2012 eni WSBK Championship standings

The World Superbike Championship has come down to some nail-biting conclusions in its 25 years, but the 2012 World Superbike Championship is destined to be remembered as the closest and most keenly contested of all time.

In a year that saw nine different race winners - the highest number since 2001 - and five different manufacturers represented inside the top five, it was fitting that the title would be decided by a mere half-point.

For Tom Sykes, to lose by such a margin is cruel, not least because it comes in a year that has seen both rider and Kawasaki come of age after several seasons in the doldrums. After four wins, nine pole positions and second in the standings, it's hard to believe that no-one gave Sykes a fighting chance pre-season...

But circumstances conspired against Sykes and despite a charge in the final two events, it is Max Biaggi that comes away as the title winner for the second time in three years. Though his tally of five wins is the least achieved by a title winner since 2002, it is testament to both his consistency and the closeness of the series in general that he was still able to secure the title.

Behind them, there were few changes down the order after the final two races, Marco Melandri settling for third in what remains BMW's best-ever season, while Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea fly the flag for Ducati and Honda in fourth and fifth.

Despite ending his season with a different team to the one he started with, Sylvain Guintoli's third win of the year sees him leapfrog Leon Haslam for seventh in the standings, the Frenchman notching up a third consecutive top seven finish overall.

ParkinGO MTC Aprilia rider Chaz Davies secures 'rookie' honours in ninth place at the end of a season that has seen him achieve super highs, but experience the occasional low, while Davide Giugliano squeezed back ahead of Michel Fabrizio to finish his first WSBK season in tenth place.

In all, the season began with 24 full-time riders (but fluctuated between 21 and 23 for much of the year), saw nine different winners from five different manufacturers, 15 different podium winners and 34 point scorers.

And yet, after 28 races and eight months, it would still only come down to just half a point...

2012 eni World Superbike Championship rider standings (2011 WSBK Championship standings in italic brackets)

1. (3) Max Biaggi Aprilia Racing 358points
2. (13) Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing 357.5
3. (2) Marco Melandri BMW Motorrad 328.5
4. (1) Carlos Checa Althea Ducati 287.5
5. (9) Jonathan Rea Honda WSBK 278.5
6. (4) Eugene Laverty Aprilia Racing 263.5
7. (6) Sylvain Guintoli Effenbert Liberty Ducati/PATA Ducati 213.5
8. (5) Leon Haslam BMW Motorrad 200
9. (-) Chaz Davies ParkinGO MTC Aprilia 164.5
10. (29) Davide Giugliano Althea Ducati 143 *
11. (12) Michel Fabrizio BMW Italia GoldBet 137.5
12. (10) Ayrton Badovini BMW Italia GoldBet 133
13. (-) Loris Baz Kawasaki Racing 122
14. (7) Leon Camier FIXI Crescent Suzuki 115.5
15. (14) Jakub Smrz Liberty Effenbert Ducati 92.5
16. (16) Maxime Berger Effenbert Liberty Ducati/Red Devils Ducati 92
17. (-) Lorenzo Zanetti PATA Ducati 68
18. (-) Hiroshi Aoyama Honda WSBK 61.5
19. (20) John Hopkins Crescent Fixi Suzuki 44 *
20. (-) Niccolo Canepa Red Devils Roma Ducati 42.5
21. (-) David Salom Pedercini Kawasaki 22
22. (-) Brett McCormick Effenbert Liberty Ducati 19 **
23. (11) Joan Lascorz Kawasaki Racing 17 **
24. (-)Claudio Corti Pedercini Kawasaki 11 **
25. (-) Norino Brignola Grillini Progea BMW 10
26. (-) Leandro Mercado Pedercini Kawasaki 9
27. (28) Matteo Baiocco Barni Ducati/Red Devils Ducati 8 */**
28. (24) Lorenzo Lanzi Effenbert Liberty Ducati 8 */**
29. (-) Alexander Lundh Pedercini Kawasaki 8 **
30. (-) Peter Hickman FIXI Crescent Suzuki 7 **
31. (33) Bryan Staring Pedercini Kawasaki 6 */**
32. (27) Alex Polita Red Devils Roma Ducati 4 */**
33. (19) Mark Aitchison Grillini Progea BMW 3 **
34. (-) Josh Brookes FIXI Crescent Suzuki 1 **

* denotes part-season in 2011
** denotes part-season in 2012

2012 World Superbike Championship manufacturer standings

1. (3) Aprilia 444.5 points
2. (4) BMW 421
3. (1) Ducati 416
4. (5) Kawasaki 397.5
5. (6) Honda 293
6. (7) Suzuki 136.5