[WSBK] Jonathan Rea imperial during the Superbike Superpole in Portimão

La first day of the Portuguese round of the Superbike World Championship in Portimão was particularly enticing with a new edition of the Rea vs Bautista duel, separated by only 7 hundredths of a second in the combined standings after the two drivers each dominated a free practice session.

This morning, for the beauty in FP3, Jonathan Rhea was able to increase his pace by 3 tenths, giving himself a very small advantage of a tenth over a Alvaro Bautista falling and a Loris Baz flamboyant! The French driver had clearly announced that he was aiming for the Top 5 in the Algarve and shows that he has the potential (see results here).

Loris Baz said last night: “A rather positive first day! It was very hot. This afternoon, we did a simulation again in order to prepare ourselves as best as possible for the distance of the race, because this is where the difference will be made. The tires tend to deteriorate very quickly on this track and we will have to be vigilant in the final laps. I didn't manage to chase a faster time with new tires, but I think we found some things for pace. Tomorrow it will be about doing good qualifying and choosing the right tire for the first round. I believe we can aim for the Top 5, if not better! »

The 30-minute Superpole took place under bright sunshine and, after a few laps, Alvaro Bautista recorded a time of 1'41.326, the best time of the weekend so far, ahead of Sandra Cortese et Loris Baz. Undoubtedly, the track was fast this Saturday afternoon…

Jonathan Rhea was then 7th, 7 tenths behind, but the British driver obviously did not stop there and dethroned the Frenchman for 3rd place.

A little before mid-session, Razgatlioglu was positioned 2nd, 0,28 seconds behind Ducati's spearhead, while the second part of the top 10 was completed by Tom Sykes, Reiterberger, Michael van der Mark, Alex Lowes and Chaz Davies.

Jonathan Rhea produced a first effort 7 minutes from the checkered flag, first positioning himself in 2nd position before taking command in 1'41.143.

Alvaro Bautista tried to respond by conceding only 3/100 after the first sector, but already saw themselves relegated to almost 2/10 after the 2nd sector. However, at the cost of a maximum attack in the next two sections, the Ducati rider regained leadership in 2'1.

Loris Baz et Chaz Davies were then on the track and had lit the first two sections in red, but the French driver unfortunately made a mistake, fortunately not serious, before conversely the Briton jumped from 13th to 3rd position!

The last minutes saw first of all the improvements of Reiterberger et Rinaldi who obtained 3rd and 4th places respectively.

In the wake, Tom Sykes, who will be with BMW again next year, gave up his 11th position in favor of pole, in 1'40.483.

Marco Melandri then entered the Top 5 before Sandra Cortese is not positioned 2nd.

In extremis, alex lowes placed his Yamaha in 3rd place before Jonathan Rhea beat everyone at the post thanks to a 1'40.372, a new lap record.

Leon Haslam took 4th position immediately after before Michael van der Mark concludes the session in a modest 10th position.