Now, here is the beauty of a racing calendar: even when the big championships are already settled, the machine never stops hunting. While the Riders’, Manufacturers’ and Teams’ Championships have all been won in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, there are still titles up for grabs at the Circuito Estoril. The fight to be crowned the top Independent Rider could be wrapped up in Portugal, alongside a handful of WorldSSP titles waiting to find their home.
Let us look at the independent battle first, because Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) holds the cards against Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) for that top Independent rider crown. The #5 is 50 points clear of the British rider, and Montella can win the title in Race 2 if he outscores his rival by 13 points across the weekend, while also losing up to 13 points to Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven).
Over in WorldSSP, the math gets even busier with plenty of titles ready to drop. Starting with the Riders’ Championship, Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) will secure the title if he loses at most 10 points to Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Evan Bros Factory) in Race 1. A podium finish for the #75 will secure the title regardless of Debise’s results. If he is not Champion on Saturday, to win it in Race 2, he will need a 51-point advantage over Debise.
The factories and teams are getting in on the action too. The Manufacturers’ Championship will go the way of Yamaha in Race 1 if the Japanese manufacturer loses at most 16 points to Ducati. In the Teams’ Championship, AS BLU CRU Racing Team will be crowned in Race 1 if Arenas and Aldi Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) lose less than 28 points to Debise and Federico Caricasulo (EASTROC ZXMOTO Evan Bros Factory).
Finally, down in the WorldSSP Challenge, Corentin Perolari (Honda Racing World Supersport) can secure it in Race 2 if he outscores Raffaele De Rosa (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) by 26 points across the weekend and the other WorldSSP Challenge riders by 21 points.
