Sensational WorldSBK finale at Jerez had plenty of action

2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 12 – Jerez

WorldSBK Superpole Race

The first two laps in the Superpole Race were action-packed with changes everywhere you looked. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) got the hole-shot but his lead only lasted until Turn 5 when Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came bundling through for the lead.

The lead group featured about six riders fighting for supremacy, including Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK). However, towards the end of Lap 2, the race was red flagged after Aegerter’s Yamaha started bellowing smoke and he pulled off at the side of the track.

As three laps hadn’t been completed, the restarted eight-lap race got underway with the original grid; giving Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) a second chance after he crashed on the opening lap of the original race at Turn 6, while Aegerter and Lecuona were also able to restart.

The restart was similar to the first one, with Aegerter getting the holeshot again and this time leading for longer. Despite Lowes going through on the opening lap, Aegerter came through again at Turn 13, although Bautista passed him on the run into Turn 6 on Lap 2.

Lap three marked the of the day for Alex Lowes. After Razgatlioglu passed him into Turn One and Lowes did not have quite enough room at the apex, meaning his front tyre touched Razgatlioglu’s rear tyre. As Lowes fell his helmet visor contacted his rival’s tyre and was torn off. Alex suffered injuries to his eyelids and face as a result of this very unusual incident. He was examined by the medical officials and declared unfit to ride in the final race of the season.

Meanwhile the battle for second ignited between Aegerter, Razgatlioglu and Rea.

Bautista was eventually able to pull out a gap to make it two from two at Jerez.

Aegerter did close in but fell back to claim second and his first WorldSBK rostrum, and the first Swiss rider on the podium; taking full advantage of Rea and Razgatlioglu squabbling behind. Rea got ahead of the Turk on Lap 6 for second, and he was able to resist any further challenges to claim the podium.

Razgatlioglu fourth ahead of team-mate Locatelli on the second row. ‘Loka’ started from tenth but fought his way up to fifth place to give him a better starting position than he had in the first two races of the round despite his crash before the red flag.

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took sixth, and the team’s results meant they confirmed the Independent Teams’ title with one race to go.

WorldSBK Superpole Race Results

WorldSBK Race Two

Alvaro Bautista initially got away well when the 20-lap race got underway, but his lead lasted only five corners as six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) forced his way through into the lead, looking to end his Kawasaki career on a high note. Bautista was in second but ran wide at Turn 2 on Lap 2 which allowed Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) into second.

Rea’s fairytale ending turned into a nightmare on Lap 5. He lost the front of his ZX-10RR into Turn 2 and crashed, dropping all the way down to 23rd and last; handing the lead to Razgatlioglu with double Champion Bautista, using a special yellow livery on his Panigale V4 R, into second.

From Lap 11, the gap between Toprak and Alvaro was consistently reducing before culminating in one of the best races ever. On Lap 12, Bautista attempted a move on the inside of Turn 13 but Toprak was able to cut back and keep his lead. On Lap 14, Bautista got through at Turn 1 but ran wide at the Turn 6 right-hand hairpin, allowing the Turk back through. Through the right-handers towards the end of the lap, the two rivals were exchanging positions, with Razgatlioglu able to hold the lead ahead of the double Champion.

The race continued to ignite with the pair fighting into Turn 6, Bautista getting the run on the straight with the Turkish star responding on the brakes. Later on that lap, at Turn 13, Bautista looked for a move on the inside before the Yamaha cut back to stay ahead on the start-finish straight, before a similar move on Lap 17. A lap later and the Spaniard tried a different move. He looked to outbrake the 2021 Champion at Turn 1, but ran wide which allowed third-placed Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) to close in. It was a similar move on Lap 19 but again, he ran wide, setting up a last-lap showdown.

The Yamaha rider was leading throughout the final lap but his rival, once again, tried a move up the inside of the final corner. Razgatlioglu cut back to retake the lead and crossed the line in first, but he was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap, on the exit of Turn 13, which allowed Bautista to take his 59th win in WorldSBK, moving him level with Carl Fogarty.

Razgatlioglu’s second place gave him his 100th podium for Yamaha in his final race with the manufacturer in his 131st race.

