Kawasaki Puccetti Racing have completed day two of what is the ninth Superbike World Championship at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal. For Lucas Mahias, yesterday’s practice sessions were conditioned by a crash in FP1 which prevented him and his team from finding the best setup for their ZX.10R. This morning Mahias took part in the third and final practice, placing seventeenth with a time of 1’41”983.
In the late morning, Lucas was back out for Superpole, which established the starting grid for the subsequent Race 1. With a time of 1’40”811, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider qualified in fifteenth place and so lined up on the fifth row of the grid for the first race, which ran in the early afternoon over a distance of just fourteenth laps, the race shortened after an incident in the previous WorldSSP SS300 race led to a schedule change
Having made a good start, Mahias quickly made up one position. The Frenchman remained part of the chasing group for the entire race, crossing the line thirteenth and scoring three championship points in the process.
Tomorrow Mahias will take part in the Superpole race and the weekend’s final WorldSBK race.
Autodromo do Algarve – Portimao – Portugal – Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 2) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Lowes (Kawasaki) ……. 17) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Superpole: 1) Rea (Kawasaki) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 4) Bautista (Ducati) – 5) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 6) Bassani (Ducati) …… 15) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Race 1: 1) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 2) Bautista (Ducati) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Bassani (Ducati) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 6) Locatelli (Yamaha)……. 13) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Lucas Mahias
“Superpole didn’t go as I’d hoped, and so I had to start the race from row five. I started quite well but then wasn’t able to pass the riders immediately ahead of me. Only in the final stages did I made up another position to cross the line thirteenth. I’m not pleased with my race, though it was difficult to do more starting from so far back. A big thanks to my team as they’ve worked really well as always.”
