WorldSBK heads to Jerez | Rea in the lead
Sykes and Davies still in with a fighting chance
In two days time WorldSBK heads to the famous sherry producing region in the heartland of Andalusia for Round 12 of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Located some 10km north east of the town Jerez de la Frontera, the Circuito de Jerez is a famous Spanish battleground that has seen champions fight for glory countless times in WorldSBK and MotoGP.
Last year saw Jonathan Rea take his first WorldSBK crown in Race 1 at the iconic Spanish circuit, while Kawasaki wrapped up the Manufacturers Title. This year it could all happen again as the Northern Irishman enters the Round 48 points ahead of his Kawasaki Racing Teammate Tom Sykes. All Rea needs is two extra points to seal the deal and celebrate his second World Championship.
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Chaz Davies heads to Spain with his third double of the season under his belt and a mathematical chance to still win the title. Last year the Welshman made podium appearances in both races at Jerez, with a second in Race 1 and a victory in Race 2.
If his winning consistency seen in the last few rounds is anything to go by, fans will be expecting to see his Ducati on the podium once again.
Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes goes to Jerez as the first title winner of 2016- after taking out the TISSOT-Superpole Award- but that’s not enough for the 31 year old; Sykes will be doing everything he can to prevent his teammate Jonathan Rea from being crowned Champion at the Gaerne Spanish Round.
The Brit fought hard in Round 11 at Magny-Cours to close in on Rea’s Championship lead, with fans witnessing an epic Kawasaki battle in Race 2. Sykes won Race 1 at Jerez last year and will be aiming to repeat the feat once again.
After a long fought out battle with MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Leon Camier, who briefly led Race 1 at Magny-Cours, Honda World Superbike Team’s Michael van der Mark came out on top. A fast and tactical tyre change saw the Dutchman rejoin the race at lightning speed to come home in second and he will be looking to repeat his fortunes in Jerez where he finished third last year.
There is still no news about what Sylvain Guintoli’s future holds, but one thing is certain, the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team rider will be looking to be Yamaha’s first podium finisher at Jerez since the Japanese manufacturer made its return to the Championship this year.
IodaRacing’s Lorenzo Savadori put Aprilia in the headlines in France when he led Race 1 in drying conditions on wet tyres. Although he couldn’t follow through with the win, victory will be on his mind heading to the next Round.
A second place in last year’s Race 2 sees Althea BMW Racing Team’s Jordi Torres aim for home glory in 2016. Will Torres take the top honours on Spanish soil or will fans see Davies’ Ducati dominate as he did last time out? And most importantly, will Rea be crowned World Champion again this weekend?
All of our questions will be answered at the penultimate Round of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship beginning on Friday 14th of October. Until then keep up with all the latest news on WorldSBK.com.
WSBK Standings After Rnd 11
- J. Rea Kawasaki 426
- T. Sykes Kawasaki 378
- C. Davies Ducati 345
- M. Van Der Mark Honda 234
- N. Hayden Honda 202
- D. Giugliano Ducati 194
- J. Torres BMW 179
- L. Camier MV Agusta 156
- X. Forés Ducati 133
- L. Savadori Aprilia 131
Aussies:
14. J. Brookes BMW 78
17. A. West Kawasaki 55
29. M. Jones Ducati 2
30. J. Hook Kawasaki 2
WorldSSP could see a champion crowned and ESS prepares for Cup decider
The Gaerne Spanish round is set for an incredible WorldSSP race as reigning World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu looks to achieve his fifth crown. Sofuoglu sits just 42 points ahead of his Kawasaki Puccetti Racing teammate Randy Krummenacher who will be looking to close in on the Turk’s lead.
A dramatic last round at Magny-Cours saw Sofuoglu crash out of the race, while a silently waiting Krummenacher added 11 important points to his title chase. The Round at Jerez will see Sofuoglu try to win both the race and defend his title while his teammate will look to prolong it for as long as he can.
Kallio Racing’s Niki Tuuli makes his third appearance in WorldSSP and so far has impressed coming second in Germany and in France. The young Finn almost won at Magny-Cours and will be looking to find victory in his third outing at Jerez on his Yamaha YZF R6.
MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Jules Cluzel heads to the South of Spain fresh with his second win of the season and new third position in the overall standings. The Frenchman will be focusing on positive energies ahead of this weekend, as last year’s race at Jerez saw him seriously injured. Putting the past behind him and being as fit as ever, Cluzel is fixed on resuming his impressive form and returning to the podium.
Last year, Honda World Supersport Team’s PJ Jacobsen came second only to Kenan Sofuoglu. This year he will be looking to better that result and climb onto the top step of the podium.
The Gaerne Spanish Round will be the first WorldSSP race in Spain for Luke Stapleford as he did not participate at Aragon earlier in the year. It will also be the first time the Profile Racing rider competes at the Circuito de Jerez on his Triumph.
While it’s likely the Gaerne Spanish Round will see the 2016 WorldSSP Champion decided, the FIM Europe Supersport Cup looks forward to its final round, and a winner will certainly be defined.
Jerez will see a three-way battle for the Cup between San Carlo Italia Teammates Axel Bassani – who leads by 14 points – Alessandro Zaccone, and DS Junior Team’s Illia Mikhalchyk. With three riders fighting for the cup, the season finale is sure to be a thriller.
The exciting penultimate round of the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship at the Circuito de Jerez gets underway on Friday the 14th of October where Kenan Sofuoglu will make every possible preparation to win his fifth world title.
