Superbike, Portimao: many podiums and victories in the Nolan Group Round!
Not only was this the return of WorldSBK, but it was the Nolan round! This weekend’s races in Portimao were sponsored by Nolan Group. Fortunately this wasn’t the only Nolan representation of the weekend, our guys rode well out on a difficult track too, grabbing podiums in WorldSBK as well as a big win in Supersport! All of this took place under the beautiful Portuguese sun, drawing in the crowds.
Very nearly victories in both races for Marco Melandri, and not far off the podium for a still recovering Chaz Davies, riding hard despite the damage to his shoulder. All backed up by solid performances from Michael Rinaldi.
In the other classes is where we saw the biggest successes of the weekend, a masterpiece of a ride by Federico Caricasulo, winner in Supersport, and a podium for Markus Reiterberger in Superstock 1000.
How about the rest of you, does the end of Spetemeber mark the time of year you tuck the bike away for the cold winter, or are you the everyday commuter? Either way, let us know with pictures on out social media channels!
Superbike
Marco Melandri Race1 SECOND
Chaz Davies Race 1 FOURTH
Michael Ruben Rinaldi Race1 NINETH
Marco Melandri Race2 THIRD
Chaz Davies Race2 FOURTH
Michael Ruben Rinaldi Race2 EIGHTH
Supersport
Federico Caricasulo FIRST
“It was a lucky race today for me. I was strong in the race, as we have been all weekend, but I didn’t quite have the pace to close the gap to Lucas, as he was pushing so hard at the front. I was happy with second, the victory was for Lucas, but then he had the problem with the tyre and that allowed me to take the lead. Sometimes it is like this; I have been unlucky in the past and he was unlucky today. I’m sorry for him, but I’m happy for the championship, as I’m a lot closer to the top of the standings now.”
Superstock 1000
Markus Reiterberger THIRD
“That was not a walk in the park. Portimão is a special track where we had to keep the others at a distance. In the free practice sessions I did not had a good feeling for the bike, which improved on Saturday in qualifying. As we have seen, we could not bring the speed over the race distance. That’s why I had to make a smart race. Especially from the middle of the race, I only saved my position. With a lot of risk, I rode up to third place and at the end we collected valuable points for the championship. It was a difficult race weekend, but we still have a good starting position for the season finale in Magny-Cours.”