1988 is the year in which the first World Superbike Championship made its debut.
Ducati was there on the starting grid with its new bike 851 ridden by Marco Lucchinelli. Despite the fact that the unreliability of the 851 was a serious drawback, the Ducati - Lucchinelli duo did rather well, winning the first overall title at the very first round of the SBK World Championship held on the British circuit in Donington on April 3, 1988; a result repeated in race 1 on the Austrian circuit Zeltweg.
The 1989 version of the 851 was very similar to the 1988 version. Ducati's performance in the Superbike Championship was boosted by the arrival of the French rider: Raymond Roche. He achieved his first historic double triumph winning Race 1 and 2 on the circuit at Brainerd, something he went on to repeat winning both races at Hockenheim in Germany and Race 2 on the Sicilian circuit Pergusa.
| 1988 | 1° Battle of the Twins - Italian Championship Constructors Championship |
| 1988 | 1° Battle of the Twins - Italian Championship Baldassarre Monti |
| 1989 | 1° Italian Superbike Championship Baldassarre Monti |
| 1989 | 1° Italian Superbike Championship Constructors Championship |
| 1989 | 1° Battle of the Twins - Italian Championship Andrea Brunetti |
| 1989 | 1° Battle of the Twins - Italian Championship Constructors Championship |
| 1989 | 1° Battle of the Twins - English Championship Mark Forsyth |
| 1989 | 2° World Superbike Championship Raymond Roche |
