More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:

One even for Razgatlioglu and Bautista in Portimão on standard SC0 Pirelli tyres

The Turkish rider wins the Superpole Race but the Spaniard dominates in Race 2, Aegerter takes WorldSSP and Gennai wins the final WorldSSP300 race of the year

FOCUS ON THE SUPERPOLE RACE

(asphalt: 33° C / air: 24°C)

In the Superpole Race, the riders also used the rear qualifying solution represented by the SCX in Portimão. In the sprint race, 9 riders opted for this solution but the majority, including those on the front to rows of the grid, chose the standard SC0. Only one rider, Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team), used the B0624 development SC0 tyre. At the front, decisions were split between the standard SC1 and the A0674 development SC1. The Superpole race ended with a podium identical to that of Race 1, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) on the top step, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) second, and pole man Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) third. The latter did the race fast lap on the fourth lap with a time of 1’40.135, a new track record. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), finishing sixth, was the best of the private team riders.

TYRES IN ACTION IN RACE 2

WorldSBK (asphalt: 40° C / air: 26° C)

In Race 2, the rear in standard SC0 compound was once again the most used, chosen by 23 out of the 26 riders on the starting grid. At the front, the A0674 development SC1prevailed,prevailed, used by all three of the riders on the front row in combination with the rear standard SC0. The podium was once again a three-way battle between Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), and Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati). The three took turns in the lead throughout the race but in the end, the Spanish Ducati rider had the edge, finishing first ahead of his main rival for the title, Toprak Razgatlioglu (second) and Jonathan Rea (third). Three different brands on the podium yet again (Ducati, Yamaha, and Kawasaki).

WorldSSP (asphalt: 40° C / air: 25° C)

In Race 2, tyre choice was identical to that of Race 1, so all the riders were on SC0 rear and SC1 front solutions. It was an extremely heated race with a duel between pole man Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) until three laps from the end. Winning the race was the Swiss Yamaha rider, whereas the Italian Ducati rider crossed the line fourth. Behind the reigning World Champion were Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing Verdnatura WorldSSP), finishing second after starting from the ninth spot on the grid, and Turkish rider Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), third after recovering an amazing 11 positions. With this victory, his 13th this year, Aegerter has broken the record of  wins in a single WorldSSP season but, what’s more, he has further widened the gap in the overall championship standings ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team).

For more details on the tyres used in the race by the individual riders in the WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes, please see the sheets attached to this press release.

WorldSSP300 (asphalt: 40° C / air: 24°C)

Victory in the second WorldSSP300 race went to Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) on Yamaha, finishing ahead of newly crowned 2022 World Champion Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team), second, and compatriot Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha), third.

GIORGIO BARBIER, MOTORCYCLE RACING DIRECTOR

“Noting that, on a demanding track like this one, the standard solutions were the most used and popular among the riders is definitely important feedback for us which shows how solid and versatile our current range is. The decision not to bring the SCQ to this round and to rely on harder solutions was the right choice and the fact that the standard SC0 was the most used even in the Superpole Race is confirmation of this. The pace was extremely high for everyone this weekend, with several records broken in all the categories and race times in WorldSBK which averaged 1 second per lap faster than last year – a rather significant result. Honourable mention for the winner of the MotoAmerica Superbike championship, Jake Gagne, who, in a wild card spot here with Yamaha, proved his ability to be competitive in the top class. With this final European race in the books, all that’s left is to see what happens in the last three rounds between South America, Asia, and Australia.”

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Gerloff Recovers to Ninth in Portimao Race 2

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Garrett Gerloff recovered to a ninth-place result in Portimao’s second FIM Superbike World Championship feature race at the Algarve International Circuit, with Kohta Nozane outside the points.

In the Superpole Race, Gerloff showed promising speed but unfortunately fell after challenging inside the top nine positions. His Japanese teammate enjoyed a decent start, but was unable to make significant progress, ending 20th.

Afterwards, in the warmer second race, Gerloff get off the line well but light contact dropped him to 17th place at the end of the first lap. The 27-year-old managed his tyres well and showed blistering pace towards the latter stages, eventually finishing ninth as the Top Independent Rider.

On the other side of the garage, Nozane enjoyed a decent getaway and fought his way into top 15 contention. The Japanese Ace battled with those around, but struggled with the tyre wear in the final laps, eventually finishing 21st.

The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team will now travel to Argentina in two weeks for the tenth round of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship.

Garrett Gerloff: SPRC – DNF / Race 2 – P9 (Top Independent)

“The crash in the Superpole Race was a real shame. I had a good feeling on the bike and I strongly believe we could have had a strong result, which would’ve meant a better starting position for Race 2. Anyway, I had a good getaway in the second race but someone forced me wide and I had to recover from 17th. We had really good pace and at least we scored a decent amount of points, which is not too bad considering. I’m a bit disappointed because I believe we could do more, but we’ll take away the positives. I’d like to say a massive thank to the guys for rebuilding the bike after the sprint race, they did a super job once again.”

Kohta Nozane: SPRC – P20 / Race 2 – P21

“Overall it was a tough weekend. Things went a little bit better today but I couldn’t make it into the top 15. We’ll check the data to be more consistent in Argentina. We know our potential is higher and I’m eager to prove it for myself and the team to finish this year in the best way possible.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea Takes Third Portimao Podium Finish

Jonathan Rea (KRT) secured two third places in the final WorldSBK races at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve while his team-mate Alex Lowes aded a fourth and fifth place to his Portimao record on Sunday 9 October.

Once again the 4.592km long and heavily undulating circuit provided great entertainment for the fans – and a great challenge for the riders – with the final two races of the weekend proving to be tense affairs.

In the Superpole Race on Sunday morning Rea and Lowes pushed hard from the start, with Rea even setting a new lap record of 1’40.135 on lap four as he closed in on the leading duo of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista.

Rea would finish third and Lowes a close fourth in the ten lap ‘sprint’ race.

In Race Two Rea was determined to not let early leader Toprak Razgatlioglu get away and passed him on lap one, into the tight downhill infield hairpin. Rea then tried to lead the race and control the pace to save tyre life for the all-important final laps.

He would be passed by both Razgatlioglu and eventual race winner Alvaro Bautista and was unable to stay in close contention for the win, ending up third place for third time in the Portimao races.

Lowes had another strong ride after his satisfying Superpole race performance in the morning and was in fourth place until overtaken by Michael Ruben Rinaldi in Race Two.

He would make ground back to his rival near the end but not quite enough to re-take fourth. Alex is now sixth on the championship with three rounds and nine individual races to go.

