Sportbike World Champion Xavi Artigas (Kawasaki) is set to defend his title

The first season of the World Sportbike Championship saw some thrilling and closely contested races, though these were characterised by fewer slipstream battles than had previously been the case in the 300cc series. The title was decided in the final race, with Kawasaki rider Xavi Artigas coming out on top.

Artigas rides for the strong Kawasaki team Moto Tuning Mol, which, however, cannot offer him any prospects of promotion to the next higher class. At 23, however, the Spaniard is still young enough to stay in the Sportbike category for another season and defend his title there. The contract extension was confirmed on Thursday afternoon. Kawasaki Europe is backing the project.

“I’m delighted to continue my journey with the Kawasaki Europe family, and as world champion, it means something very special to me,” said Artigas. “Having won the world championship, my next challenge is to defend my title, and I’m in an excellent position to achieve this goal. I have great confidence in Ludo and the whole team and am looking forward to another season with them, in which we aim to win again and make further progress together. I would like to thank KME, Steve and Ludo for this opportunity.”

Kawasaki manager Steve Guttridge was delighted with the Spaniard’s comeback. At one stage, the 23-year-old was 42 points behind his compatriot David Salvador.

“Xavi first had to adapt to be competitive in the new sportbike category, where so many talented young riders battle it out against each other every second throughout the race. He managed to combine his talent and experience with tactical skill and fight hard in every race, particularly from the middle of the season onwards,” said the Englishman. “He absolutely deserves to become Kawasaki’s first world champion in this category, thereby continuing the long tradition of winners from our excellent MTM team.”

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