In third was Swiss rookie was Aegerter, who was just three-tenths away from victory, but still took his second podium of the season with third.

GRT Yamaha ended the season on a massive high. Two podiums on the final day of 2023 season kept their podium streak going since they joined WorldSBK, while team-mate Remy Gardner missed out on his first podium by just a second behind his team-mate in Race 2.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was fifth ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in sixth. The #21 had been in the podium fight but dropped down the order in the second half of the race, eventually finishing more than three-seconds down on ‘Petrux’.

Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) was seventh and only eight-seconds away from Bautista after 20 laps after completing yet another strong weekend as he searches for a 2024 seat. The German was ahead of Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in eighth while stablemate Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) took ninth. The American had crossed the line in tenth, but a post-race penalty for Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) meant the Italian was demoted to P10. The penalty proved crucial in the outcome of the Teams’ Championship. Both Aruba.it Ducati and Pata Yamaha finished tied on 879 points, but the title went to the Ducati team due to having more feature-length wins.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) finished 11th as he ended his Motocorsa Racing career in the points, and after taking the Independent Riders’ titles in the Tissot Superpole Race. With Rinaldi taking fourth that was enough to beat his adversary to fifth in the Championship standings, Bassani finishing sixth.

Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was 12th, with the Dutchman leading home two Spaniards. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was the lead Honda rider in 13th while Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 14th after one of his strongest weekends of the season. He scored eight points this season, with seven coming at Jerez. Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) completed the points-paying position with 15th.

WorldSBK Race Two Results

WorldSBK Quotes

Alvaro Bautista

“I think it’s been a practically perfect season as well as this last weekend. We have won all the titles and I am very happy for the team. For me it was an even bigger emotion. To win in front of so many fans and my family, was great. In Race 2 I had a lot of fun, the duel with Toprak was fantastic: we fought in every corner but always in a fair way. I think everyone who saw the race got emotional. Now it’s time to celebrate even though from tomorrow we will start thinking about testing on Tuesday and Wednesday and the MotoGP Wild Card in Malaysia. The season is not over yet”.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“I passed the chequered flag in P1, this is good for me! I touched the green, track limits – but I am not understanding any penalty, I don’t see – just I feel my rear wheel sliding. I am not taking an advantage, but rules are rules. It is not easy to say anything more – I feel like I am winning, but Phil say I am P2 when I come into pit lane. My last race with Yamaha, I just try to do a good position – especially P1! I try for good memories for my last race and to win with Yamaha. I am a little bit sad, but I gave it more than 100% like Portimao but I need some luck – and last races I have not had much luck. In general, I am happy – a nice battle with Alvaro but just the last corner… After four years, thanks to my team – incredible job and I am feeling Yamaha like a family. I still have respect for Yamaha – we have very nice memories, many wins – we are World Champion in 2021 – and this is also my first World Championship so Yamaha is very important for me. All the team, all the guys are incredible. I am really enjoying four years with this team – especially last two years. It was the first time for me in 2020 working with a factory team, 2021 after we are champions I am feeling more and more warm working with the team. Everybody tries their best, this weekend all Yamaha here and everybody coming to see me for the last race. I am very happy for this – and I am sad because it is the last race and next year we are not together, but maybe in the future we are again.”

Dominique Aegerter

“What a day it was! We faced a rollercoaster Superpole Race with a technical issue in the beginning, but then the guys were able to make me rejoin the track immediately and we achieved a fantastic result. To score my maiden WorldSBK podium is such a great emotion. Things went even better a few hours later, enjoying such an unforgettable Race 2, where we showed stunning race pace. During the race I thought about trying a move for the victory, but mainly I was focused about not making mistakes and coming back home with a feature race podium. I’m speechless, it was truly a redemption day and a great way to finish the season. I would like to thank everyone for their support throughout the season. We also secured the Top Independent Team Championship, which is good. I’d like to dedicate this Team win to Mirko (Giansanti).”

