World Superbike Race Lap Record: Jonathan Rea, 1:42.304, 2018

World Superbike All-Time/Pole Lap Record: Jonathan Rea, 1:40.372, 2019

Motul FIM Superbike World Championship

Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

Portimao, Portugal

September 7, 2019

Race One Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 20 laps, Total Race Time 34:19.341, Best Lap Time 1:41.418 (New Race Lap Record)

2. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale V4 R), -3.891 seconds, 1:42.215

3. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), -6.168, 1:42.087

4. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Duc Panigale V4 R), -8.564, 1:42.463

5. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -8.877, 1:42.341

6. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR), -10.404, 1:42.120

7. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -13.495, 1:42.191

8. Sandro Cortese, Germany (Yam YZF-R1), -21.345, 1:42.637

9. Marco Melandri, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), -21.582, 1:43.190

10. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc Panigale V4 R), -22.486, 1:43.201

11. Jordi Torres, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), -22.701, 1:43.187

12. Markus Reiterberger, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -27.132, 1:43.284

13. Tom Sykes, UK (BMW S1000RR), -34.484, crash, 1:42.272

14. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), -36.612, 1:43.475

15. Takumi Takahashi, Japan (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -46.877, 1:44.418

16. Loris Baz, France (Yam YZF-R1), -47.901, crash, 1:42.439

17. Sylvain Barrier, France (Duc Panigale V4 R), -60.704, 1:45.137

18. Alessandro Delbianco, Italy (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -60.767, 1:45.003

19. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -69.039, 1:45.473

20. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Duc Panigale V4 R), -8 laps, DNF, retired, 1:43.497

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:

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

Strong Superpole and bad luck in Saturday’s race for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team at Portimão.

Tom Sykes secures second place on the grid with the BMW S 1000 RR in Superpole.

P13 in the race for Sykes after a fall.

Top 10 result for Markus Reiterberger in Superpole and twelfth place in the race.

Portimão. Saturday at Portimão (POR) was a day of mixed feelings for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team. After a strong performance in Superpole with second place for Tom Sykes (GBR) and ninth for Markus Reiterberger (GER), the afternoon’s race did not go to plan. Reiterberger crossed the finish line in twelfth place, with Sykes just behind in 13th position. Portimão is hosting the tenth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2019 (WorldSBK).

Sykes was able to make good use of the faster qualifying tyres during the final minutes of Superpole, setting what was then the best time – with a new lap record of 01:40.483 minutes. It was only Kawasaki rider Jonathan Rea (GBR) who managed to go one better and claim pole position. Sykes claimed the second spot on the front row. Reiterberger also reached the top ten in Superpole, finishing ninth.

Sykes initially dropped back after the start of the race but stayed in the leading group that was battling for podium positions, however the British rider fell on lap eight out of 20. He was able to remount and continued the race on his RR in 15th place. He proceeded to move up two places to 13th during the remaining laps. Reiterberger also lost a few places after the start. He then gave a solid race performance, crossing the line in twelfth position.

Quotes after race one at Portimão.

Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Both riders did very well in Superpole. Tom obviously made a great lap with his qualifier and second position was fantastic. Markus held on to the third row of the grid in ninth which again was a solid performance from him. The race was difficult. Tom got away well, he was in a real strong group and he was faster on some parts of the circuit while he was slower in other parts. The places where he was struggling on speed was where the passing places were at the end of the start-finish straight. He suffered badly for that and he was overriding and because of that he lost the front. But he took the good decision to get back on the bike and finish the race to collect some data. He scored more points but most important we got good data for tomorrow. Markus’ start was not so bad but then he got sucked in and dropped two places into the first corner. From that position it was a lonely race for him and as the race tyre disintegrates as the laps go on he got slower and this unfortunately was the position he finished. But we will analyse today’s data, work hard, prepare for tomorrow and hopefully secure places in the two front rows in the Superpole Race.”

Markus Reiterberger: “Superpole was really great. With the SC-X tyres I managed to reach the top five for a time before ending up in seventh before everyone had put on their qualifying tyres. I was then able to record a fast second lap after the first one with the qualifying tyres. That was a perfect lap. I had expected to be on the second row but it was ninth place in the end. I was just two and a half tenths of a second off fourth place. The start went well enough but I hit the first two gears too early and that meant that the other riders were able to out-accelerate me. Then I rode my race and struggled a bit with the problems that are still holding us back somewhat. I finished twelfth, which was just shy of my aim of a top ten position, but we will see if we can find something to help me do a bit better tomorrow.”

