Nolan Portuguese Round
Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
Portimao, Portugal
September 16, 2018
Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 20 laps, Total Race Time 34:25.661, Best Lap Time 1:42.444
2. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), -1.189 seconds, 1:42.765
3. Marco Melandri, Italy (Duc Panigale R), -2.813, 1:42.385
4. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale R), -4.594, 1:42.613
5. Tom Sykes, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), -4.834, 1:42.890
6. Lorenzo Savadori, Italy (Apr RSV4 RF), -11.417, 1:43.232
7. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Apr RSV4 RF), -11.732, 1:43.097
8. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -12.507, 1:43.069
9. Loris Baz, France (BMW S1000RR), -12.741, 1:43.223
10. Xavi Fores, Spain (Duc Panigale R), -18.973, 1:43.369
11. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), -20.244, 1:43.371
12. Jake Gagne, USA (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -20.943, 1:43.397
13. Jordi Torres, Spain (MV Agusta F4 RC), -23.395, 1:43.416
14. Leon Camier, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -31.216, 1:44.163
15. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), -32.183, 1:43.902
16. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (Kaw ZX-10RR), -33.076, 1:43.967
17. PJ Jacobsen, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP2), -45.173, 1:44.664
18. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (Yam YZF-R1), -7 laps, DNF, retired, 1:44.851
19. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR), – 8 laps, DNF, crash, 1:43.221
20. Roman Ramos, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), -11 laps, DNF, crash, 1:44.423
World Championship Point Standings (after 20 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 420 points
2. Davies, 304
3. Van Der Mark, 284
4. Sykes, 240
5. Melandri, 229
6. Lowes, 204
7. Fores, 170
8. Laverty, 122
9. Razgatlioglu, 108
10. Baz, 103
11. Savadori, 102
12. Torres, 92
13. Camier, 90
14. Rinaldi, 74
15. Mercado, 59
16. Ramos, 55
17. Gagne, 48
18. Hernandez, 28
19. Jacobsen, 21
20. Leon Haslam, 14
More, from a press release issued by Gulf Althea BMW Racing:
Solid points for Gulf Althea BMW on Sunday at Portimao
Portimao (Portugal), Sunday 16 September 2018
The Gulf Althea BMW Racing Team and rider Loris Baz have concluded the second Superbike race at Portimao in ninth position, while Alessandro Delbianco scored a sixth-place finish in today’s Superstock 1000 race.
Superbike – Race 2 – thanks to his result in yesterday’s race (sixth), Baz lined up on the front row of the grid in today’s race at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. From third, the Frenchman lost a few positions through the first corners, lying eighth after the first lap. On lap six, he was able to pass Razgatlioglu to move into seventh place, but in the second part of the race, he unfortunately lost a little ground, finishing today’s race in ninth position.
STK1000 – Race – eighth in qualifying, Delbianco started from the third row of the grid. Ninth through the opening corners, the young Italian made up two positions over the course of the first laps, lying seventh by lap five. With more than a four-second gap separating him from the group immediately ahead, Delbianco maintained seventh place until the very last lap, where he moved up one position to cross the line sixth.
With ten rounds of the championship already completed, Baz lies tenth in the general standings with 103 points. Delbianco now places eighth in the Stock1000 championship with 45 points scored thus far.
Loris Baz:
“It was a good race, better than yesterday’s. It’s just a shame that we struggle to get the bike to start, as it meant we lost the benefit of starting from the first row today. I’m sure with a better start we could have gained another position or two. I’m happy with the weekend overall though, the best of the year so far, so I hope we can continue like this for the rest of the season and achieve a top five finish at last. The guys did a great job and now we’ll work hard to prepare for what is my home race at Magny-Cours.”
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta Reparto Corsa:
TORRES CLOSED 13TH IN RACE2 AT PORTIMAO. DE ROSA SECURED THE SIXTH PODIUM IN A ROW AND HE IS BACK ON THE FIGHT FOR THE TITLE
In WorldSBK class, Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse closed the tenth round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with the P13 of Jordi Torres in Race2 at Portimao. Raffaele De Rosa, securing the 3rd place in WorldSSP Race, is back on the fight for the Championship.
