in 2009.

This count places Pirro in third place on the all-time list for CIV championships, trailing Tarquinio Provini with 11 titles and Giacomo Agostini, who holds 16 titles, including a remarkable 10 consecutive 500cc championships from 1968 to 1977.

The title follows a contentious conclusion to the 2023 CIV Superbike season at Imola. In the final moments, Lorenzo Zanetti, competing against Pirro for the championship, collided with him in the Variante Bassa section. This incident caused Pirro, who has now won the Superbike Championship seven times, to fall, ultimately giving the title to Zanetti.

Interestingly, Zanetti chose not to defend his CIV championship this year and opted to compete in the IDM German Superbike Championship instead. Zanetti began his IDM season triumphantly with a victory in the opening race at the Sachsenring. However, his only other podium finish came in the second race of the latest round at the Nurburgring. During this period, most of the victories have been secured by Ilya Mikhalchik, who clinched his fourth IDM Superbike title this year.

The period without Zanetti has aligned with an outstanding season for Pirro. After five rounds of competition, Pirro, riding under the number 51, has secured victories in seven out of ten races. Alessandro Delbianco claimed a win when Pirro was unable to complete Race 1 during the initial Mugello round, and also when Pirro finished fourth in Race 2 at the second Misano round. Luca Bernardi then triumphed in Race 2 at Mugello last weekend while Pirro sealed the championship title.

The concluding event of the 2024 CIV Superbike season is scheduled to be held at Imola from September 27 to September 29.

Photo courtesy of Ducati Corse/X.

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