Tom Sykes: “Overall, it’s a shame because we have found a good set-up for our BMW S 1000 RR and we’ve been really consistent throughout practice and also in Superpole. We had a very strong result and just missed pole position by only one tenth. So this was good but unfortunately during the race our set-up was really good to ride when I’m on my own but when I was with the other guys the style of riding had to change a bit. And while we have a good set-up we still miss a little bit of straight-line performance. On our own we are not too bad but unfortunately I got caught out riding with the guys and just this slight change in style caused me losing the front when I released the brake. I was a little bit disappointed but it was a big lesson learned. Now we will work on that and change the set-up for tomorrow to attack again.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea Takes Tenth Race Win Of The Season

Jonathan Rea restarted his 2019 WorldSBK campaign with a Race One win, shortly after securing pole position at record pace on his KRT Ninja ZX-10RR. Leon Haslam (KRT) was a battling fifth after starting the race from fourth on the grid.

With the KRT duo of Rea and Haslam on the front and second row respectively for the start of the first 20-lap WorldSBK race of the Portuguese WorldSBK weekend, expectations were high for each rider.

Rea has set a new Superpole qualifying record of 1’40.372 earlier in the day and used his sheer pace in the early laps to take a clear lead that was never challenged, especially after his championship rival Alvaro Bautista ran wide on the first lap and dropped to 16th place at the end of lap one.

For Haslam the Portimao race was not an easy one but he was rewarded with a top five finish and more important championship points. Unable to defend on the main straight as Bautista came past in the final two laps, he won his personal duel with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) to finish fifth, 8.887 seconds from the win.

Jonathan’s 81st career race win saw him lift his leading advantage in the championship table to 93 points, with two more Portimao races on Sunday and then three more rounds before the end of the year. Leon is fifth in the championship points and made up some ground on the rider in fourth place overall today.

There will be a ten-lap Tissot Superpole race on Sunday morning at Portimao, and then a full distance Race Two, over the same 20-laps as Race One.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “Thanks to my team because slowly and surely over the weekend we made the bike better and better especially in the hot conditions. I worked really hard in the beginning of the race to try and find a gap. When it got to five seconds I started getting very nervous so I started to ride to my pit-board and try not make any mistakes. Thanks to all the support out there, which means so much. I am looking forward to tomorrow because I think we can try to improve the bike set-up a little bit, especially for the end of the race – just to make things a little bit more comfortable. I certainly did not have anything left in my pocket in this race. It was target achieved today.”

Leon Haslam, stated: “I made a few mistakes which lost me the tow with Davies and Van der Mark. I felt I had the pace of those guys if not for too many little mistakes. I am struggling a little bit with corner entry; not something we have had in the past but something we have had an issue with all weekend. I just felt I was on the edge too much and it caught me out a few times. When I backed off from that the pace was quite comfortable. But to push on from the mistakes I made I needed to get a bit more of a better feel from the front.”

Razgatlioglu was unable to get back into contention with Haslam in the final lap, as Haslam was closing in on Bautista again, but Toprak finished 1.5 seconds down on the English rider. Razgatlioglu remains top independent rider overall after finishing as best independent rider in today’s race.

Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) qualified seventh in Superpole but had a difficult start and was 12th on lap one. He ended up 11th in the race, a track position he occupied from lap seven.

Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) placed 14th, improving two places on his Superpole performance.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Pata Yamaha’s van der Mark Storms to the Podium in Portimão

Race

Michael van der Mark returned to the WorldSBK podium for the first time since his race win in Jerez back in June at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão today. The Pata Yamaha WorldSBK rider bounced back from a difficult qualifying session to impress with an incredible ride from tenth place on the grid to the third step of the podium in Race 1.

A lightning start from tenth place on the grid, followed by aggressive overtaking in the opening laps, saw van der Mark quickly close onto the back of Chaz Davies in second place, with the pair having already pulled out a significant gap on the pursuing pack. The Dutchman made an early move for second place with a brave pass around the outside of the Welshman in the final turn, but Davies was able to draft past on the straight to reclaim the position. Van der Mark maintained the gap for the remainder of the race but lacked the necessary extra pace to mount a further challenge and had to settle for third at the chequered flag. The result moves van der Mark back up to third in the championship standings, just two points ahead of his Pata Yamaha teammate, Alex Lowes.