In the current points standings Bautista has 448, Razgatlioglu 392, Rea 366, Rinaldi 232, Locatelli 196 and Lowes 189

The WorldSBK riders will now leave the European phase of the championship behind to embark on the first of three ‘long-haul’ events, at the Circuito San Juan Villicum in Argentina, between 21-23 October 2022.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “I was really on my limit today. In Race Two, when I was at the front I tried to step back a little bit to manage the tyre and not take so much risk. But when Alvaro came past and went to the front his pace was fast. I also saw the urgency of Toprak to try to disrupt Alvaro’s rhythm a little bit. That was just keeping me in the fight but as soon as he got some clear track that was him gone. Then I thought Toprak may come back to me, so I kept my rhythm, but it wasn’t enough. I really struggled in T14, getting into and around it, and when the tyre dropped it was even worse. No regrets; I did my best and just got beat by better guys today. I was frustrated to be that far back but that is our reality.”

Alex Lowes, stated: “It was good today. From morning warm-up I made a slight change with the front forks and it felt good. In the Superpole race I was coming back to Jonathan and I actually felt a bit stronger than him then. In Race Two I kept the bike the same but on a full tank of fuel I had some big locks from the front end straight away, so that put me off for five or six laps. That didn’t allow me to go with the front guys. From the mid part of the race, if I was there at the front, I had the same pace as Jonathan for the second part. Apart from that, I have to be happy. I pushed to the end, I was catching Rinaldi, and that was as much as I could have done. I feel good on the bike, we just need to keep trying to improve.”

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 14th in the sprint race but a faller, without injury, in Race Two.

Oliver König (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 24th in the Superpole race and 23rd in Race Two. Leon Haslam (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) ended up 19th in the sprint and but had to pull out of the final race after a few laps and he retired in the pits.

More, from a press release issued by Team HRC:

Double top ten for Vierge on Sunday at Portimão

Team HRC has concluded the ninth WorldSBK round at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve with a double top ten finish for rider Xavi Vierge in the day’s two races. Iker Lecuona had a more challenging Sunday, as he crossed the line twelfth in the sprint race before crashing out while fighting for seventh place in race 2.

In the morning’s ten-lap Tissot Superpole race, Lecuona lost a lot of ground off the line, slipping back to nineteenth, while Vierge was in eleventh place. Iker immediately set to work, pushing hard to make up positions and climbing to fifteenth by lap three. By lap six he was up into thirteenth, just behind Vierge, twelfth, with the two riders then exchanging places on the very next lap. Battling it out with rival Oettl in the final stages, the Team HRC riders crossed the line tenth (Vierge) and twelve (Lecuona), with Xavi missing out on the chance to gain a third row start by just 0.069 of a second to Loris Baz.

The second 20-lap Superbike race ran in sunny conditions and according to schedule. Eleventh on the grid, Lecuona was in tenth place by the end of lap one, immediately followed by team-mate Vierge. Both factory riders made up a position on lap four and by the mid-race point, Iker was lying eighth just ahead of Xavi, ninth. Unfortunately, on lap thirteen Lecuona crashed as he headed into the penultimate corner. Unhurt, Iker jumped back on his bike and re-joined the race despite having dropped back to last place. The Spaniard valiantly continued and finished race 2 in twenty-second place. Vierge held eighth place from the point at which his team-mate crashed all the way to the line, securing more important championship points.

At the end of this ninth championship round, Lecuona lies eighth in the standings with 163 points and Vierge places tenth with 115. The next round of the WorldSBK championship will take place at the San Juan Villicum circuit in Argentina on 21-23 October.

Xavi Vierge  97

SPRC P10 – RC2 P8

“This weekend was positive for us in many aspects, even though the results don’t totally reflect our potential. We were able to significantly improve our feeling compared to yesterday and it’s just a shame we missed out on P9 in the sprint race by just a fraction of a second, because starting from the third row, rather than the fifth, would have made things easier in race 2. Anyway, it was as it was. I didn’t make a bad start anyway and was able to maintain good, consistent pace and finally achieve a solid result. I really think we did a good job overall – we collected a lot of information and are going in the right direction for the future. In the short term we need to improve in qualifying so to have more cards to play in the race. As always, thanks to the squad for their hard work and total commitment.”

Iker Lecuona  7

SPRC P12 – RC2 P22 

“It was a hard weekend for us, but I’m happy and appreciate the way HRC and the team reacted and found a solution to some issues we were facing. Yesterday we struggled a lot in the hot conditions, and so we changed the bike’s setup ahead of today’s races. I felt really good in warm-up; the pace was there, and I could make some strong laps. Then I made a terrible start to the sprint race and found myself somewhere around twentieth position at the end of the first lap and I lost every chance in that moment. We later understood what happened but, in that moment, all I could do was try and recover as much as possible. I finished twelfth in the end, non a great result but acceptable all things considered. From the Team and Japan they did a great job providing a different mapping for the launch control, as that worked amazingly well in race 2. I was able to make up four places on the first lap and felt good with the bike, the electronics and everything throughout the race. I was chasing Redding and waiting for the best moment to attack him on the final lap and then, I’m not sure how, but I had a small crash at turn 14. I got back on the bike and was way back with no chance to reach the points zone, but I finished the race out of respect for the team and to thank them for their hard work and for the fact they never stop giving their all and positively addressing every difficulty we encounter. Now we’ll focus on Argentina.”

More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:

Two from Three Wins for Razgatlıoğlu and Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK in Portimão

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu masterfully won the Superpole Race at the ninth round of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal today, but was denied a victory “triple” in Race 2 where he finished in a hard-fought second position.

Without strategic tyre conservation, races decided by just tenths of a second have become a mainstay of this year’s WorldSBK competition in the 10-lap Superpole Race, as demonstrated brilliantly by Razgatlıoğlu this morning as he fought tooth and nail against the Ducati of Alvaro Bautista – ultimately winning by just 0.123s at the line.

But, as track temperatures rose above 42 degrees Celsius this afternoon for the 20-lap feature race, retaining tyre life was needed once again. Starting from pole position, Razgatlıoğlu followed his tried and tested approach to the race, initially following Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) in an attempt to conserve grip for the closing stages of Race 2.

Then, the “titanic trio” of Razgatlıoğlu, Rea and Bautista once again went head-to-head, each attacking for the lead throughout the middle part of the race. With absolutely nothing to separate Razgatlıoğlu and Bautista across Portimão’s 15 corners, ultimately it came down to Portimao’s main straight to determine the outcome of the race.

Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK teammate Andrea Locatelli had two somewhat lonely races where he finished in strong and consistent sixth positions, but with improved pace throughout the weekend, the Italian rider leaves Portugal with more confidence for the final races of the season.

The WorldSBK Championship fight continues overseas almost immediately as the teams travel to Argentina in one week for the first of three fly-away events – Circuito San Juan Villicum plays host to Round 10 from 21-23 October.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – SPRC: P1 / Race 2: P2

“Speaking first about this morning, because I am really enjoying the Superpole Race! Bautista passed me in the straight and then I passed him again many times – but the afternoon, the second race Alvaro is improving and he came back very strong again, and I am not easily passing him. I keep fighting for the win and I understand last three laps the front tyre is locking so I say okay, second position is enough because every lap, I catch him, and the last corner exit he go again – you know – the straight is crazy because his bike is very fast. I am happy, we are second position and we take good points for the championship, also I say thanks to my team because incredible job this weekend. We start very strong with two wins and second position finish today, this is not good enough but anyway, we are happy. My strategy is working perfect for the Superpole Race but in second race it was not quite enough! Again podium, and we keep fighting for the win – now I am looking at Argentina. It will not be easy, we know Ducati is very strong there but I try my best.”

