Racing News |
Portimao Hosts Final European Races
KRT riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes will head to Portimao in Portugal this weekend for what will be the last European based WorldSBK round of 2021 before the fly-away races bring the season to a close.
The usual three race schedule is back for the Portuguese round with the track action being run between 1-3 October. This is the end of an intense run of three back-to-back races, which started with a ‘home’ event for KRT in Barcelona, moved to Jerez last weekend and now heads to Portimao in a few days.
Rea has won ten races so far in 2021 and he hopes he can make history repeat itself at Portimao Jonathan has won no fewer than 12 WorldSBK races there, and taken a further eight podium places.
After the Jerez round Rea is out to overturn a 20-point points deficit to championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu, with his confidence boosted by his winning record at the Portimao circuit.
Lowes was unsure if he could even ride at the previous round in Jerez after suffering a right hand injury in the Barcelona meeting but in setting the second fastest time in qualifying at Jerez he hoped to be able to compete strongly in what were eventually two, not three, races.
He had to withdraw before the start of the second race after finishing Race One in ninth position. He will focus all his energies now on getting ready to be better condition to face the challenge of the undulating Autodromo Internacional do Algarve circuit in a few days time.
The 4.592km long Portimao layout has been the scene of a recent in-season test for KRT, and a pre-season test too, both of which should aid the job of finding a strong race set-up when the first practice sessions get underway on Friday 1 October.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I am expecting much more from Portimao. I think there’s a few factors that should work in our favour there. It’s a track where I’m quite strong as well. We expect to capitalise. We expect a good weekend. So that’s good - it’s good pressure. I like this feeling. I like the feeling when my back is against the wall. It’s nice. I like gritting my teeth. But I need a weapon to fight with. You can’t just grit your teeth and make it happen. We need to fix the small issues we’re having in these hot conditions with the soft tyre. But, I think the soft tyre is on holiday now until next year. I think Portimao should suit us a little bit better than the previous rounds.”
Alex Lowes, stated: “We had a good test in Portimao so we can be relatively optimistic that with a few days physio and rest we can be in a better position there. I showed my speed at Jerez and the bike was working well but it is just a shame that we couldn’t perform how we wanted to. It was a disappointing end to the weekend at Jerez but we just have to keep it in perspective and move forward to Portugal.”
