2010 Portimao WSBK Race 2 Results - Four Men Fight It Out For Victory

Results and summary of World Superbike Race 2 at Portimao:

Max Biaggi took the double at Portimao, winning the second World Superbike race in very much the same style that he won race 1. The Italian got a fantastic start again, firing his Alitalia Aprilia RSV4 into the lead at Turn 1, this time with Johnny Rea hot on his heels, Leon Haslam close behind and Cal Crutchlow making it four. Rea looked like taking charge of the race during the early part, barging into the lead at Turn 9 on lap 2, only to see Biaggi use the superior speed of his Aprilia to reclaim first position at the end of the straight next time around. Three laps later, Leon Haslam got past Johnny Rea, the Ulsterman running wide and also letting Cal Crutchlow through, Rea now down to 4th.

By lap 7, Carlos Checa had joined the leading group, swelling their numbers to five, but this expansion would be brief. Next lap round, the engine on Johnny Rea's Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR let go, leaving the British youngster stranded and out of contention.

Rea's departure left a group familiar from the first race, and in broadly comparable positions. Haslam and Biaggi swapped the lead several times during the race, while Crutchlow could never get quite close enough to either the Alstare Suzuki nor the Alitalia Aprilia to have a shot of his own at leading the race. Haslam made his first move on lap 17, diving up the inside into Turn 1, but Biaggi was clearly quicker down Portimao's long front straight. Just how hard both Biaggi and Haslam were pushing was demonstrated by Biaggi's mistake into the VIP Tower Turn, running wide to let Crutchlow through into 2nd. The Italian was back over the line, though, and moving on to challenge Haslam once again.

Biaggi was back into the lead at the start of lap 21, using the speed of his RSV4 to fire into Turn 1 ahead. Haslam pushed as hard as he could to get back, but the combination of the Aprilia's speed and Biaggi's superb defensive riding left the Alstare Suzuki rider with nothing to do but settle for 2nd. Sterilgarda Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow took the last spot on the podium to finish 3rd, the young Briton having learned from his mistake in race 1, while Carlos Checa had never been able to threaten the top three and crossed the line in 4th.

Further down the order, Leon Camier confirmed his steep learning curve, coming home 5th on the Aprilia ahead of Crutchlow's Yamaha teammate James Toseland. Noriyuki Haga, who had fought his way through the field at the start of the race, eventually got the better of Sylvain Guintoli to come home 8th.

Biaggi's second victory of the day closed the gap to championship leader Leon Haslam, but the Briton is still sitting comfortable at the top of the title race with 85 points, 16 points ahead of Max Biaggi, and 25 ahead of Carlos Checa. The two Xerox Ducatis are trailing a long way behind, Michel Fabrizio 39 points behind Haslam, and Haga with a 42 point deficit.

Results: