Portimao WorldSBK FP1 Results: Rinaldi springs surprise to lead Gerloff
Michael Ruben Rinaldi topped the opening Portimao WorldSBK practice ahead of GRT Yamaha rider Garrett Gerloff.
Despite being held up in the final corner by fellow Yamaha rider Christophe Ponsson, Toprak Razgatlioglu’s first flying lap saw him set a time of 1:41.532s which was a tenth quicker than Jonathan Rea who was in clean air.
Razgatlioglu was then on course to better his time by nearly half a second, the only rider set to improve by such a margin, before a big moment at the final corner saw the reigning Superbike champion abandon the lap.
The Turkish star did eventually lower the benchmark time as he set a 1:41.249s, with Rea also improving in order to go +0.107s down on Razgatlioglu.
It was a slow start to FP1 for leader of the WorldSBK Standings Alvaro Bautista, as the Aruba.it Ducati rider was over a second down following his first few laps.
While sector one was continuing to pose problems for Bautista, the Spanaird was able to reduce the deficit to Razgatlioglu throughout the remainder of the lap, thus moving up to fourth place with half the session completed.
Gerloff also found pace to go fifth quickest, before suffering a big moment on the front-end heading into turn one.
| 2022 World Superbike Portimao, Portugal - Free Practice Results (1) | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Michael Rinaldi | ITA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | 1:40.965s |
| 2 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | +0.117s |
| 3 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK | +0.284s |
| 4 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | +0.391s |
| 5 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | +0.547s |
| 6 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | +0.721s |
| 7 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK | +0.795s |
| 8 | Scott Redding | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | +0.981s |
| 9 | Xavi Vierge | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | +1.007s |
| 10 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | +1.134s |
| 11 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Ducati | +1.226s |
| 12 | Loris Baz | FRA | Bonovo Action BMW | +1.250s |
| 13 | Philipp Oettl | GER | GoEleven Ducati | +1.330s |
| 14 | Roberto Tamburini | ITA | Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSBK Team | +1.544s |
| 15 | Michael Van Der Mark | SPA | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | +1.587s |
| 16 | Eugene Laverty | IRL | Bonovo Action BMW | +1.605s |
| 17 | Leon Haslam | GBR | Pedercini Kawasaki | +1.805s |
| 18 | Jake Gagne | USA | Fresh N Lean Attack Yamaha | +2.114s |
| 19 | Lucas Mahias | FRA | Puccetti Kawasaki | +2.181s |
| 20 | Christophe Ponsson | FRA | Gil Motor Sport Yamaha | +2.314s |
| 21 | Hafizh Syahrin | MAL | MIE Honda Racing | +2.392s |
| 22 | Marvin Fritz | GER | YART Yamaha | +2.450s |
| 23 | Leandro Mercado | ARG | MIE Honda Racing | +2.451s |
| 24 | Kohta Nozane | JPN | GRT Yamaha | +2.657s |
| 25 | Luca Bernardi | SM | Barni Spark Ducati Team | +3.489s |
| 26 | Oliver Konig | CZE | Orelac Racing Kawasaki | +4.682s |
Lucas Mahias, who looks set to leave WorldSBK and return to WorldSSP following the 2022 season, was surprisingly spotted without sponsors on his Puccetti Kawasaki machine.
Enjoying a strong start to the weekend after scoring just two points in Catalunya, Scott Redding was a consistent top five challenger as Razgatlioglu and Rea remained at the front of the field.
Gerloff, who was over two tenths down on his latest effort, then produced a brilliant final sector to leapfrog Razgatlioglu and take over at the front.
The American then improved again on his next lap as he extended the gap from himself to Razgatlioglu to +0.167s.
Like Gerloff, Rinaldi proved to be extremely strong in the final sector as he jumped from seventh to first with a first sub 1m 41s lap.
Portimao WorldSBK Records:
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha 1:40.219s
2021 Portimao Winners:
Race 1: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha
Superpole Race: Michael Van Der Mark NED BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
Race 2: Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team
There was a late fall for Mahias as the French rider went down at turn three.
Two riders making their final appearances of the season at Portimao are Ponsson and Roberto Tamburini as the pair won’t be participating in the non-European rounds in Argentina, Indonesia and Australia.
Portimao Weekend Schedule:
Friday
Free Practice 1: 10:30-11:15
Free Practice 2: 15:00-15:45
Saturday
Free Practice 3: 09:00-09:30
Superpole: 11:10-11:25
Race 1: 14:00
Sunday
Warm-up: 09:00-09:15
Superpole Race: 11:00
Race 2: 14:00