Andrea Locatelli – SPRC: P6 / Race 2: P6

“The Race 2 rhythm was really fast again and I think I lost the possibility to stay with Alex and the front group after the second or third lap when Bassani crashed. In the end though, it was another positive weekend overall, we have good confidence with the bike and we know what we need to do. We have more info now and here we were stronger and we bring home some more points, so now we look forward to prepare for next week. This year, the level of WorldSBK is becoming higher – we are riding really fast every race. For me, it is not easy to be honest, I want more and we need to keep working. For sure I don’t have as much experience with the superbike, it’s just my second year but we have a good base and the aim is to keep pushing to take the maximum results.”

Paul Denning – Team Principal, Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK:

“Honestly a great weekend for the team at this fantastic Portimao circuit, with two victories and a fighting second place for Toprak – and a very good comeback for Loka with a big handful of points after such a disappointing Barcelona event. Toprak simply could not have done more, there was nothing left on the table in any of the races and his team did a brilliant job to give him probably the best R1 we’ve had all season. But, in the end, over 20 laps in Race 2 it wasn’t enough against the combination of Bautista and his machine. Full credit to him, he is riding beautifully, but for riders of the quality of Toprak and Jonathan Rea to see their competitor disappear only in a straight line is quite frustrating and means that there is a clear technical advantage in the overall package, which we believe needs to be considered within the Championship’s balance of performance criteria. We’ll move on to the last three rounds in Argentina, Indonesia and Australia in very positive spirits after a great weekend and push for more victories.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Go Eleven:

SO CLOSE TO THE TOP TEN, BUT MISSED BY JUST A FEW TENTHS!

Solid Sunday for Team Go Eleven on the Rollercoaster of Portimao. Philipp conquers a double eleventh position, always finishing really close to the Top Ten, just a few hundredths from tenth place. That’s a pity he didn’t hit the target, but the German rookie has always shown himself to be competitive and fighting for important positions, also in terms of final gap in the race.

In the Warm Up, Oettl immediately proves to be fit and in line with the target performance, setting his pace on a low 41 for several consecutive laps. He does not risk that much and saves some energy in view of the races.

Warm Up: 

P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.40.116

P 2   A. Bautista   + 0.394

P 3    A. Lowes  + 0.404

…

P 11   P. Oettl   + 1.130

In Superpole Race Philipp and Team Go Eleven take a risk; they choose the rear SCX, the soft qualifying tyre, which, at least on paper, should provide extra grip in the first few laps, and suffer at the end. Oettl starts well, then a contact in turn three with Gerloff slows down him a bit; contrary to what is predictable, in the first two laps, he struggles to find the right pace, but from the third lap onwards he lights up and closes the gap with the Top Ten. He comes back, fight with Vierge, but in the final stage the tyre drops and he can’t take advantage of his strong point, the exit at the last corner. He finishes eleventh, in the slipstream of the Hondas and Baz, but unfortunately he does not improve his grid for Race 2. The choice of the SCX, perhaps, turned out to be wrong, but it was a calculated risk, which had to be taken to look for something different. In any case, once again, the group we are fighting with was just a few tenths ahead, and the performance of rider number 5 was definitively positive.

Superpole Race: 

P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   16’45.342

P 2    A. Bautista   + 0.123

P 3    J. Rea    + 1.434

…

P 11   P. Oettl   + 12.692

In Race 2 Philipp starts badly as he is outside in the first three corners, thus losing some positions. In the first few laps, he can’t ride below 42, finding himself fighting with slower riders, and not riding his own lines. After overtaking Mahias and the BMWs of Van Der Mark and Laverty, Philipp is 3.8 seconds behind Loris Baz, who was then first of the Independents. He starts a very long run-up, riding on the low 41, 41 and a half, so much so that he manages to close the gap before the last 4 laps. Gerloff also recovers, gets into a fight with Philipp, manages to take a small advantage and tries to attack Baz. Due to the fight between the two, Oettl finally closes up and tries to play his cards; he overtakes Loris once, then the French is back on the inside, Loris overtakes the American, but the latter manages to create a small gap, which will be decisive. In the last lap, everything happens; Philipp attacks in turn one, goes long, Baz misses shortly after and in the end they arrive really close. Go Eleven takes home another eleventh place, a good result, but still aware that we could have entered the top nine with a couple of faster laps in the first part of the Race.

Race 2: 

P 1   A. Bautista   33’40.730

P 2   T. Razgatlioglu   + 2.256

P 3   J. Rea   + 4.758

…

P 11   P. Oettl   + 24.047

WorldSBK concludes the European Rounds, and moves overseas, to Argentina, where Round 10 will take place. The track is spectacular, the atmosphere there is always very warm, and despite the distance, we are sure that the show will be guaranteed. See you in El Villicum, 21-23 October 2022!

Philipp Oettl (Rider):
“Overall we did a good job this weekend, I didn’t feel good this weekend, I was a bit sick, and it didn’t help our progress. I think we did a good work, we finished strong, we were fighting. I wanted the Top Ten so hard, especially in the last race, but we just went close. I think we are in a good way, in a positive group of results and we have to continue like this. In the last lap today I tried to overtake Baz in the first corner, but I went off the track, then I was back in the track thinking it was over, but he made a big mistake, so I was close to him again, but the finish line came and I couldn’t pass him. Let’s see the next round, I think we can be in the fight there, too. ”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“In Superpole Race we risked the soft tyre, we expected something more, but the performance of the tyre was strange, different from what we expected. In Race 2 he remained outside the first corners, trying to take advantage of more free space, however we could not recover anything. I think then he had a good race, fighting the Best Independent almost to the checkered flag. We have to consider that he has had stomach problems for 2 days, and he was not in perfect shape, then on a so difficult and physical track, having no energy certainly does not help. Also for this reason I am happy with the tenacity and determination that Philipp is showing us. Every race we grow and improve in some area so we have to continue this trend!”

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport:

BMW Motorrad Motorsport concludes European WorldSBK season with top eight finishes in Portimão.

Best BMW race result was seventh place for Scott Redding in the second main race in Portimão

Loris Baz reaches the top 10 in all three races

After nine race events in Europe, the FIM Superbike World Championship 2022 now heads overseas as the end of the season approaches
 

Portimão. BMW Motorrad Motorsport concluded the European season in the FIM Superbike World Championship with top eight finishes. Scott Redding (GBR) from the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team produced the best race result in Portimão (POR). He finished seventh in the second main race on Sunday. Once again, the most consistent BMW rider was Loris Baz (FRA) from the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, who reached the top 10 in all three races. Michael van der Mark (NED) chased his way up from 20th on the grid to finish eighth in the Superpole Race. Eugene Laverty (IRL) scored one point on Saturday. Portimão was the ninth and final European event of the year. The tenth round of the WorldSBK season will take place in two weeks (21st to 23rd October) in San Juan, Argentina. The final events will then follow in Indonesia and Australia.

