Sykes and Rea triumph under different conditions
Changeable weather played a big role in the 8th WSBK round’s race day at Portimao’s Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. This year’s Portuguese races were held in opposite track conditions and saw different podium finishers in the two encounters.
Reigning champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) won a dry Race 1 ahead of Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) and teammate Loris Baz, whilst in Race 2 Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) was victorious under wet conditions, with the Ducati Superbike Team duo Davide Giugliano and Chaz Davies completing the top-3.
The main turn of events of the day took place in the second encounter, when Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli collided and crashed on lap 13 following an overtaking attempt by the Frenchman on the Italian rider. Guintoli was able to rejoin the race, eventually finishing in 7th position, whilst Melandri’s charge to the top drew to a close on the run off area of the track.
Sykes, who was 8th at the finish line in Race 2, took advantage by this situation and now leads the title race by 43 points over Guintoli, as the series heads to Laguna Seca for the second back to back round before the summer break.
Tom Sykes: “I had a poor start in race one and it is a long race round here, long enough race to make some corrections. I am happy because we had a good gap then the rain started to come. I didn’t want to do anything stupid and it was very difficult to calculate the levels of grip because in some parts of the circuit it was raining more heavily than in others. Luckily the cloud disappeared with a good amount of laps left, to go so I could take an advantage again. In the wet of race two we had some issues but I cannot be disappointed because we have shown great potential. There was too much for me to lose today. Some other riders made mistakes and so I extended my championship lead.”
Jonathan Rea: “I was really disappointed after race one because we had good pace in warm-up this morning. When I heard the rain coming on my motorhome roof I knew that it was a chance for me. I tried to do my own race from the front but the Aprilias had better pace at the middle point of the race. The track had started to dry out a bit and we were really suffering with corner exit but, although the conditions were a great leveller for all riders, it’s nice to take a win. I’d prefer to take it in the dry and we can’t get too excited because it’s a wet win; but we’ll take them any way we can and it’s 25 points not just for me but for the whole team.”
Race one and two report follows…
Race One …Sykes pulls away and wins race 1 to extend points lead An enthralling 20 lap race 1 saw Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) emerge victorious at a cloudy and overcast Portimao to claim his 7th win of the season and the 21st of his WSBK career.
At the start it was Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea that took the holeshot, leading for the opening three laps before Sykes and Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) overtook him into turn one at the start of lap four.
By half distance the constant swapping of positions had allowed reigning champion Sykes to stretch his lead to 3 seconds, before seconds later the white flag was waved to indicate that rain was beginning to fall.
Behind the leader five riders that included Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team), Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team), and Sylvain Guintoli, Leon Haslam on the second of the Pata Honda’s slowly began to close the gap, giving the fans a six rider group battling for the podium places.
Leon Haslam collided with Chaz Davies, both riders able to remount with Davies later retiring. Haslam eventually finished 11th.
At the front Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) had elevated himself to 2nd and began to quickly reduce the gap to Sykes before he responded to retain a lead of 2 seconds until the flag. Guintoli made his return to the podium in 2nd ahead of compatriot Baz, with Marco Melandri 4th
Jonathan Rea faded to a lonely 5th ahead of Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) who passed Ducati’s Davide Giugliano and his team mate Eugene Laverty on the final lap to finish 6th.
Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team) and David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) were never more than 0.1s apart for the entire race with Salom, eventually coming out on top by 0.014s on the line to claim the EVO honours.
Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) crashed out after improving from his lowly grid position whilst Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki), Geoff May (Team Hero EBR), both Grillini Kawasaki riders Bryan Staring and Sheridan Morais, Peter Sebestyen (Team Toth BMW) and Chaz Davies all retired.
Results: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 20 Laps/91.840 km in 34’45.568 average 158.529 kph; 2. Guintoli (Aprilia) 2.539; 3. Baz (Kawasaki) 3.175; 4. Melandri (Aprilia) 4.042; 5. Rea (Honda) 7.791; 6. Lowes (Suzuki) 14.772; 7. Giugliano (Ducati) 14.877; 8. Laverty (Suzuki) 14.941; 9. Salom (Kawasaki) 26.018; 10. Barrier (BMW) 26.032; 11. Haslam (Honda) 33.041; 12. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 38.385; 13. Canepa (Ducati) 42.237; 14. Russo (Kawasaki) 47.908; 15. Andreozzi (Kawasaki) 1’03.502; 16. Yates (EBR) 1 Lap; 17. Rizmayer (BMW) 1 Lap;18. Davies (Ducati) 5 Laps; NC. Staring (Kawasaki); RT. Sebestyen (BMW); RT. Morais (Kawasaki); RT. Elias (Aprilia); RT. Foret (Kawasaki); RT. May (EBR); SH. Badovini (Bimota) 34.442; SH. Iddon (Bimota) 38.246.
