After a challenging weekend on Spanish soil, Giugliano is looking forward to the Qatari event with the goal to return to the type of form shown in France a month ago. The Italian rider, who turned 28 three days ago, will try and make the most of this final racing weekend of 2017 to try and finish the season on a high note.
Jake Gagne will return on board the WorldSBK-spec version of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 for the first time since the French Round at Magny-Cours. The 24-year-old from San Diego has never raced in Qatar before – and never under floodlights! – which means that he will need to find his way around the long and flowing 5.380km Losail circuit and get used to different track conditions, lighting and visibility.
World Superbike action will get underway on Thursday at 17:45 local time (GMT +3), with the two races scheduled to get underway on Friday and Saturday at 21:00.
Davide Giugliano 34
After Jerez being much harder than we expected, we head to Qatar with great motivation to do well and to finish the season on a positive note. Losail is a very different circuit compared to the European ones and the night races are something absolutely unique, so I’m looking forward to that. We need to start the event on the right foot and hopefully I will be able to give the team a strong result at this track.
Jake Gagne 45
I’m so excited to have another race on the World Superbike Fireblade. A huge thank you goes to Honda and Ten Kate for thinking of me again and giving me another great opportunity. Last time out in France was a big learning weekend for me and I want to keep the forward momentum rolling. Qatar will be a new track for me but I can’t wait to start turning laps. I really want to finish the year strong and keep learning.
Ronald ten Kate
We look forward to finishing 2017 on a high note, so that it can be a good starting point for the season to come and a good way to wrap up what has been a very challenging year for us. There are still two races to contest, so we will do our best to get some encouraging results. We are happy to have Davide and Jake on our side once again. Both of them have been extremely professional in their appearances with us, so we hope they can have fun out on track in what surely is a unique event on the calendar.
Qatar RoundLosail International Circuit, Qatar
WorldSBK 2017, Round 13
| # | Rider | Num | Nationality Nat. | Points Pts. | Team | Constructor Constr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan REA | 65 | GBR | 506 | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki |
| 2 | Chaz DAVIES | 7 | GBR | 363 | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati |
| 3 | Tom SYKES | 66 | GBR | 363 | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki |
| 4 | Marco MELANDRI | 33 | ITA | 301 | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati |
| 5 | Alex LOWES | 22 | GBR | 225 | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 6 | Michael VAN DER MARK | 60 | NDL | 210 | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 7 | Xavi FORES | 12 | SPA | 185 | BARNI Racing Team | Ducati |
| 8 | Leon CAMIER | 2 | GBR | 155 | MV Agusta Reparto Corse | MV Agusta |
| 9 | Jordi TORRES | 81 | SPA | 149 | Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW |
| 10 | Eugene LAVERTY | 50 | GBR | 135 | Milwaukee Aprilia | Aprilia |
| 11 | Leandro MERCADO | 36 | ARG | 115 | IodaRacing Team | Aprilia |
| 12 | Lorenzo SAVADORI | 32 | ITA | 113 | Milwaukee Aprilia | Aprilia |
| 13 | Román RAMOS | 40 | SPA | 106 | Team Go Eleven | Kawasaki |
| 14 | Stefan BRADL | 6 | GER | 67 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda |
| 15 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | 15 | SWI | 50 | Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki |
| 16 | Raffaele DE ROSA | 35 | ITA | 48 | Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW |
| 17 | Nicky HAYDEN | 69 | USA | 40 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda |
| 18 | Alex DE ANGELIS | 15 | RSM | 32 | Pedercini Racing SC-Project | Kawasaki |
| 19 | Markus REITERBERGER | 21 | GER | 29 | Van Zon Remeha | BMW |
| 20 | Ayrton BADOVINI | 86 | ITA | 26 | Grillini Racing Team | Kawasaki |
| 21 | Leon HASLAM | GBR | 20 | |||
| 22 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | 05 | FRA | 18 | Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki |
| 23 | Ondrej JEZEK | 37 | CZE | 18 | Grillini Racing Team | Kawasaki |
| 24 | Davide GIUGLIANO | 34 | ITA | 13 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda |
| 25 | Anthony WEST | 13 | AUS | 13 | Team Pedercini | Honda |
| 26 | Riccardo RUSSO | 84 | ITA | 13 | Guandalini Racing | Yamaha |
| 27 | Alessandro ANDREOZZI | 121 | ITA | 11 | Guandalini Racing | Yamaha |
| 28 | Takumi TAKAHASHI | 72 | JPN | 8 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda |
| 29 | Jake DIXON | 94 | GBR | 7 | Dynavolt Intact GP | Suter |
| 30 | Jake GAGNE | 45 | USA | 6 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda |
| 31 | Joshua BROOKES | 25 | AUS | 4 | ERMotorsport-EliteRoads.com.au | Yamaha |
| 32 | Julian SIMON | 60 | SPA | 4 | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex |
