As reward for claiming the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, Raffaele De Rosa will join fellow Althea BMW riders Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger for the final round of the World Superbike championship.

De Rosa eased to the Superstock 1000 title at the final round in Jerez with fifth place, having seen championship rival Leandro Mercado crash out, and as is the traditional honour for riders affiliated with WorldSBK teams, the Italian has been gifted a wildcard entry for the Qatar round on the 28-30 October.

The Italian champion made a one-off outing for Althea BMW at Laguna Seca when he acted as replacement for the injured Reiterberger and is confident of a quick transition back to Superbikes thanks to that experience.

"Genesio Bevilacqua [Althea BMW general manager] is giving me this chance in Qatar and I can say that, having won the title, this is a really great prize," De Rosa said. "I have some idea of what to expect, seeing as I already rode the Superbike this year at Laguna. But in this case I know the track and, knowing that I have already won the championship, am feeling more relaxed.

"It's a track I like and I can't wait to get back to work. I'm really pleased to be able to take part in the final round at Losail."

De Rosa has enjoyed various outings at Qatar during his Grand Prix career in 125cc, 250cc and Moto2 while he has also raced there at World Supersport level in 2014.