The track schedule for the seventh Superbike World Championship round at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal saw all sessions run later in the day than usual, in an attempt to combat the August heat. So it was not until 2.45pm local time (CET-1) that the lights went out on Sunday’s Superpole race. 

After feeling a little unwell overnight, displaying the symptoms of a migraine, Adam Norrodin was checked at the circuit medical centre after Sunday morning warm-up and subsequently deemed unfit to compete in the day’s races. This meant that Ivo Lopes, who has deputized for Tarran Mackenzie at Portimão, was the team’s only representative on track today. From twenty-first on the grid, Lopes made a good start when the ten-lap Superpole race got underway. Running a consistent race despite his limited experience of the sprint format, local rider Ivo crossed the line twenty-second. 

The weekend’s second and final 20-lap SBK race ran as planned at 6pm. Having made gradual progress over the course of each session, Ivo's main goal for this last race of the weekend was to find a little more pace with respect to race 1. Making up two positions in the first six laps, the Portuguese rider ultimately concluded the race in twentieth position but leaves Portimão pleased with the progress made over the race weekend as a whole. 

The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team will now travel north to the Estoril Circuit for two days of testing with Norrodin and Lopes on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 August, after which it will continue its work back at base, in preparation for round eight of the WorldSBK championship at the Magny-Cours circuit in France on 6-8 September. 

Ivo Lopes 

“Warm-up went better for me today; I was able to lap faster, and the brief session was really useful ahead of the Superpole race. But managing the power was difficult in the sprint race because at full throttle the bike became overly aggressive and tough to ride. The positive is that, if we look at our pace over the ten laps of the sprint compared to the first ten laps of race 1, we were three seconds faster today. But the engine power was the issue, in that I felt I was fighting the bike. This track is all about finding the flow, and too much aggression causes you to lose that flow. Overall, I’m very pleased with how the weekend has gone and how I’ve worked with the team, and I thank them again for the opportunity. I made continual improvement over the course of the three days, and I hope the feedback I’ve provided and data we’ve collated is useful to the team moving forward.” 

Adam Norrodin 

“In race 1 yesterday I was feeling unwell. The headache persisted overnight, and I didn't feel great as I went out for morning warm up today. I tried my best but thought it best to go to the medical centre after warm-up. The doctor said I shouldn’t race today and so that was that. There were positives this weekend anyway and I felt we saw improvement in some areas so hopefully we can carry that into the next rounds."