WorldSBK – Race2
When the lights go out, Jordi Torres starts from the second row on the grid but he is forced to lose several positions because of a contact with another rider. With the Spaniar struggling by some grip issues, the comeback became even more difficult but Jordi will be albe to fight inside the score point area for the rest of the race, ending up 13th under the checkered flag.
WorldSSP – Race
Raffaele De Rosa makes a solid start and immediately get the P4, very close to the top three riders. With the crash of two riders in front, on the second lap the Italian rider is in third place and takes advantage of the solid chassis of his MV Agusta F3 675 to hold the position up to four laps from the end, when he will be passed by Smith. When the leader Lucas Mahias is pulled out of the race because of a technical problem, Raffaele will be able to close 3rd under the finish line, securing the sixth podium in a row, 30 points far from the Championship leader.
Ayrton Badovini started from the eighth position on the grid and managed to lap inside the top 10 for all the race, ending up in 7th place. The italian rider suffered a lack of grip starting from the second half of the race.
Jordi Torres – I’m sorry, the weekend had started in the best way but this result doesn’t really reflect our potential. During the race I suffered a lot because of a contact in the first stages and then for a lack of grip. We have to leave this round behind and go back to work on the data ahead of the next round in France.
Raffaele De Rosa – I am very happy to be on the podium again, for the sixth time this season. In the race I had some difficulties with the front end, and I suffered during the braking. I tried to fight till the end and even when Smith passed me, I was actually ready to try and attack him back. I thank the whole team for the excellent work.
Ayrton Badovini – I am not fully satisfied with this result because here in Portimao I could get a better result. Unfortunately, in the first phase of the race I was slowed down by some riders in front of me and I couldn’t pass them. In the second half of the race, tire wear didn’t allow me to fully recover the gap and I closed seventh.
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:
Xavi Forés took the top 10 in race 2 at Portimao
Portimao (POR), 16th September 2018. Xavi Forés seals tenth in race 2 at Autodromo International do Algarve, Portugal, MOTUL FIM WorldSBK round 10.
The Spaniard showed persistence despite the start from the 12th spot of the the grid. He kept his concentration and crossed the finish line scoring the top 10.
Forés was able to overtake Ratzgatlioglu at lap 10, than he spent a large part of the race stalking Baz who were battling for ninth place, but he wasn‘t able to join the fight. As the race went on, the gap between the riders expanded slowly. The Spaniard crossed the finish line 18.973 s far from the leader, second among the independent rider.
After two “zero” (Misano Race 2 and Portimao race 1) the flag bearer of the team from Bergamo gained six point and goes up to 170 points, seventh in the overall Championship, 48 points more than Laverty.
Marco Barnabò, Principal Manager
«The crash of yesterday shape us even today. We were forced to start from the back and the rider didn’t have the same feeling as yesterday. He suffered lack of confidence at the front and he struggled in riding. It’s a shame because we were competitive and two good results were within the reach».
Xavi Forés, #12
«It was really frustrating not to have the same feelings as yesterday before the fall. Throughout the weekend I felt good, I was able to push and I was competitive, but today the bike did not give me the same confidence as ever. Unfortunately, the episode at the start of race 1 became decisive».
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
#PortimaoWorldSBK Day 3 – Rea performs perfect Portuguese weekend
Championship leader secures sixth consecutive win, his best streak in his WorldSBK career
Perfect Portuguese weekend for Rea
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) showed tremendous composure once again to win his seventh consecutive race at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve and his sixth consecutive in this year’s MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, after a thrilling battle through two thirds of the race with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). He was accompanied on the podium by Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
A brilliant start from Rea pushed him straight up to third inside lap one, with Davies and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) keeping their grid positions in one and two. Flying past his teammate on lap three, the Northern Irishman set up another stunning duel with the Welshman, one that we’ve seen repeated several times this year.