Race Two…Rea wins an unpredictable race 2 The second race of the day at Portimao was held in tricky conditions as the rain which began during the Supersport race continued to fall at the Portuguese circuit.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) romped home after a reduced race distance of 18 laps as the winner after Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) and his team mate Marco Melandri collided at turn five in the closing stages. Guintoli was able to remount eventually finishing 7th.
Behind Rea, Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) was a lonely 2nd with Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team) snatching the final podium spot from Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) and Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) after an enthralling final few laps in which 3rd position changed several times. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) finished sixth.
Race one winner Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) finished race two a lowly 8th after dropping back through the pack. He was passed on the penultimate lap by the recovering Guintoli who salvaged 7th at the flag. In the EVO battle the honours in race 2 went to Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia), the Frenchman finishing 11th overall. Bryan Staring managed to score some points with a 14th place finish.
Results: 1. Rea (Honda) 18 Laps/82.656 km in 34’55.154 average 142.024 kph; 2. Giugliano (Ducati) 6.817; 3. Davies (Ducati) 8.676; 4. Lowes (Suzuki) 9.740; 5. Haslam (Honda) 11.289; 6. Baz (Kawasaki) 11.808; 7. Guintoli (Aprilia) 14.169; 8. Sykes (Kawasaki) 17.164; 9. Laverty (Suzuki) 26.406; 10. Elias (Aprilia) 30.168; 11. Barrier (BMW) 41.820; 12. Morais (Kawasaki) 47.434; 13. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 50.045; 14. Staring (Kawasaki) 1’17.436; 15. Russo (Kawasaki) 1’24.500; 16. Andreozzi (Kawasaki) 1’30.563; 17. Salom (Kawasaki) 1’34.242; 18. Canepa (Ducati) 1’34.647; 19. Rizmayer (BMW) 1’47.422; RT. Melandri (Aprilia); RT. May (EBR); RT. Yates (EBR); NS. Sebestyen (BMW); SH. Badovini (Bimota) 26.263; SH. Iddon (Bimota) 33.831.
Standings (Round 8 of 13): 1. Sykes 284; 2. Guintoli 241; 3. Baz 236; 4. Rea 235; 5. Melandri 192; 6. Davies 159; 7. Giugliano 140; 8. Laverty 121; 9. Elias 115; 10. Haslam 115; 11. Lowes 111; 12. Salom 74; 13. Canepa 46; 14. Camier 30; 15. Guarnoni 26; 16. Barrier 17; 17. Scassa 16; 18. Foret 14; 19. Morais 14; 20. Corti 13; 21. Andreozzi 10; 22. Allerton 6; 23. Bos 5; 24. Staring 5; 25. Goi 5; 26. Russo 5; 27. Toth 2; 28. Fabrizio 2; 29. Lanusse 1. Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 301; 2. Aprilia 273; 3. Honda 235; 4. Ducati 207; 5. Suzuki 179; 6. BMW 53; 7. MV Agusta 13.
![Leon Haslam - 11th and 5th - “It’s been a frustrating weekend because we've made some progress but we were able to translate that into results today. I had a problem on the qualifying tyre in Superpole and that left me in ninth place on the grid which wasn't ideal. I was going OK in race one but Chaz [Davies] cut back across the line after he ran wide in turn five and that was the race done really. In the wet, I felt I could challenge for a podium in the middle part of the race but it didn't work out that way and I think that fifth was not a good reward for the effort we've put in here.”](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/WSBK-2014-Rnd8-Portimao-Leon-Haslam-1024x522.jpg)
World Supersport
After a titanic race at Portimao Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) has taken the 8th round victory in this year’s World Supersport championship after overcoming immense pressure from Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) and former champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi India Racing Team) who completed the podium.
Misano race winner Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) looked like making it a four rider fight before the Frenchman overshot at turn three before eventually retiring.
