News

With the Portuguese Round around the corner, here is a quick look at how World Superbike riders have performed at Portimao in the past.

In the last two seasons, Tom Sykes always showed podium form in Algarve, however not everything went the right way. Started in both cases from pole, two years ago he won in dominating fashion race one, but in race two his engine failed while he was running third. Last year he found himself in the lead in race one after Laverty's failure and led until the nineteenth lap, then he was passed by Guintoli and Melandri, finishing third. In race two he fell on the formation lap, started from the pit-lane and set the lap record while running one lap down.

Four podiums in Algarve for Sylvain Guintoli, who is looking for his first win here. He came second three times: in 2011 in race one, in both last year's races and third in race one in 2012. All these results were obtained without starting from the front row (his best grid spot here is a fifth, in 2011 and 2013). Sylvain always finished among the top-five from 2011 onwards here. He adds to this remarkable set of results the fact that he scored points nine times out of ten here: consecutively from 2009 race two onwards.

Loris Baz is looking for his first Superbike podium in Algarve, after finishing twice seventh in 2012 (he was suffering after a fall in the warm-up) and a fifth and a fourth last year. He raced three times in Superstock 1000 in this track, qualifying and finishing always among the top-seven: he was third in 2010 behind Ayrton Badovini and Maxime Berger.

Jonathan Rea is the record holder for podium finishes in Algarve: seven out of twelve races run here, however he is still looking for his first win. He came third five times and second in 2009 race one and 2012 race two. Jonathan started from pole here in 2011 and missed out on a front row grid spot only in 2010 (5th) and 2012 (7th). No other rider counts four front row starts here and this value is even more significant if we consider that among all the Honda riders, only Cal Crutchlow managed to start from the front row here, in 2008, in second. Rea counts only two retirements in Algarve (2013 race one and 2010 race two), both for mechanical failures and only one finish below the fourth spot, when he was fifteenth in race two, 2008. That was his maiden Superbike weekend: he was fourth in race one.

Marco Melandri won twice here: in 2011 race two and last year race one, in the latter passing Guintoli at the beginning of the final lap. In other two races his performances were at podium level: in 2011 race one and last year in race two: he was running third, but in both cases he suffered from tyre wear and finished respectively sixth and twelfth. For Marco also bad memories in Algarve: two years ago he fell on the opening lap trying to keep up with his championship rival Biaggi, having to sit out from race two while undergoing medical checks.

Two Superbike weekends in Algarve for Chaz Davies: in 2012 everything went wrong: he couldn't avoid Melandri, who had fallen in front of him in race one and in race two he fell while running second. Last year he was sixth in race one and fifth in race two.

Davide Giugliano debuted in Superbikes here in 2011, scoring points in his second race (12th), but afterwards he didn't enjoy much luck in Portimao: two retirements in 2012 (a fall in race one, front-end problems in race two), a fall in race one (and in Superpole) and a ninth last year.

Two wins for Eugene Laverty in Algarve: in 2012 in race two and last year in race two. He could have added another, but last year his engine failed while he was leading race one. Eugene always started from the front row here: second in grid last year and third in 2011 and 2012. Laverty was on pole in the 2009 and 2010 Supersport races in Portimao: he won in 2009, but was only eleventh in 2010 after a fall while fighting for the lead.

Three podiums out of eleven races run here for Leon Haslam: second behind Biaggi in both 2010 races and third in 2008 race two. He was very unlucky in the last two editions: two mechanical problems in 2012, while last year he was forced to withdraw as he was suffering from pain in the leg he broke in Assen.

Four Superbike races in Algarve for David Salom, which was thirteenth in race one in 2009 and also thirteenth in 2012 in race two. In the Supersport championship he scored pole in 2011, finishing second behind Chaz Davies.

Niccolò Canepa was fifth last year in Superstock 1000 and this will be his first Superbike race here.

Three Superstock 1000 races for Jeremy Guarnoni in Portimao: in the last two seasons he was able to score two third places.

Luca Scassa debuted here in 2008 and was 15th and 14th in the 2009 races. He raced here also in Supersport, finishing fourth in 2011 and eighth in 2013.

Six Supersport races in Algarve for Fabien Foret. His best results in the last two: third in 2012 behind Jules Cluzel and Kenan Sofuoglu and second last year behind Sam Lowes.

Claudio Corti was second behind Xavier Simeon in the 2009 Superstock 1000 race run here. In 2008 he was able to climb back to eight from the 21st grid spot.

Sheridan Morais raced here in the Superbike championship in 2010, finishing seventeenth in race one, but he scored his best results in Supersport, with a sixth two years ago and a fifth last year.

Alessandro Andreozzi was 12th in grid and 7th in last year's Superstock 1000 race.

Six Superstock 1000 races for Sylvain Barrier in Algarve: he won from pole last year and was second behind Bryan Staring two years ago, always starting from pole. In all the races run here in the aforementioned championship he qualified in the top-10 and finished among the top-7.

Bryan Staring won the 2012 Superstock 1000 race here from Sylvain Barrier and Jeremy Guarnoni and was fourth the year before, two tenths shy of the third podium spot.

Three Supersport races here for Imre Toth: his best result was a 20th in 2012.

The best Superbike result for Ayrton Badovini in Algarve is a sixth in 2012, race two. Ayrton scored points six times out of eight here. In 2010 he won from pole the Superstock 1000 race.

Christian Iddon was tenth in the Supersport race held last year in Algarve.