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Portimao WSBK: Rea quickest in Friday practice

Kawasaki rider Jonathan Rea topped Friday practice for the World Superbike championship's Portimao round ahead of Alvaro Bautista, as the series returned to action after the summer break.

Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team

Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Reigning world champion and current points leader Rea set the benchmark pace in FP1 at a 1m41.931s aboard his works ZX-10RR, which was never bettered in the second 50-minute session in the afternoon.

Puccetti Kawasaki’s Toprak Razgatlioglu set the initial pace in the first session with a 1m42.218s, though was quickly beaten by Rea with his 1m41.931s.

Still recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in a crash at Laguna Seca, Ducati rider Bautista spent FP1 pacing himself to ensure he remains physically fit to contest this weekend’s Superpole and three races.

Nevertheless, the erstwhile points leader proved Rea’s nearest challenger with a 1m42.009s set in the latter stages of FP1.

Yamaha’s Alex Lowes completed the top three in the morning with a 1m42.051s, with Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark (Yamaha) taking fourth and fifth spots.

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The scorching temperatures of the afternoon session meant improvements on the combined times were minimal, with Rea’s FP1 time remaining the reference.

Bautista took charge in FP2, deposing Rea during the opening salvo with a 1m42.426s, which he improved to a 1m42.334s.

Rea slotted into second in FP2 ahead of GRT’s Sandro Cortese – though the German was only ninth-fastest on the combined times.

Lowes was sixth in FP2, but his FP1 time keeps him third on the combined times, ahead of  Razgatlioglu, van der Mark and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki).

Tom Sykes ended up 12th overall after the BMW rider crashed at Turn 14 in the morning.

Sykes was one of few riders to set their best time in the afternoon, as was Ducati’s Chaz Davies, who was 10th overall behind Markus Reiterberger (BMW) and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha).

Althea Honda’s Alessandro Delbianco and Jordi Torres (Pedercini) were the only other fallers across the day.

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FP1 results (top 10):

Cla # Rider Bike Time Gap
1 1 United Kingdom Jonathan Rea
Kawasaki 1'41.931
2 19 Spain Alvaro Bautista
Ducati 1'42.009 0.078
3 22 United Kingdom Alex Lowes
Yamaha 1'42.051 0.120
4 54 Turkey Toprak Razgatlioglu
Kawasaki 1'42.114 0.183
5 60 Netherlands Michael van der Mark
Yamaha 1'42.277 0.346
6 91 United Kingdom Leon Haslam
Kawasaki 1'42.288 0.357
7 28 Germany Markus Reiterberger
BMW 1'42.506 0.575
8 76 France Loris Baz
Yamaha 1'42.575 0.644
9 11 Germany Sandro Cortese
Yamaha 1'42.585 0.654
10 21 Italy Michael Ruben Rinaldi
Ducati 1'42.760 0.829

FP2 results (top 10):

Cla # Rider Bike Time Gap
1 19 Spain Alvaro Bautista
Ducati 1'42.334
2 1 United Kingdom Jonathan Rea
Kawasaki 1'42.510 0.176
3 11 Germany Sandro Cortese
Yamaha 1'42.586 0.252
4 54 Turkey Toprak Razgatlioglu
Kawasaki 1'42.638 0.304
5 7 United Kingdom Chaz Davies
Ducati 1'42.649 0.315
6 22 United Kingdom Alex Lowes
Yamaha 1'42.776 0.442
7 66 United Kingdom Tom Sykes
BMW 1'42.788 0.454
8 76 France Loris Baz
Yamaha 1'42.933 0.599
9 28 Germany Markus Reiterberger
BMW 1'42.949 0.615
10 21 Italy Michael Ruben Rinaldi
Ducati 1'43.139 0.805

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