The battle quickly heated up, and fans were treated to a sensational battle. A first strike at the beginning of lap eight saw Davies defend his position on the exit of turn 1; two laps later, Rea dashed into the slipstream again, this time successfully, but the Ducati found the space to counterattack at the braking point of turn 5. Meanwhile, Melandri closed into a mere few tenths of a second of the squabbling pair, with van der Mark also moving near.
The pressure eventually got to the Welshman however, on lap 12: Davies went wide at turn 10, being comfortably passed by the Kawasaki with no chance to respond. Melandri tried a move on his teammate for second on the return through the main straight, but both went in too hot, leaving the door open for the trailing Yamaha to swoop in and climb to second in one smooth move.
With the memory of their stunning battles at Assen and Donington Park fresh in the minds of all WorldSBK fans, Rea and van der Mark set out for another thriller. The reigning champion’s pace was however just too strong for the Dutchman to surpass at this point, and he remains undefeated since Laguna Seca.
Melandri secured third place at the flag, joining Rea and van der Mark on the podium for the third consecutive race. While Davies’ pace faded off after his mid-race battles, the Welshman did manage to hold off Sykes for fourth position and complete a sensational weekend as he was hindered by a collarbone injury.
Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) made amends for his mistake in Race One by rising to sixth in Sunday’s race, one position ahead of his teammate Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia). Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) was the best independent rider on track at Portimao, crossing the line in eighth.
Loris Baz (GULF Althea BMW Racing Team) couldn’t keep hold of his front row start and finishes Race Two in ninth position, just ahead of Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) in tenth and eleventh, respectively.
That’s a wrap from Portugal! Join us in two weeks’ time for the last European round of 2018 at Magny-Cours, from 28-30 September.
P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
“I have no words for whats happening right now, I’m just grateful to my team for supporting me every weekend, I have no words. To double up here again, it’s incredible. I feel very very lucky and privileges to be in this position, so I’m just hoping to ride this wave as long as I can.”
P2 – Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
“Its been a strange weekend, on Friday it seemed like we were not on the pace and yesterday we were a but lucky to get third. We changed some small things to improve the bike in the hotter conditions. Today I stayed calm, made my way to the front step by step and I tried so hard to catch up with Jonny and he was a bit quicker. I tried so hard to race at the front, so a big thanks to the team.”
P3 – Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It was very difficult, the track today was a bit more slippery, it was not was not to come back from behind and I made a few mistakes when I tried I tried to pass Chaz, I didn’t have a lot of chance to pass him as he brakes so hard. So we went wide and then van der Mark passed me, and in some turns I was pretty slow and in some others I was coming back, but they didn’t make any mistakes and I tried to make some moves. So third position today is the best result I can get today and we’re looking forward to getting to Magny.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Another podium for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team in Race 2 at Portimão with Melandri (3rd), Davies 4th again despite an injured shoulder
After a second-place obtained in Race 1, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team took another podium in Race 2 at Portimão (Portugal) with Marco Melandri, third on the finish line, only two seconds behind the winner at the end of a particularly balanced race, characterized by high temperatures with more than 40 degrees on the tarmac. Chaz Davies, who already dazzled the crowd with a brave comeback from 15th position Saturday, was once again fourth after leading the race for 11 laps despite an injured right shoulder.
The Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team also rode a strong race with Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who significantly reduced the gap from the front to finish 8th, first among “Independent” riders. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team and the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team will be back on track at Magny Cours (France) for the 11th round of the 2018 WorldSBK Championship, scheduled for September 28-30.
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 3rd
“It was another tough race, though probably a bit more fun than the first one. I had a strong start but I struggled to make a few passes early on and I lost a bit of ground. Then I cut the gap from the front, but I had to ask a lot to the tires and eventually they dropped. In some corners I was struggling, while in others I was fast, but it wasn’t enough to pass VD Mark or Rea because we were all lapping with a similar pace. In the end I’m very happy, we achieved the best possible results, obtaining the most from both the bike and myself. Hopefully this is a good sign for the future.”
