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Xavi Artigas secured the inaugural FIM Sportbike World Championship after a dramatic finale at Jerez, finishing eighth in Race 2 to edge David Salvador by eight points. The title was decided over a chaotic weekend that flipped the standings and featured collisions, penalties and a late-race duel.
Weekend swing after a costly Race 1 incident
David Salvador arrived at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto with a 12-point championship lead, but Race 1 changed the calculus. A collision with Carter Thompson at the final hairpin sent Salvador down; Thompson received a long-lap penalty, yet Salvador was left with a 22nd-place, non-scoring finish.
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Artigas capitalized, winning Race 1 and turning the points table on its head. That victory gave the MTM Kawasaki rider a 13-point advantage heading into Sunday and reduced the title fight to a single clear task: keep Salvador within reach in Race 2.
Race 2: tight duels and a crucial hold
Both title contenders started from mid-pack and moved forward aggressively, trading positions through the early laps and narrowly avoiding contact on Lap 4. Carter Thompson broke clear of the leading group, leaving Salvador and Artigas to continue their duel.
On Lap 8 the pair ran wide at Turn 13 while Artigas attempted a pass at Lorenzo Corner, which dropped them to eighth and ninth. Salvador recovered to fourth; Artigas held eighth — a finish that was enough to clinch the championship by eight points.
Podium, standings and season context
Thompson won Race 2 by 4.565 seconds over Antonio Torres, recording his second victory of the year. Pepe Osuna took his first WorldSPB podium in third. Thompson’s result also secured third place in the final riders’ standings ahead of Torres.
Artigas’ title capped a late-season surge: he won three of the final six races and added a second at Cremona, erasing a 35-point deficit to finish on 245 points versus Salvador’s 237.
“When you are competitive and you start on the grid knowing you can win races and get podiums; you start to think more that you can do it,” Artigas said.
Kawasaki topped the manufacturers’ table, with three Ninja riders finishing among the top four. The season summary also noted that Thompson finished third overall on the Yamaha R7, while Triumph took second in the manufacturers’ chase, aided by a run of eight straight podiums from Daytona 660 riders between rounds three and seven.
2026 WorldSPB Championship Top 10 — Final results
| Pos. | # | Rider | Team | Bike | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 | Xavier Artigas | MTM Kawasaki | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 | 245 |
| 2 | 38 | David Salvador | Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 | 237 |
| 3 | 50 | Carter Thompson | Team BrCorse | Yamaha YZF-R7 | 193 |
| 4 | 47 | Antonio Torres | Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 | 188 |
| 5 | 65 | Ferre Fleerackers | Track & Trades Wixx Racing | Suzuki GSX-8R | 143 |
| 6 | 73 | Fenton Seabright | PHR Performance Triumph | Daytona 660 | 127 |
| 7 | 91 | Matteo Vannucci | Revo-M2 | Aprilia RS660 Factory | 117 |
| 8 | 6 | Jeffrey Buis | Track & Trades Wixx Racing | Suzuki GSX-8R | 112 |
| 9 | 16 | Alvaro Fuertes | Deza-Box 77 Racing Team | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 | 106 |
| 10 | 18 | Bruno Ieraci | CM Triumph Factory Racing | Daytona 660 | 97 |
