SBK arrives in Jerez for the last dance: farewells and a title to assign

Last tango in Jerez. After eleven spectacular rounds, the curtain is about to come down on the 2023 WorldSBK season, which will sees its champion crowned at the very last event. An almost perfect season was not enough to see Alvaro Bautista secure the title ahead of time, although he now needs just a handful of points.

The Spaniard left Portimao – a weekend that brought us probably the best race of the year – with a 60-point lead, which means he essentially already has his hands on the title trophy as he lands in Jerez. Bautista may already be celebrating after race 1 in fact, the rider needing just a thirteenth place finish if his rival were to win.

 Rea and Razgatlioglu one step from the future

A duel that looks to be already written, but the upcoming weekend has a lot more to offer, starting with the fact that it will be Toprak’s last appearance in Yamaha blue and Jonathan Rea’s final outing in Kawasaki green. Two important chapters - particularly the second - in the history of the production-derived series are about to close, and we’re sure that both the Turk and the Northern Irishman will want to finish in the best possible way.

Another interesting aspect is the fight for fifth place in the championship, behind Andrea Locatelli who will almost certainly finish as the best Italian. Axel Bassani and Michael Rinaldi will battle it out for a top five finish, the former currently lying eleven points ahead of the latter. But it is Rinaldi who is in better shape as they head to the Andalusian track, one at which he secured the 2017 Stock1000 title no less. As for Bassani, he will also be fighting for the independent riders’ title, up against Danilo Petrucci who nevertheless lies 28 points behind.

It will also be something of a special weekend for Scott Redding, who is ready to leave the factory BMW team to move to Bonovo, while many others will use the final race weekend to improve their chances of a ride for 2024. Not least the aforementioned Rinaldi, for whom Motocorsa now seems more likely than Honda, but also Lorenzo Baldassarri, Philipp Oettl and Loris Baz, all currently in search of a seat.