World SSP Standings After Rnd 11
- K. Sofuoglu Kawasaki 171
- R. Krummenacher Kawasaki 129
- J. Cluzel MV Agusta 116
- P. Jacobsen Honda 109
- K. Smith Honda 84
- G. Rea MV Agusta 81
- F. Caricasulo Honda 75
- A. Baldolini Mv Agusta 74
- A. Badovini Honda 68
- Z. Khairuddin Kawasaki 46
Aussies:
21. A. West Yamaha 16
26. A. Wagner Mv Agusta 9
27. G. Scott Honda 7
34. A. Phillis Honda 2
37. M. Levy Yamaha 1
Mercado v. De Rosa Superstock 1000 showdown
The Gaerne Spanish round will host the season finale of the 2016 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup and two men star in the leading roles. This season has seen an incredible rivalry break out between Aruba.it Racing –Junior Team’s Leandro Mercado and Althea BMW Racing Team’s Raffaele De Rosa starting from the very first round at Aragon.
The Cup has seen them battle wheel-to-wheel all year and heading into the final round it is the Argentinean rider Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado who leads with 7 points. Both riders will have victory on their minds, but only one man will come out a winner.
Third in the overall standings is Nuova M2 Racing’s Kevin Calia. Though the Italian doesn’t have a mathematical chance at winning the Cup, only 16 points separates him from fourth placed Micheal Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) and he will do everything he can to finish ahead of the Ducati rider and maintain his top three standing.
Last year’s race saw Calia’s current teammate Roberto Tamburini win the STK1000 race and this year he will be aiming for the same results, regardless of the fight for the Cup. It’s every man for himself and Tamburini will stop at nothing to put his Aprilia on the top step once again.
Lucas Mahias will be competing in his third STK1000 event, replacing the still injured Florian Marino at Pata Yamaha Official Stock 1000 Team. The young Frenchman won the last round at Magny-Cours- his second win in his second race- and his goal heading to Spain remains the same; achieving a third straight win. Judging by his previous results, it could be likely.
Yamaha teammate Riccardo Russo finished fourth last year, and is sure to be fighting for a podium finish on the weekend.
Another rider looking to continue on his previous form in Spain will be Agro On-Benjan-Kawasaki’s Bryan Staring. The Australian finished the race at Jerez last year in the top ten and will be looking for a solid top five this year.
It will be a sweet achievement that will end his season on a high, before he heads back to Australia ahead of new racing adventures.
The Gaerne Spanish Round will see the STK1000 stars of 2016 hit the track for the final time on the 16th of October and it will be Mercado’s Ducati or De Rosa’s BMW that reigns supreme.
SSTK1000 Standings
- L. Mercado Ducati 111
- R. De Rosa BMW 104
- K. Calia Aprilia 77
- M. Rinaldi Ducati 61
- J. Guarnoni Kawasaki 57
- T. Razgatlioglu Kawasaki 54
- R. Tamburini Aprilia 53
- L. Mahias Yamaha 50
- A. Mantovani Yamaha 41
- R. Russo Yamaha 39
…
- B. Staring Kawasaki 26
Stats and facts about WorldSBK at the Circuito de Jerez
Accurate as of 12 October, 2016
281 – Are the total amount of points Chaz Davies has scored in Spain so far, no other current rider has been able to match this. Tom Sykes follows with 257 points.
62 – So far there have been 62 races held on Spanish soil in WorldSBK history.
40 – The last three consecutive poles set at Jerez were set in the 1 minute 40 seconds bracket: 1’40.620 in 2013, 1’40.298 in 2014 and 1’40.292 last year.
32 – Ducati has won the last 32 races held in Spain out of 62. That’s more than half and they’ve won on all five Spanish tracks at least three times, with Valencia being their most successful  venue at 13 wins.
13 – Troy Corser has climbed on the podium 13 times in Spain, he leads the standings from Noriyuki Haga who has had 12 podiums. Current riders with the most podiums in Spain are Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies with 10 each.
10 – The 10 podiums recorded in Spain by Chaz Davies represents double of what he has achieved in any other country he has raced in throughout his WorldSBK career: he has appeared on the podium 5 times in both Italy and Germany.
7 – The most successful riders to have ever raced on Spanish soil are Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga, with 7 wins each. They were teammates during the 2007-2008 seasons on the factory Yamaha team. Curiously during this period, they recorded only one of those 14 wins. It was Haga who won Race 2 in Valencia in 2008.
6 – British riders have won the last six races held in Spain: Jonathan Rea/ Chaz Davies at Aragon 2015; Tom Sykes/Chaz Davies in Jerez 2015 and a double by Davies this year at Aragon.
6 – Is the record for pole positions achieved by one rider on Spanish soil and is held by Troy Corser with six in total. Tom Sykes could equal it this year if he takes pole, as he currently stands at 5.
5 – Five Spanish circuits have previously hosted WorldSBK events: Valencia (22), Albacete (16), Aragon (12), Jerez (8) and Jarama (4).
3 – Only two riders have won in Spain with three different manufacturers: Troy Corser (Aprilia, Ducati and Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (Aprilia, BMW, Yamaha).
3 – Three times out of four a race winner has scored the double at Jerez: Raymond Roche (1990); Eugene Laverty (2013); Marco Melandri (2014).
1 – Only one Spaniard has won on Spanish soil so far in WorldSBK: Ruben Xaus, in Race 1 at Valencia in 2007.
