Should WorldSBK have more non-European races? “There are reasons why we don’t”

WorldSBK’s European-centric calendar has been a point of contention for multiple years now, but it should not be used to detract from the quality of the racing in the opinion of Alex Lowes.

In comparison to MotoGP, which has eight non-European races in 2026 and could have nine in 2027 when Argentina is due to return, World Superbike has only one: the season opener in Phillip Island. Additionally, half of WorldSBK’s 12 rounds are split between three countries: Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Arguably, these facts together present a picture of a series struggling to keep hold of its status as a true world championship, but the geography of the race tracks should not be used to discredit what is a legitimate and competitive championship, in the opinion of Bimota’s Alex Lowes, who has become one of the series’ most experienced riders since his debut in 2014 and who feels that multiple factors perhaps outside of WorldSBK’s control – including economic concerns – have contributed to the contracted geographical presence of the championship’s calendar.

“We can only race World Superbike at tracks that want to have the racing,” Lowes told Crash.net.

“Inside our industry, let’s say, you have MotoGP, the top class – always has been, and will be the top class. Then you have some people that, because they love MotoGP, they’re sort of against World Superbike, which is wrong because there’s a place for a good production class and a good prototype class. That’s the reality. 

“The actual racing – forget the name behind the series – in World Superbike is great. 

“You can say ‘Oh, yeah, there’s two guys at the front.’ But Marc’s at the front every week in MotoGP with the aerodynamics and– you can’t say that MotoGP is better racing, in terms of passing, than Superbike. That’s not a fact. 

“You can have an opinion because you love MotoGP – which I do, I love MotoGP, I wish I was fast enough to be in MotoGP for the last 10 years, but I’m not. But the racing is just as good in World Superbike. I don’t think you can argue it’s not.”

Lowes returned to his original point.

“But we [WorldSBK] can only go to the tracks that want to have the races,” he continued. “So, the target for me, as a rider in the championship, is to try to be positive about it, try to be positive about the calendar, promote good racing, try to get more tracks involved. 

“I like the fact we go to different tracks than MotoGP, which is good, more chances for people from those regions to watch a top-level bike race. 

“So, the reality is that wherever you race the result is the same because if [MotoGP] had 12 races in Spain this year Marc Marquez would still win the World Championship. So, I think we have to be positive about the calendar, because there are economical reasons why we don’t go to all those countries. 

“I can sit here and say ‘I want to race at Laguna Seca, Qatar,’ [but] it’s not the world we live in, unfortunately. But if there were more international races [outside Europe] and we can try to promote that in other countries in the future, obviously that would be better. One in Asia, for example, try and get on more continents. 

“But, the reality is, I’m more than happy to race anywhere, [whether] it’s Magny-Cours, Cremona, Phillip Island. The reality is, you’ve still got to go there, work hard, and try and get on the podium and do the best result you can. 

“I hope the racing is good, I hope more tracks can accommodate World Superbike, and we’ll see. 

“It’s certainly a problem that I can’t fix. All I can do is be positive about it, positive about the championship, there’s a new class inside the World Superbike paddock. 

“The more positive we can be about everything is better. I think the negative media gets more interest than positive media, sometimes, but the reality is: it’s a good championship, World Superbike; there’s lots of good riders there, a few British riders, other British riders coming in, so we have to be positive about the championship.”