Sportbike Jerez: Thompson takes out Salvador, Artigas turns the championship on its head

The Sportbike World Championship has a new leader with just one race remaining. At Jerez, Xavi Artigas won Race 1 as David Salvador crashed two laps from the finish, hit by Carter Thompson at the final corner. The 23-year-old Spaniard arrived in Andalusia 12 points behind; he now leads his Kawasaki brand-mate by 13.

.On Friday, Salvador took pole for the fifth time this season, with Thompson (Yamaha) separating him from Artigas on the front row. The Spaniard has already signed to move up to Supersport in 2027.

The race got off to a difficult start before it had even begun. On the warm-up lap, Julien Correa (Kawasaki), Jeffrey Buis (Suzuki) and Fenton Seabright (Triumph) crashed at Turn 1, leaving their grid spots empty. The consequences were serious for the Dutch Suzuki rider: he dislocated his shoulder and will miss Sunday's race. At the 1 p.m. start, the temperature stood at 26 degrees, with 11 laps scheduled.

Salvador got the jump into Turn 1, but Artigas passed him at Turn 2. The opening lap was hectic, with several changes at the front and five Kawasakis leading: Alvaro Fuertes, Salvador, Artigas, Antonio Torres and Juan Risueno. On the second lap, Bruno Ierace (Triumph) and Marco Gaggi (Yamaha) retired, with Gaggi crashing at Turn 9, while Hugo de Cancellis, riding the Kove in place of Tonn, returned to the pits.

Meanwhile, Matteo Vannucci (Aprilia) and Thompson had joined the lead group. The Italian set the fastest lap so far in 1'47"020. After five laps, Salvador led ahead of Torres, Thompson and Artigas, with the top 10 covered by just two seconds. Tayo Aksu was a surprise in ninth, riding the only Honda on track.

In the second half of the race, eight riders broke away: five Kawasakis, along with Ferre Fleerackers' Suzuki, Vannucci's Aprilia and Thompson's Yamaha. On lap eight, however, Vannucci crashed, after Di Persio (Yamaha), Luca Agostinelli (Aprilia) and Mattia Martella (Yamaha) had already been forced out by crashes.

Two laps from the finish, at the final corner, Thompson ran into Salvador, who crashed. Race direction deemed the Australian responsible and handed him a long-lap penalty. Despite the sanction, Thompson finished sixth.

Artigas began the final lap in the lead, chased by Fleerackers, Fuertes and Pepe Osuna. The riders battled elbow to elbow, but the championship runner-up held firm to claim his fourth win of the season. Fleerackers finished second, with Fuertes completing the podium. Harrison Dessoy brought the best-placed Triumph home in seventh, while Aksu's ninth place marked his best result of the year.

Now only the final race of the season remains: Artigas heads into it as the leader with a 13-point advantage, while Salvador will have to fight back to reclaim a title that seemed to be in his hands until Saturday.

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