After Superpole qualifying, Baz started the first race on Saturday from seventh place, with Redding alongside him in eighth. Laverty was 17th on the grid, with van der Mark 20th. Redding was the best-placed BMW rider in seventh place, only to make a minor error on the final lap. He took a tumble before rejoining the race and crossed the line in 18th. Baz was also on course for the top 10 during the entire race, finishing ninth. Van der Mark in 14th and Laverty in 15th completed the points positions.

Van der Mark moved up from 20th to eighth place during the ten-lap Superpole Race on Sunday morning. Baz again finished ninth, while Redding dropped back some places during the closing laps to finish 13th. Laverty crossed the line in 15th position. Redding bounced back to finish seventh in the subsequent second main race. Baz repeated his top ten performance, finishing 10th. Van der Mark was twelfth and Laverty 16th, just missing out on the points.

Portimão was the final home race for Laverty, who lives near to the circuit. Next season, the 36-year-old will move into management with the Bonovo action BMW Racing team. An event on Saturday evening saw many companions take a look back at his long career in international racing, and the team presented him with a special gift – the BMW M 1000 RR that had been prepared for his guest appearance in the IDM.

The race weekend was overshadowed by the serious injuries sustained by Dutch rider Victor Steeman in an accident in the Supersport 300 class.

Quotes after the Portimão races.
 

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “It was a difficult weekend, and we are not where we should be in terms of results. Loris and the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team reached their top 10 objective in all three races, which was good. It was a shame that Scott fell yesterday. It was a minor rider error and that annoyed him most of all. But he was just trying to defend his position. Scott had problems with his X tyres in the qualifying race and could not keep up with the pace. Finishing seventh in the second main race was OK, but the gap to the leaders was just too large, it’s nearly one second per lap. I was very happy that Michael was able to move up from 20th to eighth in the Superpole Race. That’s a sign that he is on the way back, and that was good to see. Eugene didn’t quite get the results we were hoping for in his final races in Europe, but he and the team will give their all as the season draws to a close. Overall, we were definitely not in the position we were before Barcelona. We must continue to work hard to make progress. Congratulations to our BMW M brand team-mates in the DTM, who won the team and drivers’ titles. They managed it, and that’s what we need to do as well.

“Unfortunately, the race weekend started with some sad news for us. It was dreadful to hear that BMW BSB rider Chrissy Rouse succumbed to his injuries after that serious accident in Donington Park. We would like to express our sincere condolences to his family, his friends and his team. Our thoughts are also with Supersport 300 rider Victor Steeman. We hope to hear positive news soon.”

Loris Baz, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team (SP: 7 / R01: 9 / SP Race: 9/ R02: 10): “We had some great fights in all three races. I think our set-up in the Superpole Race this morning was not perfect, I felt like I had to squeeze the brakes very hard all the time. But I was close to Scott, which is good, until the last lap, where I had a big moment. Overall, it was quite a good weekend considering the issues we had in the beginning. I just hope we’ll soon have a full weekend without any problems, where we can work all the way through the weekend, find a good setup and improve the bike. We can’t blame anyone; we just have been unlucky. I think overseas will now be very different, you never know what to expect. But we made it into the top ten, which is the target. Anyway, I hope we can be in the top five soon.”

Scott Redding, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 8 / R01: 18 / SP Race: 13 / R02: 7): “To be honest, the weekend was not great. We struggled again. Maybe not as much as in Barcelona, but we were still not where we want to be. Our weak point still costs us too much time. There is not much I can do. The guys worked well to give me a better feeling in some areas and helped me with the tyre life, so I was able to be more consistent to the end. But I need performance on the exit of the corner and at the moment there is no solution yet. We still have a lot of work to do, and everyone is working really hard. But sometimes you need to go really deep to come to a solution that makes the difference. We will get there. It just takes time.”

Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 20 / R01: 14 / SP Race: 8 / R02: 12): “We made a massive change compared to yesterday with the bike. The warm-up felt okay. In the Superpole Race, I had an amazing start, gained a lot of places, and immediately felt that I had a really good pace. We decided to go with the SC0 tyre to keep the distance and also because I just need more time with the bike. At the end, it was the right choice for us. We were really fast in the Superpole Race. It makes life a little bit easier to start from P8 in race two. I had a good start, just got tangled up in a few moments of the first lap. To be honest, I didn’t have the best grip from the start. I dropped a few positions because I couldn’t stay with the guys in front of me. In the end I had a solid pace, I was not incredible fast but also not slow. I calmed down a bit and got more miles under the belt. It was good to finish the race and to score another few points.”

Eugene Laverty, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team (SP: 17 / R01: 15 / SP Race: 15 / R02: 16): “Right now, all we can do is keep working to improve on where we’ve been lately. This weekend, the team did a fantastic job. Instead of trying to do big leaps we’ve worked on our weaknesses to improve the bike. Honestly, in the final race, the bike was the best it has been in a long time. It was doing many things correctly, now we must study the power delivery, as after four laps it seems to be killing the rear tyre and after that we go backwards. We need to dig deep into it and improve this. Because when the tyre is gone after four laps, the 20 laps are really long.

“Last night was such a huge surprise. I was so focused on this weekend, like I’ve approached every weekend for the last 16 years. I got into my routine, and it didn’t matter in my mind that it was the last European round, but suddenly I began to bump into these familiar faces and people had surprised me. My wife Pippa organised a lot of events. In this celebration, it was very nice to see so many of my former teams, my former teammates and of course my current Bonovo action BMW Racing Team. It was also amazing to have Dr. Markus Schramm here as well. To top it all off, there was a bike underneath the cover, and I could see there was a number 50 there and I thought it was a presentation, but when they told me it was my present, I couldn’t believe it. I felt like a kid at Christmas! So, a big thank you to Jürgen Röder and everybody for this event and this incredible gift.”

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

Fantastic win for Bautista in Race-2 at Portimao. Rinaldi (P4) always in the battle for the podium. Exciting recovery by Bulega from P30 to Top-10 finish in WorldSSP

Another extraordinary Sunday for Alvaro Bautista and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team. The Spaniard won an amazing Race-2 at the end of a spectacular battle with Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), while Michael Rinaldi finished in fourth place after fighting all race for the podium.

Starting from the second position on the grid obtained with the P2 in Superpole Race, Bautista chased Razgatlioglu and Rea (Kawasaki) for the first eight laps. On lap nine he made a masterpiece with a double-overtaking move that allowed him to take the lead. Razgatlioglu attacked him with three laps to go but Bautista defended himself well and finished first by a margin.

Rinaldi made the most of the second row gained in SPR and at the first corner, he was already in fourth. His pace was incisive and allowed him to stay with the podium group for more than two-thirds of the race (P4).

