The Honda WorldSBK Team has arrived at Jerez where this weekend the Gaerne Spanish Round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship takes place. Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark are eager to get back up to speed aboard their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machines in what will be the penultimate round of the season, the last one to be held on European soil.

"Jerez is really a great track, I like it a lot and I hope we can be really competitive there,” Said Hayden, who has a wealth of MotoGP experience at the Spanish circuit. The Kentucky Kid has so far climbed twice on the Jerez podium: he was third in 2006 and in 2011, when he scored the last rostrum finish of his MotoGP career. “There are some fast and flowing corners that should suit our bike well. We definitely have to work to maximise the electronics and gearing in some of the slow corners, but overall it should be a different experience to Magny-Cours. I definitely won’t have to learn the track during the first session and I’m also getting back on the same bike I used in the last race. Hopefully, all this will allow me to get up to speed and to do a better job than I did in France. I can’t wait to get started!”

Despite an early debut to the Championship in 1990, WorldSBK did not return to the Spanish circuit until 2013, but since then it has been a permanent fixture on the series calendar. Measuring 4.423km, the track is a great mix between fast flowing interconnected corners and slow, hard-braking hairpins: therefore, riding precision and good set-up are crucial to set competitive lap-times on this track.

Two years ago, Michael van der Mark sealed his World Supersport title at Jerez at the end of one of the most wild races in the history of the series. Last year, the 23-year-old Dutch rider took third place in Race 1 at the Andalusian venue.

 “I am really looking forward to Jerez,” said Michael van der Mark. “We left Magny-Cours with another podium and a good number of points, which helped us consolidate fourth place in the championship. It’s not over yet, so we need to continue this way. Last year we got on the podium and two years ago I won the Championship here, so this track has always been very kind to me. We tested at Jerez during the winter so we know what to expect; hopefully we can improve the bike a bit more in order to be closer to the front and fight for the top 3.”

The Honda World Superbike duo will be back on track on Friday the 14^th of October for Free Practice at 10:15am local time (GMT+2) at the Gaerne Spanish Round.