The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team has reached the south of Spain to take part in the penultimate event of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship, which takes place this weekend at the ‘Circuito de Jerez’. Davide Giugliano and the returning Takumi Takahashi will take to the track on board their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machines in what is the last European event of the year before the season finale in Qatar.

Giugliano is eager to return to action after his positive weekend at Magny-Cours a fortnight ago. The 27-year-old Italian rider well performed in front of the French crowd, while improving his feeling and synergy with the bike, much to the satisfaction of the team. The fast and flowing nature of the Jerez circuit suits Giugliano’s riding style like no other track on the calendar, so the former STK1000 champion is looking forward to getting started.

Takumi Takahashi will be back on board the WorldSBK-spec version of the Fireblade after his debut at Portimão last month where he scored his first World Championship points. Unlike the Portuguese event, however, the Japanese rider will approach this event not only with some experience of the bike and Pirelli tyres but also with previous knowledge of the track, which will be a massive help for the three-time Suzuka 8 Hour winner.

Davide Giugliano 34

We get to Jerez after the positive weekend at Magny-Cours, where we worked hard and well to improve the package. I think we are heading in the right direction, so now I’m looking forward to Jerez, which is among my favourite tracks and one where I’ve always been competitive. I hope I will be able to put my speed to good use in order to keep improving the bike and have fun out there.

Takumi Takahashi 72

I have tested with MotoGP at Jerez before so I already know the track, which is without a doubt a massive help heading into my second-ever WorldSBK round. Last time out at Portimão I got to know this version of the Fireblade and started to understand the behaviour of Pirelli tyres, so now I’m looking forward to getting back on track. The team works really hard and their support is great, so I’ll be giving my very best and hopefully we will get a good result together.

Ronald ten Kate - Team Manager

After a positive weekend at Magny-Cours we are looking forward to Jerez, where we are hoping to maintain the upward trend and aim for some good results. For Davide it means two consecutive race weekends on the bike which will be a big help. Takahashi knows his way around Jerez, so this will help him aim for better results than he had Portimão where everything – the track, bike, tyres and the championship – was completely new for him.