Portimao is a cracking circuit to ride and generally delivers some good racing, however after the excitement of
the Senior TT race
, WSB had quite a lot to live up to.
Having set his 16th career pole, Tom Sykes was looking good, certainly better than Chaz Davies who had a monster of an off in practice and the battered and bruised Leon Haslam who was still recovering from his broken leg.
Rea drifts his way round the Portimao tarmac
After the first lap it was the usual suspects up the front with Sykes leading from Melandri, Laverty, Rea and Guintoli. However unusually Checa was also in the mix on the Panigale, the first time we have seen the former champ at the sharp end this season. Not that he was there for long as Sykes, Melandri, Laverty, Rea and Guintoli soon broke clear of the chasing pack. Does anyone else get the feeling Ducati will unveil a much changed homologation special
Panigale R
Laverty loves Portimao and he looked desperate to get past Sykes and make a break, something he managed on lap seven thanks to the speed of the Aprilia. Good news for one Irishman, bad news for another as Rea was forced out of the race with a bike issue. Five became four at the front, however Guintoli was also dropping back at mid-race. Then Laverty's engine went pop...
With Laverty out and Guintoli off the pace, Melandri grabbed his opportunity and slipped past Sykes to take the lead, although Guintoli seemed to have woken up and caught back up with the front runners. After a great bout of fairing bashing between Guintoli and Melandri the win eventually went to Melandri by a gnat's whisker. But for Brits the big news was Leon Camier in fourth! A great result for a rider who deserves a bit of good luck.
Sykes puts the power down on the Kawasaki
Race two and it was drama from the start as Tom Sykes threw the Kawasaki up the road on the sighting lap! A bit of frantic activity and Tom joined the race from pit lane - not brilliant but certainly not a disaster as there were only 18 riders on the grid.
Once again the front runners were Laverty, Melandri, Guintoli and Rea while at the tail Sykes was forced to pull back into the pits with something not 100 per cent on his bike.
Back at the sharp end Laverty was making a break with Rea on his tail, the pair gapping Melandri and Guintoli who were battling for the final podium spot. Having both DNF'ed in the first race, few would begrudge an Irish winner of the second race. Well apart from a certain French/Brit rider...
Guintoli really looked to have his race head on this weekend but after closing down Rea was never going to bridge the gap on Laverty. A win for Laverty but the real winner of the weekend was Guintoli, who scored two solid finishes while those around DNF'ed.
Supersport and could Sam Lowes make it four wins on the bounce? The Brit is brimming with confidence and stuck his Yamaha on pole position. A race-long battle between Lowes and the two Kawasaki riders of Foret and Sofuoglu, who were joined by Van Den Mark on the final laps, saw Lowes take the win with a brilliant last lap. Jack Kennedy got sixth while Christian Iddon was tenth on the MV.
Race one
1. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK)
2. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team)
3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
Race two
1. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team)
2. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team)
3. Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike)
Championship places
1: Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team)
2: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3: Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team)
Brit watch
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) - DNF, 1
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) - 3, Not classified
Leon Camier (Suzuki) - 4, DNF
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) - DNF, DNS
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) - DNF, 3
Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) - 6, 5