Laverty on the top step in Race 2
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) was the winner of Race 2 at Portimao. The Irishman, back on the podium after one round of absence, managed to score his 4th victory of the season. Of the seven wins achieved so far in his WSBK career, six of them came in the second race.
The only rider able to keep up with the winner, at least in the first half of the race, was Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike). The Ulsterman was edged out of 2nd place in the closing stages by Sylvain Guintoli, who completed the third one-two for the works Aprilia team in 2013 after the total domination of the Season Opener in Phillip Island. Thanks to his podium finish number 9 in the season, the Frenchman is still the Championship leader with 209 points ahead of Tom Sykes.
The Kawasaki Racing Team rider, who had a very early crash on the sighting lap, at Turn 2, managed after several attempts to make his way back to the pits, from where he started the race. Towards the end of Lap 1 the Englishman had to pull in again but, after returning to the track for the third time, with no chances left for a top-15 finish, Sykes showed an incredible pace and even set the new lap record in 1'42.475.
The Kawasaki Racing Team had something to cheer anyway, as Loris Baz finished fourth ahead of Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet), a tenacious Carlos Checa (Team Ducati Alstare) and Jules Cluzel (FIXI Crescent Suzuki).
An excessive rear tyre wear forced Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) to ride defensively to a 12th place at the flag. The issue that hampered the performance of the Italian rider is currently under investigation by Pirelli. A technical problem is the reason behind the withdrawal from Race 2 by Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) on the twelfth lap.