P1 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19)

“A very good result. I am very happy. We encountered a few more difficulties than at the weekend in Barcelona also because we knew that Toprak and Johnny would be very strong on this circuit. As always we came with no expectations but it’s clear that I would have signed to go home with two second places finish and a win. The classification? I’ve been saying it since the start of the season: my goal is to have fun racing this bike. Then in Australia we will do the maths”.

P4 – Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)

“I am satisfied with today’s race also because we managed to overcome the problems we experienced yesterday, after having skipped FP3 completely. There’s only a little bit of regret left for the last six laps because the tyre drop was very noticeable. Compared to last year, however, on this track we have made an important step that confirms the good work we are doing”.

WorldSSP

With a crazy comeback, Niccolò Bulega ends with a smile a weekend made impossible by the technical problem that did not allow him to take part in the Superpole. Starting last (P30) as in Race-1, in Race-2 the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team rider recovered twenty positions to finish tenth.

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11)

“It’s clear that you can’t be satisfied with a Top 10. But the satisfaction remains for having made a good comeback and also for the fact that the feeling with the bike was really good. Now we go to Argentina to get back to the positions we deserve.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Bautista prevents a Razgatlioglu hat-trick at Portimao with Race 2 victory

The Ducati rider won Race 2 ahead of Razgatlioglu and Rea to extend his Championship lead

Race 2 highlights – WorldSBK

P1 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

Bautista claimed his 28th WorldSBK victory as he finished 2.256s ahead of Razgatlioglu.

His Championship lead extended to 56 points over the Turkish rider.

“For sure, it has been three amazing races with a lot of fighting at the front. Yesterday, I needed the last six laps of the race to get to Toprak and fight for victory. In the Superpole Race, I knew it was maybe difficult to beat Jonathan and Toprak because they were very fast. I think they were a bit better than us at this track with these conditions. This morning, I was very determined, and my plan was to stay with them because I can finish with them, that means I have the chance in the afternoon to fight for the victory. In the end, I was quite fast in the morning as well. I could be with them, especially with Toprak. He had a really incredible pace in the morning. In the afternoon, I had a better position on the grid. I made a normal start and I lost position to Jonathan, but I was there. When Jonathan was in front, Toprak was behind him just saving the tyre life. I think Jonathan was struggling a little bit more than Toprak to push. I decided to take the lead and increase the pace, make the others force their tyre. I’m happy because the last laps, even if Toprak tried to overtake me a couple of times, he was struggling more so in the last few laps he stayed away.”

P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

Razgatlioglu was second in Race 2 as he claimed his 75th podium in WorldSBK.

He is second in the standings and has a 26-point advantage over Rea.

“In the afternoon, Alvaro improved and came back very strong again. It wasn’t easy to pass him in Race 2, but I kept fighting for the win. In the last three laps, the front tyre started to lock. I said second place was enough. Every lap, I caught him, and, on the exit of the last corner, he got ahead again on the straight; his bike is very fast. We finished second and we take good points for the Championship.”

P3 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

Rea completed the Race 2 podium. He finished 4.758s behind Bautista and 2.502s behind Razgatlioglu.

He remains third in the Championship standings, with 366 points.

“I’m a little be disappointed with the results. I really came here wanting to try to get a race win under my belt but no regrets. I did my best. I got everything out of my ZX10RR. My team worked incredibly well. Race 2 I enjoyed a lot, I was riding on the limit to be there. I got to the front and tried to relax to control the tyre a little bit. But when Alvaro came by, his pace was really fast. Some areas to really improve when the grip level just drop with our bike.”

P4 – Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

Rinaldi was fighting for a podium place but dropped back from the lead trio, finishing in fourth place.

He stands in fourth place in the standings with 323 points.

“It’s been always an improving weekend. Unfortunately, yesterday morning, during FP3, I couldn’t ride because of a technical issue. It ruined our first race a bit because I made the wrong tyre choice for Race 1. But today was a different story. We tried to do a good job in the Tissot Superpole Race which allowed us to start from fifth position for Race 2. The pace was amazing. I tried to stay with the top three guys. I stayed there until five or six laps until the end because when the tyre dropped, I could be fast enough to stay there. So we missed something. But you know, it’s another track, the pace was amazing.”

P5 – Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

Lowes was battling with Rinaldi, with the Italian taking the advantage and the British rider finishing in fifth place.

A top five finish meant Lowes recovered sixth place in the standings.

“To be honest, I felt quite good in that last race today. We made a small change on the front of the bike. Apart from when I had a fuel tank of fuel, I was struggling with the front locking a little bit but apart from that, I felt really good. But unfortunately, my pace was not as fast as the guys at the front.  That was incredible the pace they had. I was still able to make low 1‘41 on lap 15, 16 and I was losing ground so respect to them! The tyres still haven’t changed much since last year and the pace was really, really impressive. I missed a little bit to go with these guys but a great weekend, a great qualifying, a good Race 1, Superpole Race was strong. I was really close to and battling with Jonathan. Like I said I missed a little bit at the start of the last race with a fuel tank of fuel. And at the end I was coming back towards Michael but we run out of lap.”

P6 – Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

Locatelli completed the top six, finishing almost seven seconds down on Lowes after 20 laps.

The Italian rider remains fifth in the Championship standings, 36 points behind Rinaldi and seven points ahead of Lowes.

“It was another strong race. The rhythm was really fast. I think I lost the gap immediately after the second or third lap when Bassani crashed. I lost the possibility to stay with Lowes. And then I was losing 0.2s or 0.3s every laps. But in the end, it was another great and positive weekend. We have good confidence with the bike. We know what we need to do to around the bike. We have more info now. And also, we were stronger here than in Barcelona. This is positive to look forward and to prepare the next races. We bring some points home so I’m happy about this.”

To note:

Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took seventh place as he battled his way up the order, finishing just under a second clear of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC).

The Motul Argentinean Round will take place from the 21st to the 23rd of October at the Circuito San Juan Villicum.

More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:

With standard Pirelli tyres Razgatlioglu “flies” at Portimão in Race 1

The Turkish rider relinquishes pole position to Jonathan Rea but wins WorldSBK Race 1, historic victory for Manzi and Triumph in WorldSSP and it’s the WorldSSP300 championship title for Alvaro Diaz
 

FOCUS ON SUPERPOLE

WorldSBK (asphalt: 36° C / air: 27° C)

After being fastest in the free practice sessions on Friday, in qualifying Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) seemed to be well on his way to taking pole position in the Pirelli Portuguese Round of the FIM World Superbike Championship but it was six-time world champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who managed to gain the upper hand, snatching the top time from the Turkish rider by less than two tenths of a second and setting the new track record. Rounding out the front row was the Northern Irishman’s teammate, Alex Lowes, with the third best time. Qualifying fourth was Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). In Superpole, Rea, like all the riders, used the SCX rear solution which allowed him to do more than one second better than the record Razgatlioglu had set in 2021 on the SCQ compound, one step softer than the SCX.

