Leon Camier was left to rue what might have been after he was denied the chance of a World Superbike podium finish in race two at Portimao.
The FIXI Crescent Suzuki rider was battling with Aprilia's
Max Biaggi for third place when a transmission issue on the GSX-R1000 forced him into the pits at the beginning of the final lap.
Camier, who started the race from ninth on the grid, and Biaggi had a coming together in the closing stages of the race when the British ace attempted to squeeze past the ex-MotoGP man, who unwittingly slammed the door shut.
He regrouped and set off after Biaggi again, making a successful pass before the Italian retook the position as they disputed the final place on the rostrum.
However, an unforeseen problem brought Camier's race to a cruel halt and he was unable to improve his position of 11th place in a wet race one.
“It took a bit of time to get past (Sylvain) Guintoli, but once I had overtaken him I set about Biaggi,” said Camier.
“It was a close battle - close enough for us to make contact - and I really believed I could find a way past, make it stick and take third spot.
“I had a few problems with the gearbox during the race and then the bike locked up on me with two laps to go and I had to take to the run-off,” he added.
“I tried to keep going, but it happened a couple of times more and nearly spat me off, so I had no choice but to pull out.
“I'm happy though because the bike has come on a lot in the recent months and I now know we can fight with the best.”
On his race one performance, Camier added: “The settings we had just didn't work as well as we hoped and I had to get round as best I could.”