Michele Pirro Clinches Seventh Italian Superbike Title, Solidifies Legacy with Ducati

Michele Pirro wins his seventh Italian Superbike championship

Michele Pirro, who is a test rider for Ducati in MotoGP, has claimed another CIV Italian Superbike championship.

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.

Pirro, who races for the Barni Ducati team, which also features Danilo Petrucci in the World Superbike Championship and Yari Montella in the World Supersport Championship, secured the championship title last weekend at Mugello.

Michele Pirro secured his seventh championship in the CIV Superbike category, adding to his previous victories in 2015, 2016-2019, and 2021-2022. This win also marked his tenth overall title in the CIV series, including his Superstock 1000 championships in 2007 and 2008, and his Supersport championship in 2009.

This count places Pirro in third place on the historical leaderboard for CIV championships, trailing only Tarquinio Provini with 11 titles and Giacomo Agostini, who holds the record with 16 titles. Notably, Agostini achieved 10 consecutive 500cc titles from 1968 to 1977.

The title follows a contentious conclusion to the 2023 CIV Superbike season at Imola. During the final race, Lorenzo Zanetti, who was competing against Pirro for the championship, collided with him at the Variante Bassa. This incident caused Pirro to crash, ultimately allowing Zanetti to claim the championship and leaving Pirro as a seven-time Superbike Champion.

Interestingly, Zanetti opted not to compete for his CIV title this year and chose to participate in the IDM German Superbike Championship instead. Zanetti 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 has secured his fourth IDM Superbike title this year.

Zanetti has been absent during a remarkable season for Pirro. Over the course of five rounds, Pirro, racing with the number 51, has secured victories in seven out of ten races. Alessandro Delbianco claimed a win when Pirro did not complete Race 1 in the initial round at Mugello, and again when Pirro finished fourth in Race 2 of the second round at Misano. Most recently, Luca Bernardi emerged victorious in Race 2 at Mugello last weekend, where Pirro also secured the championship title.

The concluding round 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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