Jonathan Rea was refusing to dwell on the negative of missing out on fourth in the World Superbike standings, the Northern Irishman insisting he was merely happy to have had his best round of the season at Portimao.

The Ten Kate Honda man went into the weekend determined to wrest fourth position overall from Max Biaggi, even if the 14 point deficit to the Italian was destined to make it a challenge.

Nonetheless, despite a slow start in race one, Rea worked his way back into contention to catch and pass Biaggi to finish in second position, taking four points off the margin heading to the final round of the season.

Things were on course for Rea in the second race after taking the lead on lap eleven, while Biaggi struggled with brake problems on his Aprilia. However, Rea would become embroiled in a dual with Michel Fabrizio, the Ducati rider snatching the lead as they entered the final lap.

Rea attempted to respond but instead mis-judged his braking and ran wide at turn five, allowing both Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga ahead. Crossing the line third, it was one position short of where he needed to finish in order to claim fourth in the standings.

Nonetheless, despite the frustrating outcome, Rea was otherwise happy with his first double podium weekend as he now looks ahead to 2010 with the hope of challenging for the title.

“I enjoyed the first race, although I was on my own for a lot of the time until I caught Biaggi and he ended up running wide. That was good for my championship position and it's what I was going for in the second race.

“I ended up in a bit of a fight with Michel but ended up making a mistake on the last lap and allowing him past. All in all, it's been my best Superbike weekend with a double podium and I'm really happy because the bike's in good shape to go into next year.”

Rea will be on track at the upcoming two-day test in Portimao alongside new Ten Kate Honda team-mate Max Neukirchner.