Loris Baz confirmed on Thursday that it is his intention to return to the World Superbike Championship in 2018, after three years racing in MotoGP.

The Frenchman, a two time race winner in WorldSBK, is keen to find a situation that offers him a chance to be competitive once again. WorldSBK.com caught up with Baz at MotorLand Aragon.

“I'm proud of what I've been able to do in MotoGP, because if you look back three years it wasn't easy for me to come here,” said Baz. “Not many people at the beginning believed I could ride a MotoGP bike because of my size, but I think that I've shown I'm able to do it."

"Apart from that when I look back on these three years and how much I've learned, it has made me a better rider. I've improved my riding style, the race pace and all these things, I've improved a lot. That's what I'm really proud of from the last three years.”

The 24 year old continued: “I would have liked to have one year with a really good bike that could fight for the top five or six. I'm still only 24 years old and I already have three years of Superbike and three years of MotoGP™ in my career. There is still time to come back to MotoGP in the future I think.”

If the Frenchman is to return to MotoGP™ in the future, winning in WorldSBK will be crucial, but it is not a task that he is underestimating.

Since he handed over his side of the Kawasaki pit box to Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), the Northern Irishman has been able to win 34 races and stands on the verge of an historic third consecutive title.

“For now I'm just trying to find the best package and the best project for next year,” conceded Baz. “The stronger bikes of this season are all taken, but we are trying to look for the best project. We are talking with a few teams like Ten Kate. I think that will be something cool to work with a team like them and help them to win again, because it was a winning team for many years."

"Now they are struggling a little bit but I think I've been fast in WorldSBK, and I know most of the tracks, the championship and the tyres. Not much has changed. So it could be a good thing. But we are also talking with other people and trying to find the best seat.”

Seats are certainly in short supply in WorldSBK. With the majority of factory seats having been filled, the options available to Baz are being hunted for by numerous riders.

The Frenchman is just the latest rider to be linked to a move to the Honda squad, but with customer Kawasaki seats still available a return to the green machine is not to be underestimated.

Having a French rider on the grid could also be an ace up Baz' sizeable sleeves and MV Augusta would certainly be interested in his services.

“I think that it's sad that there are no French riders in WorldSBK, because the series has always been popular in France."

"I would be very happy to go back to SBK if I'm in a position to fight for the podium. There are fast French riders in WorldSSP and STK1000, so it's only in Superbike where there is a French rider missing!”

Kawasakis's Jonathan Rea produced an excellent double victory at the Portuguese Round taking his win tally for 2017 to 11 and putting him in contention for a third successive WorldSBK title at the next round in France.

Starting Sunday’s 20-lap contest around the 4.592km Portimao circuit from ninth place on the grid Rea shot through the pack and took just two laps to get into the lead. He went on to win by almost six seconds from second-placed Michael van der Mark.

With Rea’s injured KRT colleague Tom Sykes unable to race in Portugal the defending World Champion has moved 120 points clear in the championship fight, with Sykes second overall and Chaz Davies third, 135 points from Rea’s lead.

Three rounds of the championship remain, the first of them at Magny Cours in France, from 29^thSeptember to 1^st October, where Rea could seal the 2017 title.

He stated: “I made some tough passes in the first laps to get my track position and as soon as I hit the front I made my rhythm and went away. We had a completely different bike set-up today.

I had a lot of feedback from the bike and I was able to ride in my own rhythm but with seven or eight laps to go I had a drop in power in second gear. But as the laps were ticking down I could see that the gap was staying constant, and then I saw Chaz (Davies) went out and I had some breathing space.”

“We have had our bad luck this year in Donington. The championship lead is massive now and we can go to Magny Cours thinking about trying to win it in France. If we have a solid enough weekend in Magny Cours we can get it done.”

Joining the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team for the remainder of the season, starting with the Portuguese Round, Anthony West was pleased with his first rides on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR at the weekend.

The experienced Australian has been chosen to replace the injured Randy Krummenacher for the rest of the 2017 season and at the 4.592km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve at Portimao West used all his experience to secure a creditable eighth place in Race 2, having also scored points in 13^th on Saturday.

Starting both races in 16th on the grid West did particularly well in his second race on the Kawasaki as he made up several places over the course of the 20 lap contest, finishing ahead of some talented WorkdSBK regulars.

Commenting on his latest racing adventure West said, “I was so excited to get the chance to ride it, it didn’t hit me for a couple of days."

"When I got here I saw the team, met the guys and I was super excited to get on the bike although I didn’t know what to expect."

"I am happy with the result in the end. P8 for the first time on the bike and with this team is definitely a great result. I feel like we can improve and I’m happy that they’ve given me the chance to finish the season. It’s always nice to ride a bike with so much power. It is a lot of fun." He concluded

12 riders took to the track in the aftermath of the tenth round of the World Superbike Championship at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, and in a day with minimal distruptions there was some solid progress made. But it was Jonathan Rea who ended the day on top, 0.398s ahead of the rest of the field.

An overcast day greeted the WorldSBK riders in Portimao, and testing was underway at 9am local time before the red flags were waved following a technical problem for Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) at turn nine in the opening half hour.

Once the track was clear, riders were back on track with Althea BMW Racing Team welcoming Michele Fabrizio as their test rider and Davide Giugliano (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) swung his leg over the Honda once again.

Kawasaki Racing Team were present with only one rider following Tom Sykes’ crash on Saturday, and Rea spent the day working on some chassis set up as well as beginning work on the 2018 ZX-10RR. However this is still a work in progress, and the reigning champion is keen to keep his mind on the next three races – especially as he is yet to win at Jerez and Qatar in WorldSBK.His lap time of 1.42.313 after 53 laps put him up on top at the end of the day.

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a solid day in Portugal, finishing in second position on the timing screens after a tough weekend. Working on electronics and set up for the remainder of the season, they were also working with some set-up surrounding the Pirelli tyres. His team-mate Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was in the top three, 0.704s off Rea’s time, which keeps in line with his consistent pace so far in 2017.

European Superstock 1000 rider Toprak Razgatlioglu was out on track on the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing bike in Portugal, and impressed many riders throughout the day. Finishing in the top four, with a lap time of 1.43.429, he was able to get some good mileage out of the ZX-10RR and received praise from Rea.
 
Circuit ambassador Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) put in the most laps out on track following his most successful weekend since his return to the series.

Finishing in fifth position with a lap time of 1.43.257, the Irishman and his team were working on the consistent issue they have with grip. Looking at race pace with used tyres as well as some electronic set-ups, alongside his Italian team-mate Savadori – who finished in eighth - they were also covering some 2018 parts.
 
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team-mates Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes ended the day in sixth and seventh position as the team focused on testing parts of the bike that they are unable to over a race weekend.

Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) suffered a crash at turn nine which caused the session to be red flagged, which was caused by an issue with electronics. He suffered some slight pain but was able to continue throughout the day as he focused on the different Pirelli compounds on offer. Ending in the top ten, Torres’ best lap time was 1'43.602.