10-13 Portugal – Portimão – Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race –

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Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

The tenth round of the WorldSBK 2018 took place this weekend in Portimao (Portugal). In order to complete our almost live reports, Site gives you the main reactions of the Superbike riders at the end of the Portuguese races.. Here are those of the second round … Do you speak french ?

Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than others – have already been able to follow Saturday and Sunday, almost live, the unfolding of the World Superbike and Supersport 2018 races on the Portimao circuit. For latecomers:

Below are the statements of the drivers who distinguished themselves on Sunday during the second Superbike round. Honor to – double – winner !

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki n ° 1), 1st:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

"Our series (of six consecutive victories at Laguna Seca, Misano then Portimao, Editor’s note) is incredible. It was a very difficult race, because I had to fight a lot at the start. I had a very good start and I I got a good position from the start. At the fifth corner an opportunity presented itself behind two riders and I ended up just behind Tom (Sykes). He was very difficult to pass. I managed in the 13th lap, and I continued Chaz the next lap. Then it took me many laps to pass him: he was braking so late and his bike was so fast in the straight. Once passed I focused on a few clean laps and on my own pace. The pace was a little slower today because the temperature had risen a bit and I also used my tire a little more going up the field. I put everything in the race and I managed to get 25 points, so I’m really happy ".

Michael van der Mark (Yamaha n ° 60), 2nd:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

"I didn’t get the best of the starts, but I stayed calm because I knew the grip levels would be low and the track temperature would increase a lot. We had changed the bike a bit to compensate, and from then on at the start she behaved quite well. I slowly crept in and was able to run at about the same pace as Johnny (Rea), Chaz (Davies) and Marco (Melandri). But Marco and Chaz clashed and I was able to take the opportunity to overtake them and move up to second. I tried to catch up with Johnny, but he just had a little more pace than me in the last cables of the race. in itself, another podium is a great way to end this great weekend for me and my team. We will continue to attack next time in France ".

Marco Melandri (Ducati n ° 33), 3rd:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

“It was another tough race, but probably a little more fun than the first. I got off to a good start, but struggled to make some maneuvers at the start and lost a bit of ground. Then I closed the gap but had to ask a lot of the tires and they got tired eventually. I had trouble in some corners while I was fast in others. ‘was not enough to overtake VD Mark or Rea: we were all turning at a similar pace. In the end, I’m very happy, we got the best possible results, getting the best out of the bike and myself. hope this bodes well for the future ".

Chaz Davies (Ducati n ° 7), 4th:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

“It was arguably one of the toughest events of my career. Portimao 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 (collarbone fractured twice this summer, editor’s note!). Honestly, if someone had told me that I would finish twice fourth here, I would not have believed it. A big thank you to my guys because we made progress throughout the weekend, and we finished very close to the winners. We now have a few days to train and re-educate ourselves before Magny-Cours. We will kick off the last part of the season. I can’t wait ".

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki n ° 66), 5th:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

“We made a huge progress with the bike today. We had good speed all weekend but suffered over 20 laps. We didn’t know yesterday, we struggled with the front and we were done at about 13 seconds. Today we gained almost ten seconds. We got very close because we just had a lot more information, and we learned from it. We had a constant speed in second run and the bike gave me a lot of warning and feedback. I want to thank my team for that. I suffered a bit in the last two laps and I think Davies also attacked a little harder . I tried a few things to pass but almost lost the front three times in two laps, that was probably enough. I was just trying to create an opening but he defended himself well in the last round".

Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia n ° 32), 6th:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

"It’s never good to start a race 11th on the grid, but scoring points was a good result for us. I got off to a good start but had a bit of trouble overtaking at the start. I ended up in 6th position and thought I could challenge Sykes for 5th but started to feel a weird vibe up front, which we need to look into. I then had a lot of trouble keeping the bike stable for the rest of the race. I also have to change my handling to improve my corner entry and exit. I lost some time fighting with Rinaldi and we have to work on speed in overtaking at the start of the race, to get back up faster. I hope to continue our development at Magny-Cours, and I hope that we will be closer to the podium and the big points. We were not far this weekend and Eugene was quick too of course which is good for the team so I’m sure we can have a good run. reuve ".

Eugene Laverty (Aprilia n ° 50), 7th:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

“The race was really tough. The guys I was fighting with had so much grip in the back and suddenly it got tough. I felt like I was riding on ice: I had to be so soft. releasing the brakes and touching the throttle. Opening it 100% was so complicated, I really didn’t feel like I was riding the bike. We know our bike is good now and this track is quite slippery : wherever the life of the rear tires is limited, we struggle. I cannot stress the rear as much as Lorenzo (Savadori, his teammate, Editor’s note) who is heavier, but it’s something which we are going to tackle at Magny-Cours. The fact of not having the race data of yesterday definitely cost us today. Qualifying (on pole, Editor’s note!) was a great feeling, but I knew we should still attacking hard in the race. I did some fantastic laps this weekend without having to work hard, so the goal is to get that feeling back in the next round ".

Michael Rinaldi (Ducati n ° 21), 8th:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

"I am very satisfied with this day, not only thanks to the final position, but also because we have considerably improved our pace compared to yesterday, thus reducing the final gap. It is a shame to have lost two places in the last laps: we still need to improve a little. I want to thank my team because they have worked very hard on every detail. We will try to take another step forward at Magny Cours ".

Loris Baz (BMW n ° 76), 9th:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

"It’s quite a good result. We still can’t get a good start. Our settings put the center of gravity relatively high and out the rear, so the bike rears up a lot. I was ninth in the first corner, but I managed to overtake a few of my opponents. It was a good race and the gap to the winner is the smallest of the season. I fought in a group with Eugene Laverty, author of the pole position , or Lorenzo Savadori, who played on the podium on Saturday. I hope that we will maintain this rhythm until the end of the year and I am convinced that we will manage to hang a Top 5. I draw up a positive assessment of this weekend. The next meeting is Magny-Cours, at home. A special helmet is being prepared! I will take advantage of the support of all the French public to try to make two good races. would help get there. I will fight hard, as always. I enjoy it equally ment to express my disappointment about Randy and Jeremy at the Bol d’Or. They had it … within 2 hours. Last year, they missed 23:30, it will be for next year. Jeremy is looking to win a second Bol d’Or, but I think he will only succeed if we are teammates again! "

Jake Gagne (Honda # 45), 12th:

10-13 Portugal - Portimão - Statements by WSBK 2018 drivers in Portimao: second race -

"We had a very positive weekend in Portugal, with all these tests which facilitated the start of the weekend and helped me with the races. I had a good warm-up today and the changes that we brought to the Fireblade made it better in the race. I finished 12th – it was good to get some new points and learn from the guys I was riding with. Overall I’m happy with the progress I’ve made this weekend and as I raced at Magny-Cours last year I’m sure we can aim for more good results for the next round ".

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