By First opened forty years ago in 1985, the Spanish ‘Circuito Permanente de Jerez – Angel Nieto’, hosted last weekend finale of World Superbikes, Supersport, Supersport 300 (will be-replaced next season by new class Sportbike) and WCR – Women’s Circuit Racing.
All 2025 World Champions are already widely known but the focus of this article, is roads scene themed.
Northern Irish legend from Ballymena, six-times consecutive World Superbike Champion (2015-2020), 119 times race wins record-holder Jonathan Rea bid farewell to full time WSBK racing.
His father Johnny Rea won the 1989 Junior TT race. 26-times TT winner Joey Dunlop attained his first TT victory in 1977, winning the the Jubilee Classic race, aboard Yamaha TZ750 of Rea Racing (team of Jonathan Rea’s godfather).
Back in July at Donington Park, ‘JR’s helmet paid tribute to Joey’s racing achievements.
In historical order of WSB titles behind Jonathan Rea whose Pata Maxus Yamaha team-mate Andrea Locatelli participated in last May’s Bergamo Historic GP street-circuit classic demo, stands Carl Fogarty MBE (1994, 1995, 1998, 1999 Champion) three times Isle of Man TT winner (1989 Production 750 Race – 1990 F1/Senior races), who is sixty years young from last July.
Returning to present times and making his WSB racing, wildcard premiere at Jerez was Lukas Tulovic (P17 – Race 1, P16 in Superpole race, did not finish race two, after incident) 2025 IDM Superbike Champion, this season’s fastest IDM exponent at Schleizer Dreieck, Germany’s oldest street racing venue (first established in 1923) and regular holder of IRRC rounds.
MCA Racing CBR600RR Honda propelled Marvin Siebdrath (did not finish first race – technical problem / P24 from race two), celebrated this month his 22nd Birthday, was a wildcard in World Supersport encounters.
Back in August, he scored consecutive IRRC Supersport wins, a new category lap-record at Schleiz, when astride Laserscanning Europe by PSB’s R6 Yamaha, the same bike taken to Horice, Frohburger Dreieck lap records thanks to Petr Najman (2025 IRRC Supersport Championship – third overall) and Paul Jordan.
Marvin Siebdrath thus followed the group of racers, who have World Supersport pedigree and IRRC race wins emboldened in their racing CV’s, Lee Johnston, Pauli Pekkanen, the late great Luca Salvadori, WSS points-finishers Arie Vos, Matthieu Lagrive (2018, 2019 IRRC Supersport Champion), Sebastien Le Grelle (2015, 2017 IRRC Superbike Champion) and the UK’s first IRRC Champion, SBK title clincher in 2018, Danny Webb.
Photo credit: Jan Vavra
Words by Jan Vavra
