World Superbike

WorldSBK now 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 honing in on that 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.

 

World Supersport

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.

 

Superstock 1000

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.

 

Source: WorldSBK