WorldSBK Press Office

With the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship season set to kick-off in Australia next month, 11 WorldSBK teams will be present at Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto from 23rd – 24th January to continue their preparation ahead of what promises to be a very tough campaign.

Hunting his fifth back-to-back title, reigning 2018 WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) looks forward to returning to the 4.4 km of tarmac of the Spanish race track to continue testing the 2019 updates of his Kawasaki ZX-10RR bike. The Northern Irishman was already at the top of the timesheet in the last winter test session that took place at the same circuit at the end of November and with no doubt, he will head into the new year as the man with the target on his back once again.

On the other side of the garage new teammate, Leon Haslam hopes to make a step forward with his new green machine. Returning to the class after four years, the Englishman will continue to work on improving the basic setup of his bike and get acquainted with the new electronics, which has changed compared to the one he was used to in the past.

Heading into their first outing for 2019, the new Aruba.it Racing – Ducati duo will be back trying to tame their all-new Panigale V4 R. During the short winter break, Chaz Davies was successfully operated to the right collarbone he fractured in training over summer in 2018, meaning he will now be back at work at his full strength for his second test with the new bike. Former MotoGP

star Alvaro Bautista will look forward to building on his pace after having already impressed with his progression during the two-day test held in November.

The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK team riders will return to Jerez with a lot of good memories from the time they last were there in December, teaching the four-wheel legend Lewis Hamilton how to ride a two-wheeled machine. Alex Lowes will head into the new year on a positive note after the November test, and he hopes to pick up from where he left off last season. His teammate Michael van der Mark had time to recover over the winter, as he was riding injured last time. The Dutchman is eager to return on his bike, ready to work on the 2019 updates.

Markus Reiterberger and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) will be out testing for the first time with their competitors. After having completed a successful first outing with their new bikes in December at Almeria, the team will have now the chance to understand exactly where they stand compared to their rivals.

Althea Mie Racing Team will take to the track around Jerez with Alessandro Delbianco. Coming from a positive season in STK1000, the Italian is eager to test and get acquainted with the power of the SBK® Honda CBR1000RR machine.

Sandro Cortese and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) will look forward to making more progress after a positive first outing on their YZF R1 last November. The German will continue to adapt to the SBK machine, whilst Melandri, who was working on the base setting of his bike, will now try to make a step forward with his Yamaha.

Heading into his first full-time season in WorldSBK, Italian Michael Ruben Rinaldi makes the step over to the BARNI Racing Team for 2019. The 23-year-old will look forward to improving with the all-new Ducati Panigale V4 R working alongside his new team.

After launching the colors for their Panigale V4 R in December, Team Goeleven will also take it to the track around Jerez with Eugene Laverty, who is ready to feel the power of the brand-new beast from the Italian manufacturer.

Orelac Racing VerdNatura, Team Pedercini, and Turkish Puccetti Racing will all come out with a strong effort, as both their WorldSBK and WorldSSP teams will be out testing at Jerez.

Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) will head into his second season aboard the ZX-10RR. The Argentinean, who will start now his fifth season in WorldSBK, will be looking at improving his overall pace around the Spanish race track, whilst Spanish WorldSSP rider Nacho Calero will be out on the ZX-6R of the Spanish team.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) will make his first outing on the ZX-10RR for 2019. Due to an injury sustained in a wildcard appearance in Japan, the Turkish rider missed the winter test session in November, meaning he will have a lot to test at Jerez this week.

The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team will also be working with their new WorldSSP line up, as both Lucas Mahias and Hikari Okubo will be present at the Southern Spanish circuit.

Jordi Torres returns to WorldSBK after a short stint in the MotoGP paddock last year. Joining Team Pedercini, the Spaniard was positive after the first outing at Almeria aboard the ZX-10RR of the Italian squad and he will continue to work with them to improve different areas of the bike. The same will be doing Ayrton Badovini who will contest the 2019 WorldSSP season with Team Pedercini.

Completing the list of those who will take to the track this week at Jerez, there are other five WorldSSP teams. MS Racing step up to WorldSSP with María Herrera who will make her debut on the Yamaha of the Spanish based squad becoming the first ever female in history to contest a full-time season in the class.
The all-French GMT94 Team will also be at Jerez with their strong line up of Jules Cluzel and Corentin Perolari, who are ready to test and fine-tune their bikes for the new season.

Krummenacher and Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros Racing Team), Raffaele De Rosa and Filippo Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), and Rob Hartog (Team Hartog – Against Cancer) will be at the Andalusian race track too.