The eleventh WorldSBK round at Estoril Circuit saw the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team lining up for Race 1 with Tito Rabat and replacement rider Ivo Lopes. Following on from Friday’s practice sessions, Rabat and Lopes returned to the track at 9am local time (CET-1) for a final practice. Both riders were able to improve on their lap times and make a few final adjustments to setup ahead of Superpole.

Back on track a short time later for the Superpole qualifying session, an eager Rabat quickly set a 1’36.214 with which he placed fifteenth. Pitting to switch tyres and return to the track with just over 4 minutes on the clock, Tito did his best to improve on this reference but was unable to complete a clean lap. His initial time meant that he qualified seventeenth for the afternoon’s race. Lopes did his best to maximise the 15-minute session, completing six laps in all. The best of his laps, completed in a time of 1’37.919 in the final seconds, put the Portuguese rider in twenty-second position at the session’s end.

The Superpole results meant that Tito and Ivo lined up on the sixth and eighth row of the grid respectively for the first of the weekend’s 21-lap races. Both Rabat and Lopes got away well when the lights went out, but the race was immediately red-flagged following an incident for three riders. 

The race was restarted a few minutes later and reduced to 20 laps. From seventeenth, Rabat stuck close to fellow Honda rider Lecuona through the first lap before passing him on the subsequent lap. Climbing to fourteenth by lap four and seeing a good opportunity to bank points, Tito focused on chasing down his closest rivals. Gaining another two positions by the mid-race point, Rabat held firm in twelfth until a couple of laps from the end, before ultimately crossing the line P13. Netting three important championship points, the Spanish rider ran a competitive race and will look to build on this performance in Sunday’s races. Ivo, twenty-first on the grid, immediately made up two positions before focusing on getting into a good rhythm that would allow him to keep in contact with those ahead. Slipping back in the second half of the race, the local rider did well to maintain a consistent pace, avoid mistakes, and conclude the race in eighteenth position.

Tito Rabat #53

“We ran a really good race today, from start to finish. I’m pleased because we had a strong rhythm and were running close to Bassani and Gerloff on factory bikes in the first half. The only thing was that, five laps from the end, I had to slow my pace a lot because the front tyre was finished and it became harder to turn. A little like what happened at Aragon, but the bike behaves a bit differently here. So we need to work on that, but I think if we can conserve the front tyre a little better tomorrow, then we can do well.”

Ivo Lopes #75

“We worked to try and improve my feeling with the bike and the overall sensations, and things felt a little better this morning in practice. But the race was a different story sadly; it was really difficult as I was lacking feeling. We need to try and find something that can help me to be a little faster in Sunday’s races. I know we can do more, so we’ll keep working this evening and use tomorrow’s warm-up too to see if we can take a step forward.”