The opening half of the race gave the fans a real treat with some of the closest WSS racing of the year before championship leader Van Der Mark edged clear in the closing stages to win his 4th race of the year after a red flag because of rain stopped the race on lap 13. Today’s result means that the Dutchman has never finished lower than 2nd all season with the exception of his Phillip Island crash.
For Kennedy it was his first podium finish after moving into World Supersport, the Irishman finally showing his true potential.
Behind the top three Raffaele de Rosa rode well to bring the 2nd CIA Insurance Honda home in 4th ahead of PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) and Lorenzo Zanetti. (Pata Honda World Supersport Team).
Results: 1. Vd Mark (Honda) 12 Laps/55.104 km in 21’15.438 average 155.534 kph; 2. Kennedy (Honda) 1.649; 3. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1.961; 4. De Rosa (Honda) 8.042; 5. Jacobsen (Kawasaki) 8.095; 6. Zanetti (Honda) 8.538; 7. Coghlan (Yamaha) 11.045; 8. Marino (Kawasaki) 11.847; 9. Rolfo (Kawasaki) 12.624; 10. Roccoli (MV Agusta) 15.448; 11. Wilairot (Honda) 17.152; 12. Nocco (Kawasaki) 24.774; 13. Bussolotti (Honda) 24.839; 14. Debise (Honda) 25.022; 15. Menghi (Yamaha) 25.238; etc.
Standings (Round 8 of 12): 1. Vd Mark 160; 2. Cluzel 107; 3. Marino 93; 4. Sofuoglu 83; 5. Zanetti 80; 6. Coghlan 77; 7. Jacobsen 67; 8. De Rosa 67; 9. Rolfo 62; 10. Tamburini 48; 11. Kennedy 43; 12. Wilairot 35; 13. Bussolotti 30; 14. Wahr 26; 15. Russo 25; 16. Gamarino 22; 17. Menghi 20; 18. Nocco 20; 19. Leonov 15; 20. Gowland 9; 21. Roccoli 8; 22. Zaidi 7; 23. Coveña 7; 24. Schmitter 3; 25. Calero 3; 26. Debise 2; 27. Rogers 1. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 181; 2. Kawasaki 135; 3. MV Agusta 121; 4. Yamaha 87; 5. Triumph 9.
Superstock 1000
On a drying Portimao circuit Lorenzo Savadri (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) has taken victory in today’s FIM Superstock 1000cc Cup race after easing way in the final laps from Matthieu Lussiana (Team Garnier by ASPI Kawasaki) who was back on the podium in 2nd and David McFadden (MRS Kawasaki) who overcome the challenge from Kyle Smith (Agro-On WIL Racedays Honda) to take his first ever podium.
Smith was therefore 4th ahead of American Josh Day who was a lonely 5th on the second Agro-On Wil Racedays Honda and Fabio Massei (EAB Racing Ducati).
With only two races of the series remaining, Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team) has lost his championship lead and heads to the penultimate round in Jerez 2nd in the standings after finishing a lowly 9th in today’s race.
Fellow Barni Racing Ducati rider Ondrej Jezek didn’t even make it to turn one after suffering a technical problem at the start.
Results: 1. Savadori (Kawasaki) 14 Laps/64.288 km in 27’44.044 average 139.081 kph; 2. Lussiana (Kawasaki) 2.258; 3. McFadden (Kawasaki) 4.160; 4. Smith (Honda) 5.087; 5. Day (Honda) 16.273; 6. Massei (Ducati) 22.187; 7. D’Annunzio (BMW) 27.214; 8. Lanusse (Kawasaki) 27.858; 9. Mercado (Ducati) 35.118; 10. Nemeth (Kawasaki) 39.348; 11. Valk (Kawasaki) 46.213; 12. Muresan (BMW) 49.169; 13. Sandi (BMW) 1’00.000; 14. Alviz (Kawasaki) 1’10.034; 15. Butti (Kawasaki) 1’10.180; etc.