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 4th
“This was one of the most challenging rounds in my career, for sure. Portimão is one of the most physical tracks on the calendar and I haven’t been able to train properly for a long time, not to mention the pain in the right shoulder. Honestly, if somebody would have told me that I would get P4 twice here, I wouldn’t have believed it. Big thanks to my guys because we’ve made strides with the package through the weekend and we ended up actually quite close to the winners. Now we’ve got a few days to train and rehab ahead of Magny Cours to kickstart the final part of the season. I’m looking forward to the next race.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team #21) – 8th
“I’m very happy with today’s effort, not only because of the final position but also because we’ve significantly improved our pace compared with yesterday, reducing the final gap. It’s a shame I lost two positions in the final laps, we still need to improve a bit but I’m satisfied with our race. I want to thank my crew because they worked really hard on every single detail. We’ll try to make another step forward at Magny Cours.”
Serafino Foti, Team Manager
“This round was certainly positive for us. Marco took home two important podiums, finishing both races close to the winner. Especially Race 2, which was particularly balanced. Chaz was incredible, going well beyond our expectations to finish twice fourth, a crucial result given his current physical conditions. Now we’ll go to Magny Cours with one goal in mind: to take as many wins or podiums as possible and finish the season on a high note.”
More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Aprilia:
Savadori and Laverty take solid points finish from Race 2 at Portimao
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve 16 / 09 / 2018
Race Two Report #PortimaoWorldSBK
After the disappointment of Race 1 which saw record-breaking pole sitter Eugene taken out by another rider and Lorenzo crash, Milwaukee Aprilia were prepared for a tough fightback on Sunday.
Due to their DNFs Eugene and Lorenzo lined up P10 and P11 respectively in the thick of the midfield action. At the start both riders lost out to Camier behind who took P9. A mechanical issue for him however dropped him out of the running, Lorenzo passing him at the start of Lap 2 with Eugene following.
They ran together before a retirement for Razgatlioglu ahead promoted everyone from P7. They then chased down Baz in seventh, Lorenzo passing on Lap 8 and Eugene following suit on Lap 12 to take P8.
Lorenzo began to create gap to his teammate, closing in fast on Rinaldi. With four laps left he made a passing move which stuck, and was gearing up to fight Sykes for P5 before deciding to manage a front vibration problem and consolidate his finishing position of P6. Eugene had a lonely end of the race, chasing Rinaldi and passing him at the death on the last lap to come home P7 behind his teammate.
With a weekend result that is not representative of the strong progress and development the team have made in recent rounds, Milwaukee Aprilia continue to push hard for more podium finishes with both riders as the season enters its final three races.
Round 11 of the WorldSBK championship takes place at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France, 28-30 September.
Shaun Muir – Team Principal
“It was a long difficult race today. The track temperature was a little higher than yesterday which hurt Lorenzo particularly, he couldn’t reproduce the full speed he had yesterday.
It was a missed opportunity perhaps, but we consolidated yesterday’s problems and DNFs with two good points positions. We were only 11 seconds off the front at the end, we’d like to close that down and we had the pace to be top 4. The starting position today hurt us and it took us too long to pass Rinaldi and Baz, and we paid the price for it.
We had good form at Magny-Cours last year, the weather was pretty changeable but there is a good base for us to work from for that weekend. We needed the races today to give each rider back their confidence, and I expect to see them fighting from the start of FP1.”
Lorenzo Savadori #32 – Aprilia RSV4-RF
Race 2 grid: P11 – Row 4
Race 2 result: P6 – 10 points
Total weekend points: 10
“When you start a race in P11 it’s never a good position to be in, but scoring points was a good result for us. I had a good start but I struggled a little at the beginning to pass. I finally made it up to P6 and I thought I could challenge Sykes for P5, but I started to get a strange vibration in the front which we need to investigate.
It was then really difficult for me to keep the bike stable for the rest of the race, and I must also change something in my style for arrival and exit of the corners to improve this. I lost a bit of time fighting with Rinaldi and we must also work to be quicker passing riders at the start of the race, to make progress quicker.
I hope to continue our development at Magny-Cours, and I hope we are closer to the podium ad big points. We were not far off this weekend and of course Eugene was quick too which is good for the team, so for sure I think we can have a good round.”
