It began on 26 February at Phillip Island and ended on 7 October in Magny-Cours after 13 rounds.
Kenan Sofuoğlu won his third championship after having returned from Moto2.
The provisional race schedule was publicly announced by the FIM on 24 September 2011 with thirteen confirmed rounds and two other rounds pending confirmation.
[1] Russia appeared for the first time in the calendar with a round at the brand-new Moscow Raceway.
[2] The calendar was updated in October 2011 with the confirmation of the Imola round, for a total of thirteen rounds,[3] supporting the Superbike World Championship at every meeting except Miller Motorsports Park.