The final act of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship takes place this week at the Losail International Circuit with a slight change in the schedule compared to previous editions – which now sees the final day of action set on Saturday 4 November. The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team is currently on its way to Qatar’s capital city Doha with Davide Giugliano and the returning Jake Gagne as the standard bearers for the season finale.
After a challenging weekend on Spanish soil, Giugliano is looking forward to the Qatari event with the goal to return to the type of form shown in France a month ago. The Italian rider, who turned 28 three days ago, will try and make the most of this final racing weekend of 2017 to try and finish the season on a high note.
Jake Gagne will return on board the WorldSBK-spec version of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 for the first time since the French Round at Magny-Cours. The 24-year-old from San Diego has never raced in Qatar before – and never under floodlights! – which means that he will need to find his way around the long and flowing 5.380km Losail circuit and get used to different track conditions, lighting and visibility.
World Superbike action will get underway on Thursday at 17:45 local time (GMT +3), with the two races scheduled to get underway on Friday and Saturday at 21:00.