Eugene Laverty #50 – Aprilia RSV4-RF
Race 2 grid: P10 – Row 4
Race 2 result: P7 – 9 points
Total weekend points: 9
“The race was really tough. The guys I was battling with had so much rear grip and suddenly it got difficult. It felt like I was riding on ice and I was so gentle getting off the brakes and touching the gas. Opening it up 100% was so difficult and it just didn’t feel like I was really racing the bike.
We know that our bike is good now and this track is quite slippy; anywhere where the rear tyre life drops off we struggle. I can’t make the rear push quite as much as Lorenzo who’s bigger, but that is something we will address in Magny-Cours.
Not having race data from yesterday definitely hurt us in the race today. Qualifying was a great feeling but I knew we still had to push hard in the races. I had some fantastic laps this weekend where I didn’t even have to work hard, so the aim is to get that feeling again next round.”
Keep up to date with the Milwaukee Aprilia team on their website, and Facebook, Twitter & Instagram channels
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Double For Rea As Sykes Takes Fifth Place
A second Portimao race win of the weekend for Jonathan Rea (KRT) saw him extend his championship lead while his team-mate Tom Sykes took another fifth place finish to keep fourth position in the overall points ranking.
Portimao proved to be as fruitful as ever for Rea this weekend. Since he joined Kawasaki in 2015 he has won six Portuguese races in a row, on a Ninja machine of some sort, and seven in a row at Portimao overall.
Rea’s 12th race win so far in 2018 extended his all time winning record in WorldSBK to 66. He has earned full points for six races in succession recently, scoring doubles at Laguna Seca, Misano and now Portimao.
After his first race victory on Saturday Rea had to start race two from ninth position, which made today’s race a more combative affair in the early laps. Chaz Davies led for the first 11 laps across the line, with first Sykes and then Rea challenging behind. Rea made a pass stick on lap 12 and then eased out a lead as the podium order changed behind him. Michael van der Mark eventually finished second, Marco Melandri third.
With Sykes feeling more comfortable with his machine settings today he had greater confidence in the battles for the podium places. He was in a fight for fourth right to the end and he was just 4.834 seconds from the winning race time today.
With the Sunday race having started at 15.15, as opposed to 13.00 on Saturday, the conditions were slightly different, which meant the race was both slightly slower than Saturday’s event and more closely contested.
In the championship Rea now has 420 points, Davies 304 and van der Mark 284, with three rounds and six races remaining. Jonathan will have his first opportunity to close out the championship at the following round in France, if results go his way. Tom is fourth in the points, with a total of 240.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) crashed out at T10 and did not finish race two, but is still ninth overall in the championship. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) scored the last point on offer today for 15th place, with Yonny Hernandez (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) 16th. Roman Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki) fell, remounted and then retired later in the race.
The 11th round of the 13 round championship takes place at Magny Cours in France, between the 29th and 31st of September.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “The run right now is incredible. It was a really tough race, as I had to fight a lot in the beginning. I made a very good start and had good track position early on. At turn five an opportunity opened up behind two riders and I found myself right behind Tom. He proved very hard to pass. I made a pass stick in T13, and chased Chaz down within a lap. Then it took me so many laps to go past him because he was braking so late, and his bike was so fast in the straight. Once I got past I just concentrated on making a couple of clean laps and setting my rhythm. The pace today was a little bit slower because the temperature had risen a bit and also I used the tyre a little bit more coming through the pack. I put everything into the race and managed to get 25 points, so I am really happy.”
Tom Sykes, stated: “We made a massive step with the bike today. We had good speed all weekend but suffered over 20 laps. We did not have the information, so yesterday we struggled with the front and finished about 13 seconds back. Today, we took nearly ten seconds off of that. We came a lot closer and basically we had a lot more information, and learned from it. We had consistent speed in race two and the bike gave me a lot of warning and feedback. I want to thank my team for this. I suffered a little bit on those last two laps and I think Davies also dug a little deeper with his pace. I tried a few little things to pass but almost losing the front three times in two laps is probably enough. I was just trying to create an opening but he defended well on the last lap.”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda:
Gagne and Camier fight to double points finish in Portimão Race 2
Portuguese Round
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal
The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team completed round 10 of the FIM Superbike World Championship with a double points haul in Race 2 at Portimão.