Standings (Round 5 of 7): 1. Savadori 83; 2. Mercado 79; 3. Lussiana 59; 4. Jezek 58; 5. Massei 54; 6. McFadden 54; 7. Lanusse 45; 8. Valk 44; 9. D’Annunzio 39; 10. Smith 35; 11. Day 32; 12. Nemeth 28; 13. Muresan 15; 14. Bergman 13; 15. Grotzkyj G. 10; 16. Pagaud 10; 17. Suchet 8; 18. Schacht 8; 19. Walraven 6; 20. Calia 4; 21. Castellarin 4; 22. Sandi 3; 23. Alviz 2; 24. Egea 2; 25. Moser 2; 26. Butti 1; 27. Alarcos 1; 28. Ayer 1. Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 108; 2. Ducati 100; 3. Honda 51; 4. BMW 40; 5. Suzuki 6; 6. Aprilia 4.
European Junior Cup
Augusto Fernandez (WIL Sport) has once again come out victorious in the Pata European Junior Cup race at Portimao by edging eight rivals at the end of a thrilling, nine-way battle up to the finish line. With only 0.065s separating the top-5 at the chequered flag, Angelo Licciardi (S.E.F.A.B Racing) and Javier Orellana (Europ Food S.L.) claimed the remaining podium positions, whilst Illan Fernandez (Evo Kids Racing) and Jesper Hubner (Honda Sweden) were fourth and fifth, respectively. With two races to go in the season, Fernandez leads with a 27 point advantage on Orellana, who is the only other title contender left.
Results: 1. Fernandez 10 Laps/45.920 km in 20’49.381 average 132.315 kph; 2. Licciardi 0.004; 3. Orellana 0.026; 4. Fernandez 0.054; 5. Hubner 0.065; 6. Perez 0.182; 7. Harland 0.465; 8. Soomer 0.525; 9. Hill 1.143; 10. Wisdom 19.528; 11. Ortt 20.613; 12. Van Sikkelerus 20.819; 13. London 20.856; 14. Ferreira 30.785; 15. Somosi 31.444; 16. Miebach 35.158; 17. Moreno 1’00.683; 18. Epis 1’05.187; EX. Van Schoonhoven.
Standings (Round 6 of 8): 1. Fernandez 129; 2. Orellana 102; 3. Licciardi 64; 4. Fernandez 63; 5. Miralles 62; 6. Hubner 51; 7. Perez 50; 8. Harland 47; 9. Soomer 42; 10. Grassia 35; etc.
Pata Honda Report
Pata Honda rider Jonathan Rea took victory in a shortened, wet second race in round eight of the 2014 World Superbike championship at the Autodromo Internacional Algarve in Portugal today.
The 27-year-old British rider was never headed in the race, which was reduced from a scheduled 20 to 18 laps after rain fell on the 4.592km Portimao circuit. At mid-race, Rea saw a comfortable lead reduced by the two factory Aprilias but they both crashed out on lap 13, leaving the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP rider to cruise home almost seven seconds ahead of Davide Giugliano and Chaz Davies.
The win marked Rea’s eighth podium at Portimao in the seven years that SBK has been visiting the circuit, but it was his first victory here. It followed a fifth place in the first 20-lap race, won by Tom Sykes, in which Rea was badly affected by low rear grip after leading on the opening laps.
His Pata Honda team-mate Leon Haslam finished fifth in the wet race two, after a strong challenge for the final podium position faded in the closing two laps. The 31-year-old was taken out of race one by another rider but remounted to finish in 11th place at the flag.
There is a quick turnaround for the World Superbike championship, which reassembles next weekend for round nine at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California, USA before an eight-week summer break.
Jonathan Rea – 5th and 1st – “I was really disappointed after race one because we had good pace in warm-up this morning; but I’m not sure if it was the tyre or not because we had changed nothing on the bike. When I heard the rain coming on my motorhome roof as I watched a bit of the Tour de France ahead of race two, I started getting a little bit giddy and singing as I was getting changed! I knew that it was a chance for me. I tried to do my own race from the front but I saw from my lap board that the Aprilias had better pace at the middle point of the race. The track had started to dry out a bit and we were really suffering with corner exit but, although the conditions were a great leveller for all riders, it’s nice to take a win. I’d prefer to take it in the dry and we can’t get too excited because it’s a wet win; but we’ll take them any way we can and it’s 25 points not just for me but for the whole team. They’re consistently working so, so hard to bring the package to the front, and they gave me a really great, user-friendly CBR to ride today, so I’m really happy for them.”
