On a weekend like this one Portimaowhere the races will take place later than in previous years’ editions, the Yamaha will try to close the last weekend before the summer break with an encouraging result for the rest of the season. An objective that reflects 100% that of the two drivers, starting with Andrea Locatelli.
Author of three podiums, with 2nd places in Race 1 and Superpole Race in the opening event in Australia, which are equivalent to the best placings of the season, to which is added the ‘bronze’ of two weeks ago in Most, the rider from Bergamo will try to reach the top-3 again to get as close as possible to Alex Lowes, who currently occupies fourth place in the general classification: “I can’t wait to go back to Portimão, it’s a beautiful place and a fantastic track. – declared the 27 year old – after our good pace in Race 2 in Most, I would like to continue in this way. We know that in every race we are more or less competitive and we can get top five results, but the goal is always to get on the podium and we have good potential to fight for thatWe have a clear understanding of the bike after half a season of working with Tom (O’Kane, his crew chief, ed.) we know our basic setup and we already know what we need to start. This is a good point for Portimão, but also because now we have a lot of races in the last part of the season where we can work very well. This is one of the good tracks for usI think: in the past we have been on the podium and we have been fast in qualifying, so I think that we can do very well. The atmosphere will be a little different because the race will be almost at night! It looks interesting and let’s see what happens, I’m excited and ready to fight again”.
First season in Yamaha which, judging by the results in the first six rounds, has not proved particularly positive for Jonathan Reaon the podium only in the Superpole Race at Donington and currently in tenth position in the general standings behind Van der Mark’s BMW. For the six-time world champion, however, this weekend’s event could provide further motivation to the Northern Irishman, who made his Superbike debut in 2008 in the same year that the first Portimao Round took place, where he has since obtained the record 25 podiums.
“Portugal is a really great place to go, I love the circuit and there is always a lot of support travelling from Northern Ireland too, so there is a great atmosphere in the race week. – added the former Kawasaki – we have never raced there in August and it is also an evening race, which is new, I can’t wait to see how it goes. The back-to-back races at Donington and Most helped me understand the Yamaha R1 a bit more and I hope we can put that into practice when it comes to Friday practice. As we’ve learned, qualifying is very important, so without putting too much pressure on myself, we need to qualify in a good position to give ourselves the best chance over the weekend. I’m really looking forward to it, hopefully I can really push myself and get some good results!”
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