Top five for Haslam in race 1 at Estoril, Bautista crashes from fifth after a strong comeback

Team HRC has completed the first of the races making up the closing round of the Superbike World Championship at the Estoril circuit. Riders Leon Haslam and Alvaro Bautista experiencing mixed fortunes in race 1, the Brit first achieving the best qualifying result of the season for Team HRC (second) and then crossing the line fifth, and the Spaniard suffering a fall just three laps from the end while lying fifth after a strong comeback.

The two Team HRC riders were out for the final Superpole of the season in dry conditions this morning. The qualifying session was red-flagged early on when another rider suffered a fall. Returning to the track with 19 minutes still on the clock, Haslam made particularly good use of the qualifying tyre, setting a 1’36.856 in the final minutes which was enough to secure a spot on the front row of the grid, in second position, for the afternoon’s Race 1. Bautista closed just over a tenth from his team-mate, his fastest time of 1’37.042 placing him eight, which translated into a spot on the third row of the starting grid.

Come 2pm local time, it was time for race 1. Haslam got away well from second, placing fourth through the initial stages. Bautista, ninth off the line, dropped back to twelfth through the first turns but then started to make up the lost ground, moving into ninth place on lap six and seventh by lap eight. Lying sixth, the British rider found himself part of a group comprising Lowes and his Spanish team-mate Bautista, the trio jostling for positions throughout the central stage of the race. As the laps went on, Alvaro looked set for a top-five finish but unfortunately a crash at turn 6 on lap 18 prevented him from crossing the line today, leaving his team-mate Leon, who was following right behind, to take his place and score the fifth-place result.