Leon Haslam – 11th and 5th – “It’s been a frustrating weekend because we’ve made some progress but we were able to translate that into results today. I had a problem on the qualifying tyre in Superpole and that left me in ninth place on the grid which wasn’t ideal. I was going OK in race one but Chaz [Davies] cut back across the line after he ran wide in turn five and that was the race done really. In the wet, I felt I could challenge for a podium in the middle part of the race but it didn’t work out that way and I think that fifth was not a good reward for the effort we’ve put in here.”
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator – “Jonathan took the lead at the start of race one but immediately his grip dropped and he finished fifth, which was a bit disappointing. I think that with a better tyre he could have been on the podium. He had a start-to-finish win in race two and he rode really strong. Unfortunately for them, the Aprilias retired but we gained some points back on the championship leaders so we’ll just keep chipping away. Leon had some bad luck in race one when another rider caused him to crash but he fought back for some points. He was fighting for third in the second race but had to let it go and he finished fifth. But it has been his strongest weekend with us so far and we’ve found a way up in the wet and the dry so we’re looking forward to Laguna.”
Kawasaki Report
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored a commanding win in the first race at the Portimao round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, with his team-mate Loris Baz (KRT) joining him on the podium in third. Despite finishing off podium in race two Sykes extended his championship lead to 43 points. KRT SBK Evo rider David Salom won the Evo class in race one.
With a dry race opening victory and then a wet weather affected eighth in race two Sykes had a day of contrasts but the final result was an increase in his championship lead, and a season victory tally of seven so far. Sykes joined Max Biaggi on a career total of 21 SBK race victories after Portimao.
For Baz a sixth in race two was as much as he could get when the weather conditions changed unexpectedly and the full wet second race, of only 18 laps, was completed. Added to his podium score from race one he still managed to score enough points to remain in third place in the championship, only five points behind the second place rider.
In the first race Sykes had an almost flag-to-flag win, powering ahead of all his opponents and even surviving a worrying time mid-race when the clouds that had gathered finally dropped light rain on the Portimao track surface. Sykes, with no other riders to judge pace on slowed for a time but after the rain stopped he carried on at full pace on his Ninja ZX-10R. In race two he simply did not have the required set-up to compete for a podium again in full wet conditions for all 18-laps and dropped from a long time second place to eighth.
Baz was third in race one after pushing up to second and having to drop back to fifth at one time as the very slight rain arrived. He got going again to go third but in race two he went on to finish inside the top six in the rain, despite not finding his own personal best machine settings.
David Salom’s race one was full of fight and desire and at the end he got the best of his Sylvain barrier to take yet another win in the Evo category. In race two, in the wet, he was unable to match the race one best and he finished 17th, two places off a point score. In the Manufacturers’ Championship Kawasaki still leads, by 28 points.
Laguna Seca in the USA will host the next round of the championship, in only a few days time, with raceday on Sunday 13th July.
Tom Sykes: “I enjoy winning races and the good thing is that the Ninja ZX-10R is giving me the feedback to be able to do this so I am very happy at the moment. I had a poor start in race one and it is a long race round here, long enough race to make some corrections. I am happy because we had a good gap then the rain started to come. When you are leading the championship and leading the race you do not want to do anything stupid and it was very difficult to calculate the levels of grip because in some parts of the circuit it was raining more heavily than in others. The team gave me great pit board signals and luckily the cloud disappeared with a good amount of laps left, to go so I could take an advantage again. In the wet conditions of race two we had some issues but I cannot be disappointed because we have shown great potential. Sometimes we are dealt these strange races and there was too much for me to lose today. Some other riders made mistakes and so I extended my championship lead compared to when we arrived here.”
Loris Baz: “In race one I saw the rain at one time and I did not know how strong it was so I did not take to many risks until the rain had gone. I am really happy because yesterday I was struggling to be inside the top eight on a race tyre and we found some good things in the morning warm up, so well done to the team. In race two we have been struggling a bit to find our best real wet settings but we have made progress in that area recently. In the beginning I was missing some feeling so I was waiting a bit and had some visibility issues. I am happy enough because I found a good pace. We have made a good step in the wet here and we lost almost nothing in the championship standings, as I am only five points from second place.”
David Salom “I had a very good race and a very good fight with Sylvain Barrier in the first race. I waited almost behind him and I tried a couple of times to see where to pass him on the last lap. Seven laps from the end my hand was in a lot of pain and it was not possible to move the bike as I wanted to. I went off line maybe four or five times but I gave it all on the last lap and won the Evo race. The team worked very hard on the bike and it was in good condition in the race. In the second race, in the wet, it was difficult for me. I did not have the confidence even though the bike is very good in those conditions so I could not go faster. The problem in the wet was me not the bike and I did not want to risk a crash and we still have a good advantage in the championship.”
