Race23. August 2021
Manuel Manugasss Gonzalez and Andrea Loka#55 Locatelli achieved respectively a second and a third place in Portimao.
On the beautiful Algarve track located a few kilometers from Portimao, during the Portuguese Grand Prix, the third consecutive round in three weeks about the World Championship reserved to derived bikes, the two Airohriders achieved the middle-class and the SBK podiums respectively at the second and at the third places at the end of two races.
The rider from Madrid was not so far from the podium also in Race 2 but a small mistake a few corners from the end prevented him reaching to the photo finish while Andrea, always protagonist during the weekend, was awarded the third place in the race on Sunday after the disqualification imposed to the Frenchman Baz for having dropped Alvaro Bautista.
Andrea Locatelli: “I don’t know, I am happy but also not so happy today. The feeling with the bike is not so bad at the start of the race and I tried to stay with the front group, but after five or six laps I started to lose them a little bit. Also my body is not feeling so good today after yesterday. These are my first WorldSBK races in Portimão on the superbike and we try to get the maximum, but it is not an easy weekend. P4 is not bad, but I want to stay closer to the front group and stay in front of Baz and Bautista but today it was not possible. I was lucky to finally be third, this okay but it is not a “real” podium. Now it’s important to restart in Argentina which for me is a new track but I think we can do well. I want to say thanks to the team because of yesterday and today with the conditions it was not easy. We work a lot and score good points for our championship, and now I want to do more. We are now quite fast, I just need a little more experience, so we will see in San Juan.”
It should be underlined also the good races of Peti Sebestyén in the WSSP600 that has always achieved the points zone.
As regards the world rankings, Andrea Locatelli confirms his fourth position in the championship with Ruben Rinaldi, official Ducati rider, while Manuel Gonzalez is at the third place of the WSSP 600; Maria Herrera closes the European Championship season at the fourth position.
follow: Airoh Helmet Racing
