The weather at the Autodromo Internacional Algarve in Portugal was hot and sunny today as the eleventh WorldSBK round continues. In yesterday’s free practice sessions, Tito Rabat placed twenty-second with a fastest time of 1’42”910. This morning, after making some final adjustments to the setup of his Ninja during the final practice, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider headed back out for Superpole, a session that he finished in twentieth place after setting a best of 1’41”754.
Unfortunately, Tito then received a penalty and was moved back to twenty-third on the grid, which meant he started the afternoon’s 20-lap race from row eight. The Spaniard made a very fast start but at the end of the long straight he made a mistake that caused him to drop many positions. As the race went on, Rabat picked up the pace and eventually finished the race nineteenth, first among the Kawasaki privateers.
Tomorrow’s WorldSBK schedule will see the team back on track for the Superpole Race and Race 2.
Autodromo Internacional Algarve – Portimao – Portugal
Superbike World Championship
Superpole: 1) Rea (Kawasaki) – 2) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 3) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 4) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 5) Bautista (Ducati) – 6) Lecuona (Honda) ………. 20) Rabat (Kawasaki)
Race 1: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Gerloff (BMW) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 6) Gardner (Yamaha) ………19) Rabat (Kawasaki)
Tito Rabat
“I made a good start but then made a mistake and ran long at the end of the straight. I tried to push hard to catch up to the group of riders in front and in the end, I was able to finish nineteenth. I’m not satisfied with that, because we’re working hard and deserve better results, but we won’t stop trying and so I hope we can already do better in tomorrow’s races.”
