WSBK Portugal (2): Rea doubles the goal of a third coronation
One month after Davies’ double at the Lausitzring, Rea won twice in Portimao! The No.1 Kawasaki rider even takes advantage of the fall of his nemesis No.7 Ducati – and Sykes’ forfeit – to extend his lead in the WorldSBK championship: 120 points with six races remaining… It smells like a treble for Johnny !
Fourth in the first 2017 Superbike round yesterday in Portimao, Leon Camier has the opportunity to start from pole position this afternoon! He places his MV Agusta n ° 2 in front of the Yamaha n ° 60 of Michael van der Mark, and the BMW n ° 81 of Jordi Torres. In the second row are installed Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia n ° 50 and 32) as well as Xavi Fores (Ducati n ° 12).
In accordance with the new 2017 regulations, the – large – winner is relegated to ninth place on the Portuguese grid, behind his neighbors on the podium on Saturday: the official Ducati riders n ° 33 Marco Melandri and n ° 7 Chaz Davies.
Badly injured in the left little finger, Tom Sykes is forfeited this race, as is Stefan Bradl … Falling yesterday in the race, the Honda rider n ° 6 woke up this morning with a wrist too wrinkled to take part in the second race.
Departure : Leon Camier’s MV Agusta reared up slightly when the red lights went out but still managed to get ahead of Michael van der Mark’s Yamaha and take the lead! Follow Xavi Fores, Eugene Laverty, Marco Melandri, Jonathan Rea, Chaz Davies, Lorenzo Savadori, Alex Lowes, Leandro Mercado, etc..
As usual, Rea overtakes his opponents with amazing ease: at the end of the first loop, the world champion lodges in Van der Mark’s wheel, then second behind Camier! Davies takes longer to pass Fores and ends up behind Laverty.
Much faster than Camier, Rea made a magnificent overtaking in the blind sequence of turn 10 Portimao! The winner of the first round unsurprisingly signed the fastest lap in the race and fled alone in the lead. Camier rolls half a second ahead of Laverty, Davies and VDM.
Passed by the RSV4 n ° 50 at the start of the 3rd lap, the F4 n ° 2 released a few blue volutes by the pot but continued its race … Davies then Van der Mark passed in front of Camier then aimed at Laverty installed in a solitary second place, two seconds behind the "Number One".
Xavi Fores quickly joined Leon Camier. The Spanish rider is closely followed by Marco Melandri on the second official Panigale R, Lorenzo Savadori on the second RSV4 Factory and Alex Lowes on the second factory R1. The No. 22 Yamaha also jumped to eighth place in the 5th lap…
Jordi Torres, Leandro Mercado are fighting to complete the Top 10. At this stage of the race, the field is particularly dense: the drivers placed between fourth and eleventh place are held in three short seconds. If Rea kills the suspense for the victory, his comrades behind ensure a beautiful show…
Davies had to wait until the very start of the 7th lap to steal his second position from Laverty. In the meantime, Rea has built a solid three-second lead over his pursuers. It then spins nearly half a second faster per lap! But Davies is now on the run…
As we approach the halfway point, three withdrawals occur in quick succession: Lowes is the victim of a violent highside during acceleration, Camier is forced to park on the edge of the track at the end of the straight line, then Fores loses the front…
Seven seconds behind the unbeatable and "ruthless JR", a formidable fight opposes Laverty to Melandri. The two former teammates (at Yamaha in 2011!) Are fighting hard for fourth place, while keeping an eye on Van der Mark who precede them by only a few lengths: the podium is not far away. !
Four good seconds behind Marco and Eugene, Jordi and his BMW are trying to keep their 6th place against the Aprilia of Lorenzo Savadori and Leandro Mercado. Anthony West (replacement for Krummenacher) and Ayrton Badovini close the Top 10 solo. Takumi Takahashi (replacement for Hayden) is 11th.
In front, Jonathan Rea is the only one to turn – clearly – under 1 ’34. Barring an incident, the "Number One" should take his 34th victory with Kawasaki in World Superbike, that is to say one more than the unfortunate Tom Sykes (Kawa rider the more victorious so far), forfeit following his heavy fall in free practice on Saturday morning…
Chaz Davies also only has to secure his second place … But the n ° 7 Ducati suddenly loses the front of his Ducati on the 17th lap! His machine is too damaged to start again: "Chazie" therefore gives up second place in the provisional classification, still occupied by Sykes…
Michael van der Mark climbs on the second step on the Portuguese podium (his first podium with Yam!) While Marco Melandri climbs on the third step. But the end of the race for Ducati rider n ° 33 is simplified by the new drop in speed of Aprilia n ° 50 in the final kilometers..
Jordi Torres, Lorenzo Savadori and Leandro Mercado then pass one by one under the checkered flag and record encouraging. Anthony West (8th!) And Takumi Takahashi (10th) largely fulfill their freelance "contract" !
In the championship, the results of the operations are clear: Jonathan Rea is the great winner of this WorldSBK 2017 event as he scores 50 points thanks to his fourth double this season, while his runner-up and teammate Tom Sykes has not scored any.
The lead of the "Number One" of the discipline thus reached 120 points, which means that he could be crowned world champion from the next meeting: it will be in two weeks, "at home" at Magny-Cours. Stay connected !
Result of the 2nd WSBK 2017 race in Portimao
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