#ESPWorldSBK: «I am really looking forward to the season’s restart»

After a five-month break, the Superbike World Championship continues this weekend at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain.

For Sandro Cortese, 2020 is going to be very strange. After the agreement with the Italian racing team of Lucio Pedercini, which was only reached shortly before the first race, the season came to an unprecedented standstill worldwide after the start of the championship in Australia at the beginning of March. However, a revised WorldSBK calendar has been available for several weeks now. So far six stops have been fixed. In addition, the organisers are working flat out to win further events.

Not only for Sandro Cortese, but also for all the riders and teams of the series, the weeks before the announcement of the new calendar were a time of anxiety and hope as to when and how things will actually continue this year. A helpful change for everyone was the continuation of their own fitness program. In addition to many mini-bike sessions, the 30-year-old two-time ex-world champion from Berkheim in the Allgäu region of Germany completed his first test rides aboard his Kawasaki Superbike last month. A two-day stay at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on July 8th/9th brought very revealing results. But that is not the only reason why Cortese is looking forward to the probably toughest race weekend of his career with confidence. In the high summer of southern Spain, temperatures around 40 degrees during the day are not uncommon. At Phillip Island, Cortese opened with a 13th and 9th place respectively his points tally for this year's campaign.

#11 Sandro CORTESE (OUTDO Kawasaki Racing, Kawasaki ZX-10RR):

"I am really looking forward to the restart of the championship. It was finally time for it to continue. More than five months have passed since the last race. We have all made the best use of this long and unwanted time out to prepare ourselves in the best possible way. We also had four days of testing, during which we were able to get a good start on the tasks ahead of us. But now I am glad that things will finally get serious again on Friday. However, a brutally hard weekend awaits us. The heat will be the deciding factor. It is expected to be almost 40 degrees. This will be a big challenge for everyone. But we will face it because we are all incredibly happy that we can finally practice our sport again. On the other hand, it is a bit of a pity that the races are taking place without fans. This is a completely new situation for us, which we have never experienced in this way before. But I hope they can enjoy the action on TV. The main thing is that we can race again finally."

"Our first real test earlier this month in Barcelona was incredibly fun. At the beginning it was a mega feeling to finally get back on my bike. But it was not only fun, because after one or two exits, which were mainly to get the feeling back, it was also hard work. It took some time to get the bike back in the right direction and to set up it properly for my riding. Nevertheless, during these two days we have definitely done a lot of preparation for the upcoming weekend. But at first, it was very important to be back on a race bike after four and a half months. All in all, we did a good 160 laps. These have helped a lot to rebuild the feeling."

Profil Sandro Cortese:

Alter: 30 (geboren am 6. Januar 1990)

Wohnort: Berkheim (GER)

Startnummer: 11

Motorrad: Kawasaki ZX-10RR

Zweimal Weltmeister: 2012 Moto3™ und 2018 WorldSSP

2019: WorldSBK Gesamtzwölfter (134 Punkte)

#ESPWorldSBK Zeitplan (MESZ):

Freitag, 31. Juli: 10:30 - 11:20 FP1

Freitag, 31. Juli: 15:00 - 15:50 FP2

Samstag, 1. August: 09:00 - 09:20 FP3

Samstag, 1. August: 11:00 - 11:25 Superpole

Samstag, 1. August: 14:00 Rennen 1 (20 Runden - 88,460 km)

Samstag, 2. August: 09:00 - 09:15 Warm Up

Sonntag, 2. August: 11:00 - Superpole-Race (10 Runden - 44,230 km)

Sonntag, 2. August: 14:00 - Rennen 2 (20 Runden - 88,460 km)

#WorldSBK Stand:

1 Alex LOWES / GBR / Kawasaki / 51

2 Scott REDDING / GBR / Ducati / 39

3 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU / TUR / Yamaha / 34

4 Jonathan REA / GBR / KAWASAKI / 32

5 Michael van der MARK / NED / Yamaha / 31

6 Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Honda / 20

7 Loris BAZ / FRA / Yamaha / 20

8 Chaz DAVIES / GBR / Ducati / 19

9 Leon HASLAM / GBR / Honda / 17

10 Tom SYKES / GBR / BMW / 17

11 Maximilian SCHEIB / Kawasaki / 10

12 #11 Sandro CORTESE / Kawasaki / 10

13 Michael Ruben RINALDI / ITA / Ducati / 7

14 Xavi FORES / SPA / Kawasaki / 5

15 Eugene LAVERTY / GBR / BMW / 5

2020 WorldSBK Rennkalender (Stand Juli):

1. März - Australien, Phillip Island

2. Juli - Spanien, Jerez de la Frontera

9. August - Portugal, Portimao

30. August - Aragon, Alcaniz

6. September - Teruel, Alcaniz

20. September - Katalonien, Barcelona

4. Oktober - Frankreich, Magny-Cours

Not confirmed yet: 11. Oktober Argentinien / 8. November Misano