After an extended summer break of almost seven weeks, the 2015 World Superbike championship reignites this weekend (18-20 September) at Jerez in Spain with Pata Honda riders Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van der Mark eager to get back into action on their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machines.
Guintoli went into the summer break in great form following round 10 of the series at Sepang in Malaysia. The 33-year-old French rider started the two races from the front row of the grid and followed up his impressive qualifying performance with two strong fourth place finishes, leaving him sixth in the overall points standings.
Van der Mark also performed well last time out and, although a recurring electrical issue halted his race one progress in Sepang, the 22-year-old SBK rookie from Rotterdam in the Netherlands was able to push hard to fifth place in race two and he lies seventh, just behind his team-mate, in the championship table.
A tighter and more technical circuit than Sepang, the 4.423km Jerez circuit in Andalucia in southern Spain was built in 1985 and has hosted World Superbike races since 2013. It will present its own individual challenges to the Pata Honda riders, particularly Guintoli who missed out on valuable testing time at Jerez in January after a heavy crash.
Both riders have been training hard and riding their Honda CRF450R motocross bikes during the summer months to remain as sharp as possible. Both are keen to stress, however, that nothing can replicate riding their CBR machines on track and Guintoli and van der Mark are excited at the prospect of getting back to action at Jerez on Friday morning.
2015 World Superbike championship, round 11
Circuito de Jerez – Jerez, Spain
Event schedule (local times GMT +2):
Friday 18 September
11.15-12.00 – Free practice 1
15.00-15.45 – Free practice 2
Saturday 19 September
09.45-10.30 – Free practice 3
12.30-13.00 – Free practice 4
15.00-15.15 – Superpole 1
15.25-15.40 – Superpole 2
Sunday 20 September
08.40-08.55 – Warm-up
10.30 – Race 1 (20 Laps, 88.460km)
13.10 – Race 2 (20 Laps, 88.460km)