Camier and Gagne started Race 2 from fourteenth and fifteenth place on the grid respectively and after a slow start, increased their pace in the second half of the twenty lap contest to make up positions around the technical Portuguese track.
Gagne managed to maintain an excellent rhythm in the latter stages and finished in twelfth place, the rookie’s performance saw him finish just a couple of seconds behind a top ten placing.
Meanwhile Camier found himself as low as seventeenth place but methodically made his way past the slower riders ahead of him to claim fourteenth place and ensure a point-scoring result in his 200th race in the FIM World Superbike Championship.
With ten rounds of the championship completed Camier sits in thirteenth place in the standings on 90 points, while Gagne is seventeenth overall with 48 points with 3 rounds remaining this season.
The next round of the FIM Superbike World Championship takes place at France’s Magny-Cours circuit from the 28th to the 30th of September.
Leon Camier 2
We tried another setting for Race 2 today to try and improve my feeling on the bike but unfortunately it didn’t work so it was a tough race. There’s more work we can do to get the best out of our package, as I still think the bike is capable of a lot more than what we got out of it here in Portimão. I’m looking forward to working with the team to turning things around in Magny-Cours.
Jake Gagne 45
We had a really positive weekend here in Portugal, having all that testing made the start of the race weekend easier and that helped me in the races. Today I had a good Warm Up and the changes we made to the Fireblade made it work better in the race. I finished 12th so it was good to get more points and learn from the guys I was racing with. Overall I’m happy with the progress I made this weekend and as I raced at Magny-Cours last year, for the next round I’m sure we can aim for more good results.
Kervin Bos
Team Manager
The positives to take away from this weekend is the performance of Jake who had his most consistent race weekend away from his home round and he stepped up again in Race 2. On Leon’s side though, it was a disappointing weekend as we weren’t able to give him a bike he could perform on and this showed in the result today. We need to analyse the data, work out what happened and ensure we can provide a better performing package for our riders at Magny-Cours in two weeks time.
More, from a press release issued by Honda Pro Racing:
Portimão a stiff test for Triple M Honda World Superbike Team
Portuguese Round
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal
The Triple M Honda World Superbike Team got its season back underway under the warm sunshine of a Portuguese autumn after the long summer break since the previous round at Misano in early July.
The first year WorldSBK team and rookie WorldSBK rider PJ Jacobsen took on the challenges of the heavily undulating and endlessly complex Portimão circuit over three free practice sessions on Friday 14th September, looking for an ideal set-up.
Optimum settings proved elusive and PJ entered Superpole 1 on Saturday in 17th position. He eventually qualified 18th on the grid for the first 20-lap WorldSBK race.
Flagged off at 13.00 local time in Portugal, the race saw PJ go from 17th on lap one to 14th and a points scoring position on lap nine. PJ dropped down the order and eventually retired when he felt a problem developing on his machine.
In race two on Sunday, which was started at the later time of 15.15, Jacobsen could not make early progress and finish 17th, not adding to his points score as a result. He is ranked 19th in the points table after ten rounds and 20 individual races.
The next WorldSBK meeting will be held at Magny Cours in France, between the 28 and 30 September.
PJ Jacobsen 99
Yesterday’s race pace was not so bad and we could challenge for maybe 12th place, but then I had a small problem. Today we had a really good rhythm in the warm-up session but the race was totally different. We did not have the grip that we had over the rest of the weekend. No changes or anything but maybe we just did not have the grip.
Manuel Cappelletti
Team Manager
Yesterday PJ retired because near the end of the race as he felt a vibration with his bike. The mechanical and electronic checks showed that that everything was OK, but we could see on the data that the bike was shaking. It may be related to the tyres or something else, so we are investigating. Today the grip level was less than yesterday, but we expected something good because in the warm-up PJ had a good rhythm but in the race it was difficult. We all must do something to show that the championship is not finished so we are looking for better results in the next rounds.