Jonathan Rea continued his relentless domination of the 2015 Superbike World Championship with a supreme performance to win race two at Portimao. The Ulsterman saw off the challenge of Kawasaki teammate Tom Sykes once again before problems struck the second ZX-10R for the second race in succession late on.
Just as they did at Donington Park, the two teammates came dangerously close to colliding after an early move from Rea at turn one backfired. The mix-up allowed Davide Giugliano to take the lead but shortly before half distance, the championship leader outdragged the leading Ducati Panigale to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.
After failing to taste victory for the first time all year at Donington Park, Rea was delighted with the way his mechanics responded in Portugal.
“I have a great bike, a great team around me and great strategy for every weekend. My crew chief Pere and I sit down and work out a good set-up, evaluating our tyres. We learned from some mistakes in Donington that made us stronger here and I am riding well, but I have the tools to do it. So it is massive credit to all my mechanics for working so hard and KHI in Japan, who are continuing to develop.”
Sykes overtook Giugliano for second on lap eleven but a fall in rear tyre pressure saw him plummet down the order in the closing laps. That allowed Giugliano to regain second with Leon Haslam atoning for his race one mishap by taking the final podium spot. Chaz Davies finished fourth on the second factory Ducati ahead of PATA Honda duo Michael van der Mark and Sylvain Guintoli while Jordi Torres demoted Sykes all the way back to eighth spot.