Suzuki Report
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s Alex Lowes put on a display of determination to finish fourth in the eni FIM Superbike World Championship’s race two at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal today.
The British racer got-off to a tricky start for the shortened 18-lap contest, from 11th on the grid, spinning off the line in the wet conditions and arrived 13th into the opening corners. Head down, Lowes put his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R1000 to work, closing on the nearest riders to claim ninth by the second lap. As the rain abated and the lap-times quickened he continued his charge: Lap 12 saw both Aprilia’s ahead of him collide, promoting Lowes to sixth and in-the-mix of a four-bike-pack challenging for third. Bettering three riders on lap 15 he took a chance at the podium before a slight mistake saw him briefly back in fifth. He repeated the move on Honda’s Leon Haslam on the penultimate lap and brought his Suzuki across the line for a well-deserved fourth place.
A similar determination delivered Lowes 10 points and a sixth-placed finish in the day’s opening dry race. A great start saw him jump four places in the initial sector, holding seventh before dropping to 10th for the first half of the 20-lap race. Advancing to eighth after a two-rider tussle on lap 11 as the white flags were waved, Lowes capitalised on an opportunity largely created by backmarkers to take sixth on his approach to the chequered flag.
Eugene Laverty leaves Portugal eighth in the championship after finishing eighth and ninth in this afternoon’s two races. It was a disappointing conclusion to his impressive weekend-showing, as the Irishman looked to be bringing home a top-six finish on his Suzuki GSX-R in the midday contest, before a tangle with the backmarkers on the final stretch of the last lap cost him two positions.
As the rain enveloped the Portimao circuit for the final race of the day, Laverty struggled to retain his earlier position. He dropped to 13th after a difficult start, but improved to set his fastest lap of the race on the penultimate revolution, consolidating ninth position at the line.
A grey and overcast race day greeted fans at the Algarve circuit as the brooding clouds brought the rain in time for the second race, despite the pleasant 21°C temperatures. Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes and David Salom took the spoils for the two classes in the opening contest, while Honda’s Jonathan Rea was dominant in the second outing; BMW’s Sylvain Barrier claiming the late afternoon’s EVO victory.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki now prepares for its return to the United States and the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, as the Championship’s ninth round visits California on the July 13th.
Alex Lowes: “After crashing yesterday in qualifying and being on the fourth row I’m quite happy with two solid top-six results. In the second race if I hadn’t made a little error I could have been on for a podium but I’m happy to come from where I started and to get fourth. We learnt some more about the GSX-R today – we now know where we still need to improve and also have some proof on where it is working well – which can help us to keep moving forward. I really want to say thanks to the whole team, they were in the garage until 1:30am last night fixing the bike after my crash yesterday; it would have been really nice to reward them with a podium so I’m sorry about that, but I’m now looking forward to next week. I can’t wait for Laguna; it’s another new track, but it’s tight and twisty so it should suit us well.”
Eugene Laverty: “We were top-four in every session apart from the three that mattered, Superpole and the two races! I’m very disappointed with race one, it was drizzling with rain and I was too scared to take risks and ended up in a low position. I lost two places on the last lap due to backmarkers but whether it was sixth or eighth, for me it wasn’t a good race. In the second race I didn’t have any feeling at all in the beginning, it came better in the end but it was too little… too late, so it was a poor day. We really had pace for the podium here so to walk away with an eighth and a ninth is not what we hoped for.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Mixed emotions and mixed results sum-up the team’s day at Portimao. We had a strong feeling that both riders could be competitive in the dry but in the first race we couldn’t make the lap-time needed with the new tyre compared to the excellent times we made in warm-up this morning, which was strange because the fuel load, track temperature and weather conditions were identical; as it has been all year understanding. How to make the bike to work well in the early laps is pivotal to the end result.
