The 2017 World Superbike calendar is close to being finalized. When it was announced at the combined WorldSBK/MotoGP test in November of last year, the calendar featured thirteen rounds of racing, only twelve of which had been confirmed.
The missing round, many present at the test felt, was a Jerez-shaped hole waiting to be filled. Now, we have learned, the penultimate round of World Superbikes will indeed take place at Jerez.
The second and final day of testing at Jerez is complete for the World Superbike series, and though the names at the top are familiar, the order is a little less clear cut than it was yesterday.
Jonathan Rea is still fastest, the reigning world champion a tenth quicker than anyone else on track, and one of only two riders to drop into the 1’39s.
But behind the Kawasaki rider is not his teammate Tom Sykes, but Milwaukee Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori. The Italian posted an impressive time in the afternoon, jumping to finish between the two Kawasakis.
Tom Sykes ended the day in third, four tenths behind teammate Rea. Both Kawasaki men fell during the day, not the only riders to crash, as Althea BMW riders Jordi Torres (WSBK) and Marco Faccani (STK1000) also fell, the two BMW men injuring their shoulders in the fall.
The 2017 season is now officially underway, as bikes roll back out for testing. First up are the denizens of the World Superbike series, with most of the major teams getting underway at a sunny, but not especially warm, Jerez de la Frontera circuit.
A good selection of teams are present, including the Kawaski, Honda, Yamaha, Ducati factory teams, the Milwaukee Aprilia squad – now resplendent in their official 2017 colors – the Althea BSB team, and Puccetti Kawasaki.
The WorldSBK riders are joined by the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team from BSB, as well as a selection of World Supersport and Superstock 1000 riders.
Reigning champion Jonathan Rea topped the timesheets, starting the new season where he left off the previous one. Rea was a quarter of a second faster than his Kawasaki teammate Tom Sykes, and six tenths quicker than Chaz Davies on the Aruba.it Ducati.
The 2011 MotoGP Championship heads to Jerez, Spain this week, as the premier class gets ready for its second race of the season. 2011 so far has been a tough year for motorcycle tracks. First there was concern over whether Donington Park would get FIM homologation in time for World Superbike’s visit (spoiler alert: they did).
Then there was concern over New Jersey Motorsports Park, which filed for Chapter 11 protection, as the east coast venue sorts itself out financially with its creditors. MotoGP hasn’t been immune to this issues as well, as both Brno and Jerez have seen some concern of their future outlook.
While Brno is looking for help from the national government to make the dollars and cents make sense, Jerez was in a similar predicament except that the track has missed its last loan payment, and had its assets frozen my a local magistrate. Concerns over Jerez can now be put to ease though as the Andalusian State Government has announced that it will underwrite the popular Spanish racing venue through 2016.