The 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heads to the heart of Andalusia for the long awaited Gaerne Spanish Round at the Circuito de Jerez on the 14th to 16th of October. The penultimate Round of the Championship is set to be an extravaganza as STK1000 and FIM Europe Supersport Cup are set to see Champions crowned. In WorldSBK Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea could win his second World Title on Sunday if he can secure a 50 point lead over his teammate Tom Sykes.
Media and fans will get to rub shoulders with their favourite stars of WorldSBK on Thursday 13th of October when riders Jordi Torres (BMW), Xavi Fores (Ducati), Roman Ramos (Kawasaki), Michael van der Mark (Honda) and Leandro Mercado (Ducati) gather to experience an Authentic Taste of Spain with a wine tour at the Bodegas Gonzalez Byass. The event begins at 11:30 local time (GMT+2) before the riders arrive at the Plaza del Arenal at 13:15 for a signing session with fans. Thursday sees the open paddock return to Jerez at 14:00 local time until 18:00. Spectators will have freedom to wander through the WorldSBK paddock in this time at their leisure, regardless of the pass they have.
On track action gets underway Friday morning at 9:15am with STK1000 leading charge for Free Practice. Then, from 13:30 onwards WorldSBK and WorldSSP will battle it out for entry to Saturday’s Tissot-Superpole 2 qualifying sessions. Live commentary of all sessions will take place from the Paddock Show with various Spanish riders as guest speakers throughout the weekend.
At 16:00 local time the Paddock Show takes centre stage introducing Spanish WorldSSP rider Nacho Calero (Kawasaki) for the MOTUL Race Chat. At 16:15 the Team Managers Show welcomes Guim Roda (Kawasaki Racing Team), Ernest Marinelli (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Imre Toth (Team Toth) Manuel Puccetti (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and David Salom (DS Junior Team) to the stage for an exclusive Q&A session. Then at 16:30 the Paddock Show wraps up Friday’s activities with the Opening Day Show, where Friday’s three fastest riders from WorldSBK and WorldSSP will take to the stage to answer everyone’s burning questions.
Saturday means business and the action dawns early at 8:45am for WorldSBK FP3 ahead of the Tissot-Superpole qualifying sessions beginning at 10:30am, where riders will fight for the coveted pole position. Be sure to stay trackside at 12:50 for the Tissot-Superpole Prize-Giving Ceremony and Pirelli Best Lap Award ahead of Race 1 at 13:00 local time. After the race the podium finishers will be joined by the fastest Spaniard of the day (provided he doesn’t already finish on the podium) at the Paddock Show at 16:30 ahead of WorldSSP Meet n Greet at 16:50.
At 17:00 the Paddock Show introduces the Paddock Ping Pong segment exclusive to Jerez, where selected lucky fans will go head to head with Jordi Torres (BMW) Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) Xavi Fores (Ducati) and Nicola the Safety Car driver for the title of best ping pong player! Once a Champion has been crowned, the Party In The Paddock takes over at 17:30 with live music, competitions and giveaways.
Engines fire up at 9:00am on Sunday morning for warm up before WorldSSP starts the day’s racing action at 11:20am. A champion will be decided in the first race of the day, as the FIM Europe Supersport Cup line up on the grid with their WorldSSP counterparts for the final time in 2016. Then at 13:00 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) will fight to become World Champion once again in WorldSBK Race 2, but not if Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) or Chaz Davies (Ducati) have anything to say about it. They’ll be pulling out all the stops to prove their contention for the title.
If you thought it couldn’t get anymore exciting, think again. At 14:20 local time STK1000 takes to the grid and it promises to be an epic showdown between Cup protagonists Leandro Mercado (Ducati) and Raffaele De Rosa (BMW) who’ve fought wheel to wheel all year long for the Title. Ending the weekend’s on-track activities is the season finale of the FIM Europe Junior Cup at 15:15 and a Champion will be crowned. After each race the Paddock Show will be welcoming the podium finishers, Pirelli Best Lap winners and local heroes of each category to the stage for a Raceday Show that everyone is sure to love.
To wrap up an incredible weekend of racing, the Paddock Show would like to invite everyone to the Official Prize-Giving Gala on Sunday evening at 17:30, onsight in the WorldSBK paddock. Spectators will see the Champions of 2016 receive their Awards live with a chance to meet the winners afterward and join in on the celebrations.
With so much to do and see at the Circuito de Jerez, Round 12 of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is sure to be another thrilling weekend of racing from the 14th to the 16th of October.