Remy Gardner

“To be honest, today I wasn’t even sure about racing due to the crash I suffered yesterday. After Warm Up I felt I could do the races, but it was painful, I’m not going to lie. The Superpole race was a decent one, unfortunately due to the red flag our rear tyre was quite used, and I struggled with grip in the latter stages of the race. Then, in Race 2 I could smell the podium, we finished so close, and I could catch the group fighting for the victory. Unfortunately, I missed a bit of pace in the end as I pushed a lot to close the gap and I felt a bit of pain as well which maybe prevented me from doing more. Anyway, it’s not a bad way to finish the year, we’re aware we have good potential and that we can have a strong 2024. To finish on the top of the Independent Teams is also nice, and I would like to dedicate this win to Mirko (Giansanti), who sadly passed away a few months ago.”

Jonathan Rea

“A bitter-sweet final day. I wasn’t riding with emotion or anger, I was just flowing with my bike in Race Two. My crew chief Pere Riba made quite a big change, something like we had at the test here in May, and it worked really well. All weekend the grip has been low and we have been carrying a rolling set-up from the previous round. I even told Uri my chief mechanic, ‘this race is for us.’ I got to the front and I thought this feeling was good, but of course it was too good. On a bike set-up that was quite different, with different margins I just overstepped it a bit in T2. The bike got a little bit squirrelly going in and instead relaxing on the front brake and blowing the corner a little bit, I really committed to make the corner with a lot of lean angle, and down I went. Not the ending that the team or I deserve. I wanted to finish in the right way. But we didn’t go down without a fight. The right handlebar was bent far forward, I had about 15mm of right foot-peg left, so I just wanted to finish the race. When I saw my second or third lap-time after I crashed I was doing 1’41s, which was faster than I did in Race One on Saturday. So I just kept going, thinking I could maybe score a point. I have some strange feelings overall today. Not from a performance side, or results side, just strange because I am leaving an incredible team.”

Danilo Petrucci

“I’m pleased with how we’ve completed the season. Unfortunately, we were lacking something because you need to be up front to fight for the podium and can’t finish lap one in eleventh place. Two top five finishes in the long races isn’t a bad result of course, but for the future we need to sort qualifying and the Superpole Race. These were our weak points again here at Jerez. In the final part of the season, we’ve made some good recoveries and again today I came close to the front group, but once I reached those rider, I didn’t have any tyre left because I’d pushed too hard. Overall, I’ve very pleased with my first year in Superbike, the team has worked so hard, and I want to say a huge thankyou to them! With respect to the start of the season, the situation has completely changed. From Misano on, we turned our season around and even if we lost a few points here and there, we’ve continued to improve. We know where we need to focus this winter to take that definitely step up in quality.”

Michael Rinaldi

“It wasn’t an easy weekend. We had a lot of difficulties on Saturday but the team did a great job finding a set-up that allowed me to push well during Race 2. I made a good comeback but unfortunately, while trying to keep the bike upright after a sudden lock-up, I felt a strong pain in my right shoulder that didn’t allow me to be competitive in the final and fight for the podium. However, I gritted my teeth and I am happy to have brought the team important points for the classification”.

Alex Lowes

“It’s a real shame to end the season this way. I had started morning warm-up today with a slight change on the front of the bike and it felt really good. It was strong, and even with a hard tyre we were really fast. I led the Superpole race before the red flag. I had made a good start, put in some good passes. I was also feeling good in the restarted Superpole race and obviously we were going to be challenging for the podium, because we were looking sharp. Toprak passed me into Turn One and I felt like it was a bad move from him. From the outside it doesn’t look like that, but the way he came in front of me and stopped he didn’t really give me anywhere to go. I am not going to complain about the move. I like the way he rides and Race Two was fantastic for the fans. Still, it is a shame about the fall and I was lucky to get away with it because the impact was big and I have some stitches around my eyes and quite a lot of swelling on my face. Thank you to all the team and all the crew, it has been a tough year for us but they have always given 100% for us every day, and I really appreciate that. Personally speaking, thank you very much to them. Sad to see Jonathan have his last races in green today but massive respect to him and all the best for the future.”

