Michele Pirro Clinches Seventh Italian Superbike Title Amidst Unyielding Dominance

Michele Pirro clinches his seventh Italian Superbike championship

Ducati MotoGP test rider Michele Pirro has added another CIV Italian Superbike title to his collection.

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

Last weekend at Mugello, Pirro secured the championship while racing for the Barni Ducati team, which also features Danilo Petrucci in WorldSBK and Yari Montella in WorldSSP.

Pirro secured his seventh championship in the CIV Superbike category, adding to his previous victories in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. This latest win also marks his tenth overall title in the CIV series, which includes Superstock 1000 championships in 2007 and 2008, and a Supersport championship in 2009.

This count places Pirro in third place on the all-time list for CIV championships, with only Tarquinio Provini, who holds 11 titles, and Giacomo Agostini, who has 16 titles, ahead of him. Notably, Agostini secured 10 consecutive 500cc titles from 1968 to 1977.

This title follows the contentious conclusion of the 2023 CIV Superbike season at Imola. During the final race, Lorenzo Zanetti, who was competing against Pirro for the championship, collided with him in the Variante Bassa. This incident caused Pirro to crash, ultimately allowing Zanetti to clinch the title. Pirro, despite the crash, has now become a seven-time Superbike Champion.

Zanetti opted not to compete for his CIV title this year and chose to participate in the IDM German Superbike Championship instead. He started his IDM season strong with a victory in the opening race at the Sachsenring. However, his only other podium finish was in the second race of the latest round at the Nurburgring. Meanwhile, most of the victories have been claimed by Ilya Mikhalchik, who secured his fourth IDM Superbike championship this year.

Zanetti's absence has aligned with an outstanding season for Pirro. Over the course of five rounds, Pirro, bearing the number 51, has secured victory in seven out of 10 races. Alessandro Delbianco claimed a win when Pirro did not complete Race 1 during the initial Mugello round and when Pirro placed fourth in Race 2 of the second Misano round. Most recently, Luca Bernardi emerged victorious in Race 2 at Mugello last weekend, where Pirro sealed the championship title.

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

Photo courtesy of Ducati Corse/X.

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