Supersport was introduced as a support class to the World Superbike Championship in 1990 as a European Championship. It attained full world championship status in 1999. The championship permits four-cylinder engines up to 600 cc, three-cylinder engines up to 675 cc, and twin-cylinder engines up to 750 cc — configurations designed to accommodate a wide range of mainstream sports motorcycles while keeping costs lower than the flagship Superbike class.
Technical regulations are considerably tighter than in World Superbike. The chassis of a competing machine must remain largely standard, and while engine tuning is permitted, bore and stroke must be maintained at homologated dimensions. From 2020, control tyres no longer needed to be road-legal, and slick tyres became permitted. A WorldSSP race takes place at almost every round of the Superbike World Championship, typically scheduled between the two Superbike races, over a distance of approximately 100 kilometres.
From 2022, the championship adopted the "Next Generation" regulations to reflect changes in the production motorcycle market. The traditional 600 cc inline four-cylinder had become commercially marginalised by manufacturers shifting production toward larger-displacement machines, so new rules opened eligibility to motorcycles that fell between the classic supersport configuration and the Superbike class. Key balancing tools introduced under the new framework include hard minimum weights, combined bike-and-rider weight limits, maximum RPM limits, air restrictors, torque-limited maps, and concession parts — all subject to mid-season adjustment based on performance data.
Competition in the championship is typically close, and it is unusual for a single rider to dominate a full season. The 2001 championship highlighted this in an extreme fashion: that year's champion Andrew Pitt did not win a single race but accumulated his title-winning points total through relentless near-front-of-field consistency across the entire season.
Riders from across Europe and beyond compete, and the class has historically served as a proving ground for talent destined for the Superbike or MotoGP paddocks. Notable graduates include Cal Crutchlow, Chaz Davies, and Chris Vermeulen, all of whom moved on to higher-level international competition after establishing themselves in WorldSSP. Other riders such as Fabien Foret and Kenan Sofuoglu spent extended careers in the class and became its most decorated champions.
From 2016, a subsidiary competition called the WorldSSP Challenge — previously known as the European Supersport Cup — was introduced as a separate points-scoring competition within the main WorldSSP races, restricted to European rounds of the calendar.
The Supersport World Championship occupies an important structural role in international motorcycle road racing as the primary stepping stone between national series and the flagship Superbike class. Its close racing, accessible machinery, and regular presence on the World Superbike calendar have made it a reliable entry point for emerging talent and a competitive environment in its own right. The championship's expansion through the Next Generation regulations reflects broader trends in the production motorcycle industry and ensures the series remains connected to commercially relevant machines.