After a difficult start and a hectic opening lap, Lowes also looked to have podium potential today, as he chased and caught the leading group in the opening stages of the race. Unfortunately, at half race distance, the Pata Yamaha rider started to struggle for rear grip and was unable to continue the battle for fourth place with Leon Haslam and Toprak Razgatlioglu. After losing a further place to Alvaro Bautista, who was fighting his way back after a first corner incident, Lowes eventually took seventh place and solid points at the line.

Sandro Cortese surprised even himself with a superb Superpole performance that saw the GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK rider starting Race 1 from third place, on the front row of the grid. The reigning Supersport World Champion’s goal today was to secure a top eight finish in the race and to rediscover the form he enjoyed prior to his qualifying crash at Donington Park. Cortese managed to maintain contact with the leading group initially but lost the tow after almost losing the front and then watching Tom Sykes and Loris Baz crash in front of him after ignoring similar warnings. Cortese eventually finished eighth to achieve his goal.

Marco Melandri followed his GRT Yamaha teammate home in ninth place and was disappointed not to finish higher up the order after qualifying eighth on the grid. The veteran Italian had a better feeling with the bike in Superpole this morning, but rising track temperatures this afternoon meant he faced the same grip issues in the race that have plagued him in recent rounds and he was unable to stay with the leading group after a busy opening lap.

The day started well for Loris Baz, with the Ten Kate Yamaha Supported WorldSBK rider finishing third in the final free practice session this morning but, unfortunately, it went downhill from there. A crash in Superpole during his first run on qualifying tyres meant the Frenchman started Race 1 today from the fifth row of the grid. Pushing hard from the start to make up places, Baz lost the front and crashed at turn eight just six laps in. The Ten Kate Yamaha rider managed to remount and rejoin the race, which he eventually finished just out of the points in 16th place.

Michael van der Mark

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – P3

“It’s not been an easy weekend and I struggled to get a good feeling with the bike in free practice. I was a bit unlucky in Superpole, where I made a small mistake, with the result that I only qualified in tenth position – so I knew a good start in the race was vital today. In the end I just went for it and managed to make up quite a few places in the first few corners, after which I was able to push on and catch Chaz in second. I made an early move around the outside him of the last turn, but he was able to blast past me on the straight and I didn’t quite have the pace to go after him again at the end. But I’m happy to be back on the podium in the first race after the summer break and it’s a nice reward for all the hard work the team have put in to get us here.”

Alex Lowes

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – P7

“I didn’t get the best start and the opening lap was quite hectic, but once it settled down a bit my pace was quite good, and I was able to stay in the group filling second to seventh places. I felt okay, but after around 11 laps I started to struggle quite badly for grip, making it difficult to get into and out of the corners because the bike was sliding so much. I went for a different tyre to most of the others, as I had a better feeling with it yesterday, but it backfired on us a little bit today. I couldn’t do much more at the end, other than to ride to the finish and pick up points for seventh. Not easy, but we’ve certainly got some ideas on how we can improve things for tomorrow.”

Sandro Cortese

GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P8

“Nobody was expecting us to be starting here from the front row today, but I had a really good Superpole and managed to qualify in third place. The goal ahead of the weekend was to finish top ten and rebuild my confidence after two difficult races at Donington Park and Laguna. Although I started from the front row today, I went into the race knowing that a top eight finish would be a good result. Maybe others had higher expectations, but I knew it would be a very tough race. I tried to stay with the leading group for as long as possible, but I got a few warnings with the front closing and then Sykes overtook me and crashed, closely followed by Baz who did exactly the same. At that point I decided not to risk it all and to bring the bike home and bank the confidence that a race finish always brings. I’m satisfied with the result today and looking forward to the races tomorrow.”

Marco Melandri

GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P9

“The feeling was better in qualifying this morning compared to yesterday but, if I’m honest, I expected a little bit more in the race. But, unfortunately, I was struggling for rear grip from the start and this brought back the problems we’ve been experiencing for some time now, in that it was difficult for me to get the bike stopped and to get it to turn. It was not easy; I just tried my best in the race, managed to finish top ten, and now we will try again to improve things for the two races tomorrow.”