WorldSSP (asphalt: 32° C / air: 25° C)

Defending World Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) took pole position on the Portuguese circuit with a time of 1’43.065 – the new track record, almost one second faster than the previous record set by Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) in 2021. This is the Swiss rider’s tenth pole position of the year and his 30th in WorldSSP, whereas the Frenchman will start from the front row of the grid after qualifying with the third best time. Aegerter will start ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing). All the riders used standard SC0 tyres at the rear and SC1 at the front.

WorldSSP300 (asphalt: 28° C / air: 23° C)

Dirk Geiger (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) took his first pole position in WorldSSP300, snatching the top spot from current championship leader, Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team), by just 9 thousandths of a second. With a time of 1’55.008, the German Kawasaki rider also set the new Portimão record for the 300 class.

TYRES IN ACTION IN RACE 1

WorldSBK (asphalt: 41° C / air: 27° C)

The race was reduced to 14 laps because of delays due to a grave accident in WorldSSP300. Tyre choice was rather balanced: at the front, 17 riders chose the A0674 development SC1 (option C) and 9 went with the standard SC1 (option B). As for the rear, 17 were on the standard SC0 (option B) and 9 were on the B0624 development SC0 solution (option A). Worth a mention is that on the front two rows, only pole man Jonathan Rea mounted the SC0 B0624 on the rear. The Northern Irishman started well from pole position and managed to hold onto the race lead until the 5th lap but Toprak Razgatlioglu had a bit more, managing to overtake him for the race win. Álvaro Bautista, starting from the fourth spot on the grid, first successfully fended off attacks by teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to defend third place and then, in the finale, he launched his own attack against the Northern Irishman, overtaking him on the xx lap. This relegated Rea to third place and the bottom step of the podium. Fourth place went to Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), the best of the private team riders. Using a standard SC0 tyre at the rear and a standard SC1 at the front, the same that any rider can purchase, Razgatlioglu also set the new race lap record with a time of 1’40.328 on the third lap.

WorldSSP (asphalt: 43° C / air: 27° C)

In Race 1 it was a historic victory for Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) who gave Triumph their first ever win in the WorldSSP category. It was an all-Italian podium with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) finishing second and Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) on the third step. Pole man and current championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) only managed fourth. In this race, all the riders used standard tyres – SC0 at the rear and SC1 at the front.

For more details on the tyres used in the race by the individual riders in the WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes, please see the sheets attached to this press release.

WorldSSP300 (asphalt: 38° C / air: 25° C)

WorldSSP300 had everyone on the edge of their seats with a serious accident involving Dutchman Victor Steeman, air lifted to hospital via helicopter. As the only potential title contender, Steeman’s crash left the world championship title to Spaniard Alvaro Diaz. After stopping the race, the organisers decided to reduce the distance to 8 laps to be held at the end of the day. The race was won by pole man Dirk Geiger (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) whereas Diaz, finishing seventh, celebrated the world championship title.

GIORGIO BARBIER, MOTORCYCLE RACING DIRECTOR

“From a technical point of view we are satisfied with the results we say on the track today. The lap records were broken in all the categories. Razgatlioglu managed to improve on his own record from last year in Superpole with the SCQ qualifying tyre, already in the FP3 session this morning with the standard SC0 which is two steps harder than the SCQ. Then, in Superpole, he was even faster on the SCX, beating last year’s record by more than half a second. The cherry on top came in the race – once again from Toprak – with the new fast lap record and, even more significant, he did it with standard tyres, which is to say, the exact same DIABLO Superbike tyres, in SC0 compound at the rear and SC1 at the front, that any rider can purchase for use on the track. Congratulations to Alvaro Diaz for winning the WorldSSP300 championship title.”

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Unable to Maximise Full Potential in Portimao Race 1

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Garrett Gerloff crossed the line for a 10th-place finish in Race 1 at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, with Kohta Nozane missing out on points.

The two riders returned to action this morning for Free Practice 3, where both were looking for pace. Gerloff set the 10th fastest time on a 1’41.029, while his Japanese teammate was 21st (1’42.573).

In the Tissot Superpole, the American rider went faster but unfortunately couldn’t manage better than 11th on the grid. On the other side of the garage, Nozane improved his lap time by 1.252s to go 18th.

Afterwards, in the shortened Race 1 (14 laps), both GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders made a decent start, with the #3 enjoying an especially strong first lap, gaining three positions.

Gerloff made his way into contention for eighth place, fighting with the likes of Honda’s Xavi Vierge and BMW’s Loris Baz, eventually crossing the line in 10th. Nozane struggled in the latter stages of the race to finish 20th.

The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team will be back in Portimao tomorrow for the Superpole Race at 11:00 (WEST) and Race 2 at 14:00.

Garrett Gerloff: P10

“Well, it wasn’t the easiest day for us. The bike improved for sure and I didn’t feel bad, but unfortunately the qualifying position wasn’t the best. Then, in Race 1, I was able to make a couple of passes but I also struggled to find places to overtake. So, we’re inside the top 10 but that’s not where we want to be. We know our potential is higher and we’ll try to show it tomorrow.”

Kohta Nozane: P20

“In the Tissot Superpole we made a huge improvement, even though the crash was a shame as I felt I could be even faster. I’m really sorry to the team for that, the guys had to work hard to build the bike for the race. I had a good start and tried to fight for a points-paying position, but unfortunately I struggled in the latter stages and dropped places. We’ll try again on Sunday!”

More, from another press release issued by Yamaha:

Razgatlıoğlu Wins Shortened Portimão Race 1

Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK’s Toprak Razgatlıoğlu took a dominant win in Race 1 of the ninth round of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal today.

Another record-breaking Superpole qualifying saw Razgatlıoğlu net P2 and Andrea Locatelli equalling a career-best P4, after the Yamaha official teammates went 1-2 respectively in this morning’s final Free Practice 3 session.

Then, as Race 1 was delayed and then shortened to 14-laps due to an incident in WorldSSP300, the defending WorldSBK Champion rode a text-book “Toprak-style” race as he followed and watched Jonathan Rea in the opening laps before passing the Kawasaki rider into Turn 1 on Lap 5. He also set a new record-fastest race lap on Lap 3 of 1’40.328.

For Locatelli, a hectic start saw him pushed back to P7 and delayed by Scott Redding, but the Italian rider locked onto the back of the BMW rider to take P6 on Lap 4. As the pace increased at the front, “Loka” lost the front group but, with the help of his #55 crew, hopes to be able to take another step tomorrow.

Sunday will see Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK start a 15-minute Warm-Up session at 09:00 (WEST, UTC+1) before the 10-lap Superpole Race at 11:00 and 21-lap Race 2 from 14:00.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – Race 1: P1

“I like this circuit and this weekend we start very strong – also thanks to my team because I am feeling the bike is perfect and we were able to ride well and finish at the front! Today we win, but we are not really happy because of the big crash in WorldSSP300 today, and now we are waiting for good news about Victor Steeman.”

