Bautista and Haslam fifth and seventh in WorldSBK finale at Estoril

Team HRC has concluded the final round of the 2020 Superbike World Championship at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal, the day’s two races bringing Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam a best result of fifth and seventh respectively.

The 10-lap Tissot Superpole race got underway at 12pm. Starting from the front row, Haslam was lying third through the opening laps, but slipped to sixth in the scrum of the first few laps. Meanwhile, Bautista made up several places though the opening stages, up into seventh by lap seven, right behind his team-mate. The Spaniard overtook his British team-mate on lap four, although the final stages of the race saw both Team HRC riders lose a little ground before crossing the line in seventh (Bautista) and eighth (Haslam) place.

Today’s second race marked Haslam’s 100th start with Honda. Only three riders have commenced more races with Honda, namely Aaron Slight (163), Jonathan Rea (140) and Colin Edwards (127). This final race of the season saw Bautista and Haslam line up on row three of the grid thanks to their results in the Superpole race. Retaining their positions through the opening stages, they were lying seventh and eighth until lap eight when they both moved up one position. In the later stages, Bautista was able to gain another position and hold fifth all the way to the line, while Haslam was briefly caught up in a battle with two other riders before crossing the line seventh in the season’s final race.

Thanks also to this weekend’s results, Bautista and Haslam round out the season with the same points tally, 113 apiece, to finish ninth and tenth respectively in the Championship standings. 

Both Team HRC riders are feeling very motivated ahead of the new season and are looking forward to starting their preparation during the winter tests.