Loris Baz

Ten Kate Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – P16

“The day started well, with me finishing the final free practice session in third place, and I was feeling confident. In Superpole I had a good lap time with the race tyre, but then I crashed when we switched to a qualifier, mainly as a result of our lack of experience with the qualifying tyres because I still don’t really know where the limit is with the front. It was a big shame, as it meant I started the race from 15th on the grid, which meant I had no option but to attack to come back into a good position. I’d worked my way up to eighth place after a few laps and I was closing on the group battle for fifth when I crashed on the front again. I managed to rejoin and my pace was good; without the crash I think seventh place would have been possible. Now we need to try again tomorrow, firstly in the Superpole race to improve my grid position and then again in tomorrow afternoon’s Race 2, where the target is to fight for a top five finish.”

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

World Superbike in Portugal: Chaz Davies gets onto the podium again with a great run to second place in Race 1, Álvaro Bautista makes an exceptional recovery to finish just off the podium in fourth

The first race in this weekend’s 400th round in the history of the World Superbike Championship saw positive performances by both riders of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team.

Starting from a row-4, P12 grid slot, Chaz Davies ran a very aggressive race to step onto the podium once again after his win in the last round at Laguna Seca, this time in second place behind winner Rea (Kawasaki). In the tussle for supremacy in the first turn following the start, Álvaro Bautista almost made contact with his team-mate, unfortunately losing a lot of positions that put him down in sixteenth place at the end of the opening lap. The Spanish rider then made an incredible recovery to finish just a few seconds away from the podium in fourth place.

Tomorrow the ten-lap Superpole Race will be held at 11.00 CET, with Race 2 starting at 14.00.

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 2nd

“I’m really happy with second place in today’s race, especially after my poor Superpole qualifying performance and twelfth place on the grid. Portimão is a strange track, different from Laguna Seca, and it’s very tricky to pass around here, so for this reason I’m happy to have got onto the podium again. I made a really good first lap, made the passes stick and went forward from there. The start wasn’t that good but I did go very deep into turn 1 and I think I caused Alvaro to stand the bike up a bit so I apologize for that. It wasn’t my intention to cause him any problems but it just happened, I saw the gap and was committed in the turn.”

Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19) – 4th

“I’m really happy with the performance we showed today, even though unfortunately we missed out on a chance to fight for the victory in the first corner due to what happened at the first turn with my team-mate and I was lucky not to touch Lowes and crash. I lost a lot of positions so I tried to recover and do my best. It was difficult to overtake other riders because I didn’t have much traction and I couldn’t make my lines so I needed more time to overtake. When I was alone our pace was even faster than the winner, so I’m happy with the performance but not the result. At least we have two races tomorrow to try and get better results than today.”

More, form a press release issued by Moriwaki Althea Honda Team:

Takumi Takahashi in the points zone in his debut race of the season at Portimao.

Takumi Takahashi crossed the line in fifteenth place in today’s first Superbike race at the challenging Algarve International Circuit Portimao. It initially took the Japanese a little time to get into his rhythm but after a few laps, he began to steadily improve his pace before setting his personal fastest time on lap 11 and finishing inside the points zone in his first WSBK championship race of the season.

Struggling with a lack of grip, Ryuichi Kiyonari had a tougher race day and was forced to settle for nineteenth position at the end of the 20-lap competition.

Tomorrow’s Superpole race will start at 11:00 local time followed by Race 2 at 14:00 that rounds out the Portuguese race weekend.

Takumi Takahashi

15TH

“Today was quite challenging but it also had some positives and, above all, was a good experience. The first laps of the race were already tough enough, as I fought with some other riders and it took me some time to get past them and find my pace. But step by step my confidence improved and so did my rhythm. From mid-race on, I was able to maintain a consistent rhythm right until the end”.

Ryuichi Kiyonari

19TH

“I’m not happy with today’s performance. In qualifying I did not improve my position but at least the feeling with the bike was not bad, apart from the lack of rear grip. In order to try and improve in terms of that issue, we tried a set-up change, but it did not work as we were hoping for. I was struggling even more in the race and I could not ride fast enough. We must think ahead to tomorrow and work to try and do better”.