SBK | Nolan Portuguese Round, Race1: Rea wins and extends his lead

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) achieves his 65th career victory and extends his already large lead in the standings thanks to his victory in Race 1 at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

The Briton dominated in Portimao, taking the lead from the first lap and crossing the finish line first, ahead of Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), second and third respectively .

The race ended early for poleman Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia). The Irishman didn't start from first position in 2013, but he didn't have a good start and found himself in the group at the first corner. Shortly after, Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) touched him and both ended up on the ground, ending their race early.
Jonathan Rea took advantage of the initial chaos, flying ahead of Melandri already at the exit of the first corner. Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), seeking his first WorldSBK podium, was very close, while Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) found the form he was missing on Friday and moved up to fifth after starting from fourteenth position.
Rea had been beaten in Superpole, but the Briton's strength at Portimao this weekend and in the tests three weeks ago was his consistency. For the entire first part of the race he kept his time under 1.43 and was unbeatable, opening a gap of 2-3 seconds.
For second position the battle was supposed to be an Italian one, but this lasted only for half the race: Savadori slipped at the end of the main straight on the 12th lap, ending Saturday in a negative way for the Milwaukee Aprilia team, a few hours after the best qualifying of the 2018.
The other Italian Melandri finished in second position, his best result since the Acerbis Czech Round, turning his pace into a fantastic result. Michael van der Mark took the final step of the podium, his eighth of the season. He follows Davies with an incredible fourth position which allows him to start from the first position on the grid in Race 2 tomorrow.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crossed the finish line in fifth position, continuing the streak of positive results for the Green bikes. Loris Baz (GULF Althea BMW Racing Team) finished Race 1 in sixth position, his best result since returning to WorldSBK.
Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) celebrated his future debut in MotoGP™ with seventh place on the Portuguese track, which puts him ahead of Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) in the standings. The Briton was forced to retire due to a mechanical problem.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the best independent rider in Race 1 in Portimao thanks to eighth position, ahead of the other rookie Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), ninth. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) closes the top 10 after difficulties in the early stages of the race.