The ninth Superbike World Championship round has now concluded at the Autodromo do Algarve circuit in Portugal. Yesterday, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Lucas Mahias scored fifteenth place in Superpole and started from the fifth row of the grid for the first race, ultimately crossing the line thirteenth and scoring points in the process.
This morning, in cool and sunny conditions, the Frenchman lined up for the Superpole Race, a sprint that runs over just ten laps. He didn’t make a particularly fast start and was lying eighteenth in the initial stages. Over the subsequent laps he was able to set a good pace which saw him cross the line in fourteenth place.
Race 2 took place mid-afternoon and comprised twenty laps. Mahias made a good start and this allowed him to maintain fourteenth place. Unfortunately though, during the course of lap two, the Frenchman fell victim to a crash at turn 5, which forced him to retire.
The next round of the Superbike World Championship will play out on 21-23 October at the San Juan Villicum circuit in Argentina.
Autodromo do Algarve – Portimao – Portugal – Superbike World Championship
Superpole Race: 1) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 2) Bautista (Ducati) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 5) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 6) Bassani (Ducati) …… 14) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Race 2: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 6) Locatelli (Yamaha) ……… n.c.) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Lucas Mahias
“I’m really sorry about my crash in race 2. I’d found good pace in the Superpole race and I hoped to exploit that in the long race. Unfortunately I lost grip at the front through turn 5 and crashed. It wasn’t an easy weekend, but I hoped to end it positively; instead the crash compromised everything. Looking at the glass half full, we can say we found a good setup and so I’m optimistic as we head into the last three rounds of the season. Thanks to my team as they’ve all worked really hard.”