Andrea Locatelli

“I think it was a really good weekend after yesterday’s Race 1 – today we were also a bit lucky during the Superpole Race to get the fifth position in the end and improve a lot. It was a good position to restart, however I don’t know what happened during Race 2 but the feeling was a little bit tricky and the rear grip was really bad. To finish the season like this is a little bit sad. Yesterday was really positive day – another podium – especially after a difficult Friday. In the end it was another great season though, we had a lot of podiums and did a really good job overall – fast more or less in every race and many sessions. We need to look forward and prepare for next season in a positive way – to be strong again and focused in 2024. I want to say thank you to all the crew, on my side and also with Toprak – working together for these three years has been incredible to always improve and make progress on the bike.”

Xavi Vierge

“I think I gave it my all on this last day of a season that has undoubtedly been challenging. There have been ups and downs, yes, but also some very positive highlights, like my first WorldSBK podium at Mandalika, which was amazing, an unforgettable Suzuka 8 Hours win, and a top ten finish in the general standings, not our target of course but nevertheless the result of a lot of hard work from myself, the team and everyone at HRC. And so I want to thank everyone involved. Now we have a few weeks to re-charge the batteries before turning our attention to a long and very important winter testing season so that we are well prepared for next season. Last but not least, I want to wish Leon (Camier) a fond farewell; it has been a pleasure to share these last two seasons with him. It was the first time in my career that I could count on a former rider as team manager, and he has been a big help. Thanks so much Leon, and I wish you all the best for the future.”

Iker Lecuona

“First of all, I want to say thanks to Pete (Jennings) and Leon (Camier) who have been my crew chief and Team Manager over the last two years. It’s not always been easy, but we’ve enjoyed many good races and good times together, so a big thanks to them both. As for today, it wasn’t easy after I crashed in the Superpole race. I couldn’t avoid some oil spilled on track after Dominique broke his engine through turn five, just in front of me. I was so close I couldn’t switch line and crashed, hitting my right shoulder so hard that I thought I’d broken or dislocated something. Luckily this was not the case, and the medical tests came back negative. I really wanted to complete the season and so I jumped back on the bike and just tried to finish the race. I was unable to make any real progress due to the pain, but I was able to hold my place in the group. I knew the longer race would be difficult but again I felt I could ride and did it, for Pete, Leon my team and everyone who has helped me so much during the season, support that I’ve very much appreciated. Thank you, guys!”

Garrett Gerloff

“I’m really frustrated because I imagined this weekend going a lot different and better. Sometimes you have a plan and you think you can execute it but things go in another way. I was just unfortunate. We’ve been climbing and we’ve been feeling better and better and had better and better results every weekend, and I really thought that we had something to fight for this weekend but I had a crash on my first lap on Friday and missed nearly all that session. It was just kind of a bad taste in all our mouths. Then qualifying wasn’t horrible but also not great. It was only two or three tenths to second place but I was on the third row. Then I crashed in the first race yesterday and today in the Superpole race with Axel Bassani and this is not something I am proud of. It was a difficult weekend. It is what it is. But I’m happy that we were able to accomplish something this year like pole position and some top fives. We can be happy with that but for sure we want more and we know that we were capable of more. So we will be back next year.”

Scott Redding

“Finally I got a bit of a nice race in race two today, for once this weekend, because I was a little bit unlucky with a few things. I’ve made a good start, felt really good with the bike. I then made a small mistake which cost me a little bit of time but I found my rhythm again. I was just trying to pass Andrea Locatelli all the race so I stressed all of my front tyre. In the end I got the better of him so I was happy for that but we still need to improve our acceleration grip because that is my weakest point right now. But I’m happy to finish the last race of this season and for me it was not all about the race because the last time I was here, I struggled a lot. So there’s reason to be happy and I want to say thank you to all the team for a good two years. Now we look forward to the future.”

Michael van der Mark

“This morning, we made a change to the set-up of the bike and I was going at quite a good pace. I was happy with it. In the Superpole race, my first start wasn’t great. I lost some positions. I gained them back really quick but then we had a red flag. At the re-start, I had a nice and a good race, finishing in P8. It was really nice to finish in the top ten so I improved on the grid for race two. I again had a good start but struggled a bit with the grip in the beginning. Then halfway through the race I struggled with the front of the bike. It was quite a long race but at the end we scored some points again which is the most important thing. We know what to work on and I’m happy to finish the last round of the year with some positive results.”