Andrea Locatelli – Race 1: P6

“In the end it’s not the best result that I want to get but it was a good race and the rhythm compared to yesterday was much better and my rhythm was fast – but we need to work for tomorrow and to prepare the bike to find something to be a little faster especially in the first part of the race, this is important to fight for a good position. In general, I am happy with how it is going because we are fast in every session – this is a good point for me and for my crew. Like everyone in the team, I am hoping for positive news about Victor Steeman.”

Paul Denning – Team Principal, Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK:

“After today’s long delays, both riders kept their heads together and the team did a great job to make sure the bikes were as good as they could be for the shortened 14-lap race. Toprak did exactly what he said he was going to do, manage the situation carefully for two or three laps and then push – and it was good enough to win. Congratulations to him and his team, a great performance and equally, there are some improvements that we feel we can make for tomorrow’s 20-lap Race 2. Loka rode a great race, got a bit hung up with Scott Redding for a few laps which cost him a fair bit of time. But after he passed Scott, his rhythm was really good and that’s his best main race for a long time. It should really help him grow his confidence going into tomorrow and the rest of the season. On behalf of everyone in our team and at Yamaha, we extend our best wishes and support to Victor Steeman and his family, as we keep our fingers crossed for positive news after his accident in the WorldSSP300 race.”

More, from a press release issued by Team HRC:

Vierge and Lecuona show fighting spirit to place 8th and 11th in a shortened race 1 at Portimão

As round nine of the Superbike World Championship continues at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Team HRC riders Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona have now completed the first of the weekend’s three races. Having wrestled all race long with a combination of unexpected difficulties, their race results – eighth and eleventh – speak volume about the young rookies’ fighting spirit and commitment.

After making some final adjustments during the third and final practice session, a session in which the entire field was able to set quicker times than yesterday, Team HRC headed out on track for Superpole. With just fifteen minutes in which to make an impression, Lecuona pushed hard to set 1’40.342 in the opening minutes. This remained his fastest time, enough for him to place tenth in a particularly tight battle that saw the top thirteen riders all within one second, meaning a fourth row start on the race 1 grid. Team-mate Vierge finished just three tenths behind (1’40.624) in thirteenth place, for a fifth-row start.

An incident during the SSP300 race meant that the first of the weekend’s two Superbike races got underway more than an hour later than scheduled, at 15.15 local time (CET-1). The delay meant that it was also necessary to shorten the race, from an originally planned 20 laps to just 14 laps. Lecuona lost a little ground off the line to find himself thirteenth through the first corners, while Vierge made a very strong start from the fifth row of the grid, moving up into tenth place through the first turns. Iker was soon up behind his team-mate, the Team HRC duo lapping with similar times to each other. Seven laps in and Vierge gained a position while Lecuona slipped one place back. Xavi was able to defend his position all the way to the line to finish eighth and earn a handful of precious championship points. In the final laps it became increasingly difficult for Iker to maintain strong pace, but he kept battling hard against the riders in his group until the very last corner, ultimately crossing the line eleventh.

Xavi Vierge  97

P8 

“It has been a difficult day for us, but our attitude is to learn and find the positives in every situation. Here we tried something on the bike that for sure is a step in the direction we want to go, but at the same time we were lacking a little in what is one of usually our strongest points, confidence with the front, which is quite important. So, the positive is that even with some unexpected issues we could run a solid race, and that we now have all afternoon to analyze the data and work to find good front feeling for tomorrow’s races. Thanks to the whole squad for their hard work and I send my prayers and best wishes to Victor Steeman who was injured in the Supersport 300 race.”

Iker Lecuona  7

P11 

“What can we say about today? Not what we expected or what we’re working towards of course. In this morning’s final free practice session, I felt good enough on the bike, testing tuning for the race and the soft tyre compound that I didn’t use yesterday. In the Superpole we weren’t able to fully exploit the extra grip of the qualifying tyre. We need to improve the setup to do that, so I would say that P10 is about right, considering how close the gaps were. But going into the race I was expecting much more, because our pace during the weekend hasn’t been bad at all, honestly. But the race got underway in warmer conditions than we saw in previous sessions, and I struggled a lot with the feeling in relation to every aspect of the bike setup. Not an easy race, and the fact it was shortened meant that when I did make a couple of small mistakes, I had no time to recover. It’s never easy to fight further back, but nevertheless I battled until the last corner for that eleventh place. I’m a fighter, but I know I need to adapt my mentality and be patient as I keep working for the future. Finally, and importantly, I want to send my best wishes to Victor Steeman. We all hope to hear good news soon.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea Takes Another Podium Finish

A shorter than expected opening WorldSBK race at Portimao delivered a third place finish to Jonathan Rea, with his KRT team-mate Alex Lowes in fifth place after 14 laps of the 4.592km long circuit in Portugal.

Rea was in imperious form long before the start of the delayed and then reduced duration first WorldSBK race of the weekend. He secured his fifth Superpole win of the year, and the 40th of his career, with a new track best of 1’39.610. Rea smashed the previous record despite there being no SCQ qualifying tyres available for all the riders this weekend.

Rea started well from pole position and led the first five laps until he was passed by eventual race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu. With five laps of the 14 to go Alvaro Bautista came through, then ran wide, allowing Rea to reassert himself in second place for a short time. Bautista passed on the main straight on the next lap and Rea would end up third at the flag.

Lowes was on very strong form in Superpole qualifying, joining Rea in the new ‘sub-1.40’ club with his 1’39.859 – good enough for third place on the starting grid.

Lowes was second across the start/finish line on lap one but was fourth on the next lap. He would end up fifth at the flag, fighting with Axel Bassani all the way. Alex was only 0.091 seconds from a top four finish in another strong battle near the front fo the field.

Now Lowes and Rea will face the ten-lap Tissot-Superpole Race and a full distance Race Two on Sunday 9 October.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “The Superpole lap was incredible. When the bike had grip I felt I got everything out of the lap. Aside from a little slide on the final corner it was perfect. It was nice to get that and when you are competing at the front that launch from pole position is everything. I got a good start that I was happy with. I went with the harder option rear tyre, of a stiffer construction, and that was always in the plan after a long run yesterday. I knew it would potentially be a bit more competitive than the SC0 tyre. When the race changed to 14 laps, not 21, it changed our strategy a little bit. We stuck to our guns and raced the harder option. In hindsight I just missed a little bit of grip, especially in the middle part of the race, when the first drop of the tyre came. I made a couple of small mistakes and Toprak broke the tow a little. Then Alvaro was coming, with a good pace. I couldn’t fight with him as he took so much time out of me in sector four and the beginning of sector one. I was riding on my limit just to keep the gap.”

