The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team did not enjoy an easy day at the office as the opening race of the penultimate round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship was contested today at ‘Circuito de Jerez’. Davide Giugliano was forced to a late retirement with two laps to go, while Takahashi was 16^th at the end of the reduced 19-lap Spanish encounter.

The initial race was red flagged on the opening lap due to the crashes occurred to Italy’s Badovini and De Rosa at turn six. As the new 19-lap encounter got underway, Giugliano maintained his position while trying to get up to speed on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2. The 27-year-old Italian was unable to keep a consistent pace throughout the race and eventually had to make his way back to the pits as the WorldSBK field entered the penultimate lap.

Takahashi’s performance was affected in the initial stages of the race after the Japanese rider crashed unhurt at turn 13 on lap four. He eventually managed to get back on the bike and continue the race to gain some more experience in the series.

Race two will get underway tomorrow at 13:00 local time (GMT +2) after the traditional 15-minute warm up scheduled at 9:30.