Loris Baz

“It has just not been as we all wanted to end the season. It has been a tough weekend, the same as the entire season. We never gave up but I had a big injury. We all kept fighting. We had so much bad luck, and this weekend again. I was struggling with the bike Friday and yesterday, so we decided to swap the bike for today. But then we had a technical issue this morning in warm-up. Then the Superpole race was good. I was feeling the best I felt all weekend. In race two again there were some problems. It was just a lack of pace all weekend. We tried until the end. I just want to say a big thank you to the guys who never gave up. They always tried everything to give me the best bike. Last year was a good year for us, this year has been tough. We had some good moments but the injury ruined all our jobs. Now I am looking forward to surgery at the end of the month to get all the material off the ankle and to get ready for whatever comes in the future.”

Team Managers

Serafino Foti – Aruba.it Racing Team Manager

“It was a fantastic season, we managed to win the three titles and we won the last one right at the end of the last race. There are not many words to say except to thank our fantastic riders, the whole team, all the people at Ducati who work at home, and of course Aruba.it and all our sponsors. I would like to give a thought to Michael for these three years we have spent together. There have been three exciting seasons and we wish him all the best for the future. A special thanks obviously goes to Alvaro and Nicolò who have been the architects of an unforgettable season.

Paul Denning – Pata Yamaha Prometeon Team Principal

“What to say? We thought that Portimao was one of the best World Championship motorcycle races ever seen – but Race 2 this afternoon in Jerez surpassed it. We knew Toprak would leave nothing on the table when it came to making the best possible goodbye to Yamaha and to the team, but that ride exceeded even our hopes and expectations. I know who won the race, Toprak knows who won the race and ultimately, Alvaro and Ducati know who won the race. The big slide on the exit of the final corner caused Toprak’s rear wheel to touch the track limits marking cost him time – it certainly didn’t gain him time, but the rules are the rules and it’s true they can work for you as well as against you. Loka suffered with a currently unexplained lack of rear grip in Race 2 which didn’t enable him to repeat anything like his performances from yesterday or the Superpole Race. Honestly speaking, salt was rubbed a little deeper in the wounds when he also infringed track limits on the exit of the last corner which cost us the Teams’ Championship after a tie with Aruba Ducati. I felt every single member of this project deserved at least that this year and, given his efforts in Race 2 today, certainly Toprak did. It has been a fantastic season, thanks to everybody involved. Toprak, we wish you luck in the future – and on behalf of Yamaha and all our partners, we would like to say a huge thank you and ‘aferin’.”

Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director

“We would have preferred to give our Head of BMW Motorrad, Dr. Markus Schramm, who is now retiring, a nicer farewell gift. Unfortunately, the results ultimately did not match our expectations. We aimed to build on the good results from the previous races. The qualifying was extremely close, and considering the minimal time gaps, we fared relatively well with eighth and ninth positions. In the first main race, Scott and Garrett had good starts, but Scott unfortunately had a tyre that provided no grip at all, rendering him unable to continue the race. That was quite disappointing, as Scott was highly motivated going into his final race weekend with the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. We had adjusted the package for him, which boosted his confidence. Garrett was setting very competitive lap times in the first race, and a fifth-place finish was certainly within reach. Unfortunately, he slid off the track in turn two. Mickey also had a solid performance but crashed. In the Superpole race, Scott demonstrated that he was comfortable on the bike, which pleased me greatly. However, he encountered a mechanical issue with the footrest, causing him to lose the opportunity for a sixth or possibly fifth place. Garrett maintained a strong pace but, unfortunately, had a collision with Axel Bassani while overtaking, ending the race for both of them. In the second main race, Scott once again gave a strong performance. It may not have been exactly where we wanted, but I was pleased for Scott, considering the challenging times he had been through. Garrett was consistently fast. Michael had a solid conclusion to the season. Loris couldn’t finish the season as he had hoped. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to him for his two years with the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, and we wish him all the best for the future.”

World Superbike Championship Points

WorldSSP Race Two

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) ended his FIM Supersport World Championship season as he started it as he took a Prometeon Spanish Round double with Race 2 victory, his sixth double of the season. He finished just over a second clear of rival Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in second, while there was a warm welcome back to the podium for Turkish star Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) as he took a stunning and unexpected third place at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto.