Alex Lowes, stated: “I wanted to go under 1’40 in Superpole so to achieve that was really good. I think any time you are with Johnny, Toprak or Alvaro you are riding quite well. In the race I had a good start but on a full tank of fuel I was struggling to stop at the beginning. In the race itself I felt quite good and I had decent pace. Maybe on lap six, seven, eight, I thought I needed to relax a bit because the rear tyre was dropping. I came strong again at the end and had a good battle with Axel. Hopefully we can improve the braking a bit for Sunday so that I can fight a little bit more. Honestly, without this fight, I felt my pace was a little bit faster; quite strong. Because we went from the planned 21 laps to 14, I had already changed the front tyre choice. I went to the SC1 to give me a bit more grip. I think this was a good choice.”

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 13th and in the points in Race One, with Oliver König (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) 24th today. Leon Haslam (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) had to retire with a technical issue.

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

Bautista conquers valuable second place on difficult Saturday at Portimao. Rinaldi finishes in P7. Bulega makes up 17 places from last on the grid and takes the final point

Everything happens on Saturday at Portimao. First a chaotic Superpole: a yellow flag cancelled the best lap to many riders, before giving back the fourth place to Bautista. Then a serious incident in the Superport 300 race caused the Superbike race to be delayed by almost two hours and to be reduced to 14 laps.

This time Alvaro Bautista is not super-brilliant at the start and finds himself in fifth position. The Spaniard battled first with Lowes (Kawasaki) and then Bassani (Ducati) to get into the slipstream of the leading pair of Rea (Kawasaki) and Razgatlioglu (Yamaha). With three laps to go Bautista overtakes Rea but then he loses a few metres: this move prevents him from attacking Razgatlioglu for the win.

Michael Rinaldi (P9 on the grid) chooses the softer tyre, which, however, does not give the hoped-for benefits. The Italian rider is unable to have an incisive race pace and he finishes in seventh position.

P2 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19)

“It was a good race even if there is a hint of regret because I knew I was really competitive in the second half. We missed those six laps, but it’s also true that the difficult start, the battle with Bassani and the mistake to overtake Rea made me lose metres on Razgatlioglu. However, the feeling remains extremely positive ahead of tomorrow’s races”.

P7 – Michael Rinaldi (aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)

“I’m pretty disappointed with this race. Unfortunately, we had a problem in FP3 that didn’t allow us to work. We also lost an important session to understand which was the best tyre for the race. The choice we made did not turn out to be the best one. It’s a shame because the feeling on Friday was very good. Tomorrow I definitely want to try again and stay at the front”.

WorldSSP

Nicolò Bulega had to deal with a problem with his Ducati Panigale V2 that prevented him from taking part in Superpole. Starting from 32nd position, the Aruba.it Racing WSSP rider makes up position after position and eventually finishes 15th, gaining at least one point.

P15 – Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11)

“It goes without saying that the problem in qualifying heavily conditioned today’s race and it will condition tomorrow’s. I tried to push hard right from the first laps but I lost too much time to get past the first group. I will try to do better tomorrow even though it won’t be easy”.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Razgatlioglu wins shortened Race 1 at Portimao, Bautista and Rea complete the podium

The Turkish rider claimed his first win since Magny-Cours to close the gap to Bautista in the Championship standings

Race 1 highlights – WorldSBK

*Race distance was reduced to 14 laps with Race 1 being delayed due to not having the medical helicopter onsite following an incident in WorldSSP300 Race 1.

P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

Razgatlioglu claimed Race 1 victory finishing 0.657s ahead of Bautista. It was his 27th WorldSBK win.

Following Race 1, he remains second in the Championship standings 54 points behind Bautista.

“Firstly, I say I like this circuit and we are very strong from the start. Thanks to my team because they did an incredible job. My feeling with the bike is perfect. Today, we were able to win. We are winning again. We take good points from the Championship. In the first laps I am waiting, and after that I started riding. The race was not easy because I was fighting with Jonny and also Alvaro was coming. In the last few laps, I wasn’t taking risks. The race was not easy, but I know my race pace, usually, is very fast with the SC0 tyre. I’m just riding in my style and in the last four or five laps, I saw the gap get bigger.”

P2 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

After battling with Rea in the latter stages of the race, Bautista took second place in Race 1.

His Championship lead is now of 54 points ahead of Razgatlioglu.

“Today I’m happy with the performance of race even if I made two important mistakes in the race, in this short race as in the end we missed six laps. For us it was important, because normally I feel very strong in the second part of the race but today, it didn’t happen. In any case, I had a bad start and lost some positions. I had to battle to stay behind Toprak and Jonathan. Then I saw that I was maybe a couple of tenths faster than them. But then Toprak went faster. I tried to pass Jonathan to catch Toprak, but I made my second mistake of the race. When I passed Jonathan, I braked too late in Turn 1 and I missed the corner and went out. I lost time and the chance to catch Toprak because there were not enough laps left. In any case, I’m happy because we were quite competitive, I felt good on the bike. Tomorrow, I try to keep this feeling with the bike.”

P3 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

Rea completed the Race 1 podium, finishing 3.032s behind Razgatlioglu. It was his 22nd podium place at Portimao.

He is third in the standings, 71 points behind Bautista and 17 points behind Razgatlioglu.

“I’m a little bit disappointed to be honest because we had a really good pace when the tyre was new but as soon as our tyre dropped a little bit, I really struggled with entering the corners and also in that first part of acceleration. I was with the harder rear tyre option. We set the bike for the longer race. Maybe going with that SC0 option like the front two guys was the way forward. But I have to be happy with my race. I gave everything I could. We have a good idea of where to improve for tomorrow.”

P4 – Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing)

Having just committed for another season with Motocorsa Racing in 2023, Bassani delivered a fourth place finish after a last lap battle with Lowes.

“Today was a really good race. We finished fourth. It’s a really nice result, I wanted this top five and we’re here. I’m happy with the job we did this weekend with my team. We improved every practice but I want a podium. Today I was really close to the podium, I was really close today and tomorrow I’ll try to get it.”

P5 – Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

After battling with Bassani, Lowes was fifth in Race 1 and crossed the finish line 0.091s behind the Italian rider.

“It was a good battle. I had some good fun in the last few laps with Axel. I tried to pass him but he passed me back. In the last lap he didn’t make any mistake anywhere. He’s riding really well. I just couldn’t find a part of the track where I had an advantage to pass him. And in general, today I’ve been happy with my Superpole performance. In the race, the pace was faster than I expected. I was able to hang in there a bit and I think I can improve a little bit on the braking. I enjoyed the race and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

P6 – Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

Locatelli completed the Race 1 top six, finishing 8.805s behind his teammate.

“In the end, it’s not the result you want to get but, in the end, I had a really good race. The rhythm was much better than yesterday and really fast. For sure, we need to work for tomorrow to prepare the bike and find something to be faster especially in the first part of the race, because it’s important for me to fight for a good position. But in general, I’m happy because I had a great weekend. We are always fast.”

To note:

The first Honda rider was Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in 8th place, whilst the first BMW rider was Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in 9th.

WorldSBK action resumes on Sunday from 09:00 (Local Time), followed by Tissot Superpole Race at 11:00 and Race 2 at 15:15.