SBK, Prosecco DOC Portuguese Round, Race1: unhindered victory for Rea

Everything was easy for Jonathan Rea who won by dominating the first race of the tenth round of the World Championship of production derivatives, on the Portimao track, in Portugal: the Kawasaki rider started well from the front row and escaped immediately, leading the race from start to finish , while behind him his rivals battled for the podium.

Also due to the absence of teammate Tom Sykes, who was injured this morning in the third free practice session and was therefore forced to miss both races, the reigning champion practically put an end to the title race: his advantage over Sykes and Davies rises to 95 and 110 points respectively, with seven races remaining.

Beyond the numbers, today once again Jonathan Rea seemed to be from another planet, his solo victory is the result of a technical superiority of the bike, but also of mental strength and a driving style that few years ago in motorsport, clean and always effective.

The Ducati garage smiles as they think about the many problems they had this weekend, from Melandri's engine failure yesterday, to Davies' crash in Superpole: the Welsh rider and the rider from Ravenna complete the podium in second and third place respectively.
Fourth place for an extraordinary Leon Camier who furiously recovers from eleventh place until just missing the podium, not giving up on Melandri until the checkered flag.

Good race also for Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) who finished in fifth place, while teammate Alex Lowes was the victim of a fall from which he recovered to finish 18th, and for Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) sixth, author of 20 truly consistent laps.
Tire wear problems for the Aprilias of Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) who finished only seventh and eighth after excellent qualifying in which they achieved the second and third times.
Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) and Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) complete the top 10.

Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) was unlucky as he suffered a fall when he seemed to have a good chance of finally achieving a good placing.

See you tomorrow, 16pm, with the start of Race 00.

Below is the order of arrival of Race 1 of the Prosecco DOC Portuguese Round:

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10RR 20 laps
2. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale R +6.189s
3. Marco Melandri ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale R +10.166s
4. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta RC F4 RR +10.508s
5. Michael van der Mark NED PATA Yamaha YZF-R1 +13.739s
6. Jordi Torres ESP Althea BMW S1000RR +16.816s
7. Eugene Laverty IRE Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4 +18.786s
8. Lorenzo Savadori ITA Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4 +22.090s
9. Xavi Fores ESP Barni Ducati Panigale R +28.430s
10. Roman Ramos ESP Team Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10RR +38.746s
11. Raffaele De Rosa ITA Althea BMW S1000RR +43.181s
12. Ayrton Badovini ITA Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10RR +43.212s
13. Anthony West AUS Puccetti Kawasaki ZX-10RR +43.325s
14. Riccardo Russo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10RR +43.412s
15. Takumi Takahashi JPN Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR SP2 +54.303s
16. Ondrej Jezek CZE Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10RR +59.880s
17. Alessandro Andreozzi ITA Guandalini Yamaha YZF-R1 +1m
18. Alex Lowes GBR PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 +1 lap

Did not finish

Leandro Mercado ARG IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4
Stefan Bradl GER Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR SP2