WSB: Rea leads pack by half a second on day one

Jonathan Rea conquered the first day of Portimao free practice despite the bumpy track and windy conditions that faced the WorldSBK riders in Portugal today.

Rea had been fastest in the morning session and went even quicker in the afternoon with a 1’42.621, ending up over half a second quicker than the next best rider.

Marco Melandri was second quickest and his Ducati team-mate Chaz Davies third. 

Leon Camier continued his forward momentum with the fourth best time, heading off the might of Tom Sykes, who was one of the few riders to not improve on their morning times this afternoon.

Eugene Laverty was sixth for Milwaukee Aprilia, and best Aprilia rider, with Alex Lowes the top Yamaha runner is seventh place.

Eighth quickest rider proved to be Italy’s Lorenzo Savadori and the ninth Michael van der Mark. Stefan Bradl completed the top ten riders who will automatically enter Superpole 2 on Saturday.