Portimao WSB: Laverty wins from Rea and Biaggi

Eugene Laverty celebrated his first victory since joining Aprilia with a classy performance onboard  his RSV4. The 25 year old Irishman made the break at the front and controlled the race, soaking up intense pressure from Honda man Jonathan Rea on the final lap.

Laverty said: “It feels really good to finally get the win and get the monkey off my back. Portimao is almost like a home race because there are so many fans here supporting myself and Jonathan. After finishing 13th in race one it certainly feels good. I love riding at this track and I’ve always had a good record here – it’s one of my favourites.”

Jonathan Rea rode an impressive race to come through the pack and close down a close to 4s gap to Laverty in the final laps. He ultimately ran out of time to make any attempt to pass, but it was a good way to celebrate his new contract and further year with the Honda team in 2013.

He said: “I felt really strong at the end of the race both physically and mentally which is why I was able to close the gap so fast on Eugene at the end. But Eugene rode a very smart race and got away at the beginning where I wasn’t able to do that and got held up behind Tom while he made up his mind whether his bike was broken or not.”

Max Biaggi finished in third place and as a result of Marco Melandri not starting the race after his race one crash and Tom Sykes suffering a mechanical problem the Aprilia man now leads the championship by 30.5 points.

Leon Camier looked set to back up his superb Nurburgring podium but while battling with Biaggi for the podium he suffered a gear box problem which forced him to retire.

 

Portimao – FIM Superbike World Championship – Race 2
 
1. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 38’35.105
2. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 38’35.267
3. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 38’38.871
4. Sylvain Guintoli (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 38’45.545
5. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 38’55.258
6. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 38’58.257
7. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 39’02.419
8. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 39’10.787
9. Brett McCormick (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 39’10.871
10. Lorenzo Lanzi (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 39’13.416
11. John Hopkins (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 39’22.919
12. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 39’32.464
13. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 39’46.140
14. Alexander Lundh (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 40’03.302
15. Norino Brignola (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 40’17.694
NC. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 39’02.683
RT. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 37’14.238
RT. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 16’41.797
RT. Matteo Baiocco (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 14’42.953
RT. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 7’02.671
RT. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 5’40.999
RT. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 4’42.578