“Both Eugene and Alex had very strong pace towards the end of race one but by then it was too late and the fight for the podium is gone. The second wet race was a surprise after the beautiful weather we’ve had all weekend but a stunning performance from Alex from 13th on the first lap through to fourth and to get that close to the front-runners and to the podium was a brilliant ride. Eugene’s wet race was very strange, much further off the pace than he would want to be in the first half of the race due to a lack of feel and confidence on corner entry but stunning pace and the fourth-fastest lap overall as the race went on. Wet or dry we need to improve qualifying and improve our pace in the early laps; the answers aren’t clear how to do this but the team will keep working hard to fulfil our potential.”
Aprilia Racing Report
A Sunday with plenty of upsets and surprises closed out the World Superbike Portuguese weekend. Race 1, which started under threatening clouds, had Marco Melandri starting off well and Sylvain Guintoli holding onto fifth place during the initial phases of the race. A few drop of rain then threatened to put an end to it all with Sylvain decidedly fast and Marco slowed by a drop in grip at the rear. The rider from Ravenna continued to push anyway, barely missing a podium finish, while his team mate made up ground and took advantage of the difficult track conditions to come back and take second place.
The conditions worsened in Race 2, forcing the riders to use rain tyres and settings. With the distance reduced to 18 laps, both Marco and Sylvain were cautious for the first part of the race, increasing their pace lap after lap and, after a series of preparatory passes, they found themselves behind Rea who was trying to pull the pin at the front.
With a consistent gap in terms of race pace, the Aprilia riders were closing in for the final attack. Unfortunately in turn 5 during the 13th lap, Guintoli braked on the inside of Melandri but slid, taking Marco down. This was an unfortunate collision that brought Marco Melandri’s race to an end, while Sylvain was able to restart and finish in seventh place.
Marco Melandri: “It is really a shame. After almost making it onto the podium in Race 1 I had the right pace to redeem myself in Race 2. Unfortunately it went as badly as it could and I’m sorry about that because I could have had a really good comeback. It was definitely a lost opportunity, but it is also confirmation of the fact that my team and I are continuing to work together with our sights set on the highest prize. We’ll have a chance to redeem ourselves in the coming rounds”.
Sylvain Guintoli: “In Race 1 I tried to take advantage of the first signs of rain. I was feeling good and had a good pace. But when conditions returned to normal the gap behind Sykes was too big and I had to settle for second place. In Race 2 both Marco and I were clearly faster than our rivals, but unfortunately on turn 5 Rea braked really early and I tried to go up the inside. Marco was on the outside and I lost the front end on a bump which took us both out. I’m really sorry for him and for the team. We had a good result within our grasp. It was simply race contact and unfortunately in these conditions it’s easy to make a mistake”.
Romano Albesiano, Aprilia Racing Director: “That’s how racing goes. We paid for the desire to win of two great riders. These things happen and obviously it’s a shame because we could have brought home a great result and completely reopen the championship. The good thing is that we showed how fast we are thanks to the great work the entire team is doing. They took on a difficult situation in the best possible way, once again confirming how very competitive we are. The results achieved in Race 1 prove it, as well as Marco and Sylvain’s extraordinary comeback in Race 2. We will definitely be protagonists in the championship through to the last race”.
Hero EBR Report
An overcast and cloudy 8th round of the Superbike World Championship saw Team Hero EBR notch up another race finish as Aaron Yates brought his EBR1190RX machine home in 18th in race one before retiring from race 2.
Race one saw him battling hard for the entire 20 lap race with both Team Toth BMW riders, eventually finishing 18th on the road after winning his own personal fight. The race included the marshal waving white flags to all riders as rain began to fall for a few moments before half distance. Thankfully the clouds passed allowing the race to continue uninterrupted.
Race two however couldn’t have been more different with progressively heavier rain beginning to fall on the Portuguese circuit. Aaron started from the back of the grid and despite posting some respectable lap times in comparison to those around him, retired early in the race.
Starting once again from the pitlane (as in Misano) to avoid a similar penalty at the upcoming Laguna Seca event, Geoff May retired from both races although the number 99 rider complete more laps than in the first encounter, keen to get some wet weather testing under his belt.
Geoff May – “It’s no secret that we are onto engine ten with five races to go. It is impossible to do anything here from the pit lane so we chose to save our engine. We accomplished what we needed to this weekend in terms of testing the new parts and the results were pleasing so we move on to Laguna next week where I won’t need to start pit lane.”
Aaron Yates – “I am happy to be able to bring it home and finish race 1. We made yet more steps with the suspension so I am looking to move even further forward at Laguna.”