Bulega and Caricasulo both got away well as the lights went out with the #11 leading although ‘Carica’ was able to go with the Champion throughout the first half of the opening lap. However, Bulega was able to extend his gap over the #64 over the second half of the lap to ensure his rivals were unable to challenge him in the first stages of the race; the gap at the end of Lap 3 was up to 3.171s.

Caricasulo was able maintain second place until the start of Lap 5 when rival Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) came bundling through, although the #64 responded on the same lap right before the red flags were deployed. On Lap 3, Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) crashed at Turn 13 with his bike hitting the fence on the exit of the corner. Due to safety conditions, the race was red flagged, and it was restarted over a seven-lap distance. Schroetter did not take to the restart, nor did teammate Bahattin Sofuoglu or Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph), who crashed on Lap 1 at Turn 6 and Lap 4 at Turn 8 respectively.

The grid for the restarted race was based on the last completed timing point for each rider. This time, Bulega got the better start compared to Caricasulo, who was passed by Manzi on the run into Turn 1. The #11 was able to build a gap as he often does in the early stages, although not as big as before, ahead of the #62. Manzi had to look over his shoulder in the opening stages, with Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) on the charge. The #61, still searching for full fitness, overtook the Yamaha rider into Turn 13 on Lap 2 for second, after making gains on the first lap.

Manzi returned the favour at Turn 6 on the following lap as he demoted the one-time race winner back into third, while Bulega extended his lead over the duo fighting for P2. Oncu was able to get close to the Yamaha on several occasions, but the Italian resisted the Turkish star’s pressure to claim second place, while Oncu returned to the podium for the first time since his victory in Race 1 at Mandalika. Bulega moved onto 16 wins out of 24 for the season, and 21 podiums which is a season record, while Manzi took his 22nd career rostrum. For Oncu, it was his 14th podium since he joined WorldSSP.

Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was another Kawasaki rider on the march in the early stages, but his progress halted when he moved into fourth, finishing in P4 for the fourth time this season. He was just 1.250s away from Oncu in third, while he was almost six tenths clear of Caricasulo in fifth. Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) continued his end-of-season strong form with sixth, as Huertas, Caricasulo and Debise were separated by only eight tenths after the seven-lap race.

Wildcard Yeray Ruiz (MDR Offitec Yamaha) completed his weekend with eighth, making gains and impressing the paddock with strong performances. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) signed off his half-season campaign with another top ten position with wildcard Simone Corse (Altogo Racing Team) in tenth. The Italian started the original race from the pit lane due to a technical infringement, but he was up to 15th when the red flags were shown. With the grid set by the last completed timing point, the #40 was on the fifth row for the restart and was able to take a top-ten finish; only a tenth away from compatriot Dalla Porta ahead of him.

Spaniard Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was 11th and only two tenths away from the top ten, with Niki Tuuli (PTR Triumph) less than a second away. Dutch wildcard Melvin van der Voort (Team SWPN) was another who impressed during his one-off appearance he finished in 13th, ahead of Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) in 14th. Debutant Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (D34G Racing) was the final point scorer, taking 15th on his first appearance in the Championship.

Oli Bayliss had not ridden his D34G Panigale machine since July at Imola, when he tried to partake in the Italian round but eventually had to pull out due to the shoulder injury suffered a fortnight before at Donington Park – which led to a surgical operation days afterwards. Despite some difficulties in getting back the right feeling with the bike due to the time away and the fact that he had never raced at Jerez before, Bayliss showed good pace and form as he completed both races in 18th place from the back of the grid.

Oli Bayliss

“It was a hard but good weekend. Whilst qualifying wasn’t easy, I had a good pace in the final part of race one which boded well for today’s final race. I would have liked to make some more progress in race two but I struggled to get a good feeling with the front, which prevented me from pushing as hard as I’d liked throughout the round. Still I’m happy I got to spend the last round with the team, whom I want to thank for the work done and the incredible support, and I’m hoping I can give everyone some news soon for 2024.”

WorldSSP Race Two Results

World Supersport Championship Points