In a dry and warm Superpole qualifying session on Saturday morning, Alex put himself fifth in the timesheets and Bassani was eventually tenth. These results put Alex on the second row of the Race One grid and Axel on the fourth row.

The first of three races that will complete the entire 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship season was started in 26°C ambient temperatures, with 38°C recorded on the asphalt.

The race began with Alex in fourth position, until Yari Montella passed him on lap two. From then on Alex dug in to keep up as fast a pace as possible and defend his track position. As the race continued he was passed by three more riders, leaving Alex in eighth place at the flag.

Bassani had a remarkably consistent ride to tenth place, crossing the finish line in that same position on every one of the 20 laps that made up Race One.

Sunday 19 October, the last raceday of the entire season, will feature two more WorldSBK contests. The ten-lap Superpole ‘sprint’ will get underway at 11.10 local time and Race Two is scheduled to start at 15.30.

On Sunday, race fans and the media in general should stay tuned for something special from the BbKRT team at 14.40, before the start of Race Two.

Alex Lowes, stated: “I am quite disappointed with today. I did a good lap in Superpole Qualifying and was in the Ducati sandwich. In the race I did not really have the grip or the speed. I started OK and tried to be aggressive at the start to get into a good track position. But I felt like I had no chance really. It was quite sad with the difference to them, which seems to be massive here. It’s like we are in a different race. I did my best right to the last lap and I tried to stay in there, in case Surra or Baldassarri made a mistake. When you start a race where you can get up to fourth, and then just slowly drop back and finish behind, it is difficult to say that you are happy with it. I don’t actually feel that I could have done a lot more. I kept pushing but the front was sliding, the rear was sliding and I was trying to lift the bike up coming out of the corners. The position we finished in is not very good but the reality is that I felt I was on the limit and riding really well. We will try again tomorrow.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “It was a really difficult Race One for me at Jerez and from the first lap I struggled a lot with the front. There was a lot of understeer. My pace was slow from the beginning to the end, and was quite similar all through the race. I struggled a lot with front traction and tried to stay consistent and not to make a lot of mistakes. In the end, I took some points and we finished inside the top ten. That is our goal at the moment. We really know where to work and now it is in our hands to try to understand what to change for tomorrow, and try to make a step. I think we can improve a lot. But racing is like this. We are trying to learn and fight with the top guys. At the moment that is really difficult. But we will try everything until the end.”