David Salvador: Crashed out, lost the title, promotion to Supersport confirmed

The first season of the new World Sportbike Championship ended dramatically. With a twelve-point lead, David Salvador went into the final round at Jerez as championship leader and started the first race from pole position – everything seemed to be going perfectly for the 23-year-old. But with two laps to go, Yamaha rider Carter Thompson collided with Salvador, causing the Spaniard to crash and finish empty-handed.

When his championship rival Xavier Artigas went on to win the race and held a comfortable 13-point lead going into the second race, the disaster was complete for Salvador. “Unfortunately, I didn’t quite understand what had happened; I didn’t see the motorbike coming. I just heard the noise and then felt a heavy blow to my left leg. I was forced off the track and crashed, with no chance of avoiding the collision,” said Salvador, describing the decisive moment. “I’m really disappointed because I’d have liked to have had a good battle with Artigas. During the race, however, every time he overtook me, he veered far outwards.”

Thompson received a long-lap penalty for the collision with Salvador. Nevertheless, the Australian crossed the finish line in sixth place. Given the severity of the incident, the Kawasaki rider was surprised by the lenient penalty. “I simply cannot understand some of the race officials’ decisions. In Cremona I was penalised, whereas here, contact that caused a rider to crash resulted in nothing more than a long-lap penalty. Frankly, I find that unbelievable.”

To explain: in Cremona, Salvador was demoted by six places on the grid because he was dawdling on the ideal line during Superpole.

In the second race at Jerez, Artigas secured the World Championship title with an 8th-place finish; Salvador came fourth. The ProDina rider can take comfort in winning the team championship and securing a place in Kawasaki’s Supersport works team. “Over the course of the year, things happened on the track that I didn’t like, but that’s just part and parcel of racing. For my part, I’ve always tried to give my best, and I’m satisfied with what I’ve achieved,” Salvador assured. “I’m already looking to the future and thinking about next season – in fact, we’ve already started working towards it. I’m confident that we can have another strong championship season next year. I’d particularly like to thank the ProDina team, Kawasaki and everyone else.”