Team SBK Ducati Alstare prepares for final Jerez Superbike round with Badovini and Forés Bologna (Italy), Friday 11 October 2013: Team SBK Ducati Alstare and rider Ayrton Badovini will be joined by substitute rider Javier ‘Xavi’ Forés for the fourteenth and final round of the 2013 World Superbike championship, taking place at the Jerez circuit in Spain on the weekend of 20 October. At the penultimate Magny-Cours round, which took place one week ago, Badovini and substitute rider Michele Pirro took mixed results, with Ayrton finishing the event’s two races in ninth and tenth position and Michele scoring a sixth place finish in race one before unfortunately suffering a crash in the second of the day’s races. Javier Forés, 28 years old and from Valencia, Spain, will not step up to substitute for Checa in the season’s closing round. Forés is competing this year in the Stock Extreme category in the Spanish CEV championship. He is currently lying at the top of the general classification, leading the way for Ducati on board his 1199 Panigale, having won five of six races thus far and with two events still left to run. Javier knows the Jerez circuit well, having raced there while competing in various national and international series. The last time he participated in the World Superbike championship was in 2011, when he took part in the final rounds with BMW. He has not yet ridden the Panigale in its Superbike configuration, but will do so next Tuesday and Wednesday during development tests taking place at Misano. This will give Javier, who is extremely enthusiastic about this new challenge, the chance to gain confidence with the bike ahead of the race weekend. Ayrton Badovini: “We’re already at the final event of the year, unbelievable! It hasn’t been an easy season for us but I would like to bring it to an end in the best possible way, by taking good results at Jerez. I tested there earlier this year of course and I like the track, but it’s many years since Superbikes went there though, so we’ll not have that benefit of race experience. I hope we can work hard and adapt the bike to the track and complete two good races to finish the season on a positive note.” Javier Forés: “Jerez is a track I really like, I race there every year in the Spanish championship and so know it very well. I think it suits the Ducati, seeing as there are no long straights to contend with. This year is going very well for me in the Spanish championship. In my Stock category I’m getting on well with the Panigale and have won five of the six races run so far. I haven’t yet had chance to ride it in its Superbike configuration and so can’t wait to get on track and work to adapt the bike to the track. It will be a really interesting weekend and I thank Ducati and team Ducati Alstare for giving me this important opportunity.”