Aprilia veteran Max Biaggi scored only one podium - for third in Race 2 - in the penultimate round of the World Superbike series at Portimao in Portugal at the weekend but two solid point-scoring finishes saw him extend his overall lead as his championship rivals hit the skids.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) started well, winning Race 1 after a restart, but went out with a blown engine in Race 2. BMW's Marco Melandri was injured in the red-flagged first race and took no further part in proceedings, scoring no points for the second consecutive meeting.
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia) won his first race of the 2012 season in the second outing, which went the full 22 laps.
With one round and two races to go at Magny Cours in France in two weeks' time, Biaggi has 347 points, 30.5 more than Sykes, while Melandri is 38.5 points adrift of Biaggi on 308.5.
RACE 1
Full wet conditions arrived on Sunday morning, which resulted in the red flags coming out on lap seven because of an oil spill after a crash.
Sykes won after the restart, over only 16 laps, scoring his third win of the season and moving - temporarily - closer to championship leader Biaggi.
The veteran Aprilia rider was fourth in the first race after several incidents and changing fortunes as the race unfolded. Carlos Checa (Ducati) looked like he could pass Sykes at the end but was unable to get quite close enough, and settled for second.
Ducati privateer Sylvain Guintoli scored another podium finish, in third.
A collision on lap one of the first start saw BMW hotshot Marco Melandri crash after an attempted pass on Biaggi; he was taken to hospital for scans on a bruised kidney, missing out on any further action at Portimao.
Tom Sykes:“The crew made a big change between the two parts and it was a different bike in the second rerun. I was very comfortable, much happier and was able to predict what the bike was doing. We got to the front and managed the tyres very well, racing with these guys was fantastic.
RACE 2
After a tense battle Laverty took his first victory of the season, and his first on an Aprilia, helding off an impressive late charge by Honda's Jonathan Rea by just 0.162 seconds, and becoming the ninth rider to win a race this season.
Laverty had been a clear leader but in the final laps Rea put in a real charge at the undulating Portuguese circuit. More than three seconds behind the race winner, Biaggi was third.
Eugene Laverty: “I rode hard at the beginning to get a gap but Jonathan pushed me hard towards the end. The grip wasn't there, which was evident in the lap time, but I just kept going towards the end. I managed to hang on.
The win has been so long coming, the last time was Monza.”
WORLD SUPERSPORT
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) clinched his third World Supersport title by finishing behind the only man who could have caught him before the Portimao round, Jules Cluzel (Honda). Cluzel gave it everything he had to keep the title alive for another weekend but with so many changes of lead and position among the top four riders, nothing was certain until the very last corner when Cluzel eked out a tiny lead.
Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) was third, ahead of Broc Parkes (Honda) and Sam Lowes (Honda) and South African Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki).
Two more South Africans, Ronan Quarmby and Mathew Scholtz (each on a Honda) finished ninth and tenth respectively.
With one race to go, Sofuoglu is unbeatable with 218 points to Cluzel's 185 and Foret's 160.
SUPERSTOCK 1000
Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) pushed himself ahead of long-time race leader Sylvain Barrier in the final stages to take the win, his third of the season, with Jeremy Guarnoni (Kawasaki) third and Lorenzo Savadori (Ducati) was fourth.
South African rider David “McFlash” McFadden (Kawasaki) came right big-time on race day after struggling with set-up all weekend on a bike he's never ridden before, and rode to a solid 12th place.
Barrier now leads the championship by just three points from Ducati's Eddi La Marra, who finished fifth at Portimao. Three riders - Barrier, La Marra and Staring - can still take the title, although the Staring's chance is little more than mathematical; he's 22 points behind the lead.
RESULTS - RACE 1
1 Tom Sykes (Britain) Kawasaki ZX-10R - 31min42.011
2 Carlos Checa (Spain) Ducati 1098R +0.300sec
3 Sylvain Guintoli (France) Ducati 1098R +2.732
4 Max Biaggi (Italy) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +11.564
5 Brett McCormick (Canada) Ducati 1098R +11.771
6 Jonathan Rea (Britain) Honda CBR1000RR +11.792
7 Loris Baz (France) Kawasaki ZX-10R +28.693
8 Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) Honda CBR1000RR +29.581
9 Ayrton Badovini (Italy) BMW S1000 RR +31.507
10 Michel Fabrizio (Italy) BMW S1000 RR +31.587
11 Leon Camier (Britain) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +31.710
12 John Hopkins (US) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +33.167
13 Eugene Laverty (Ireland) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +37.843
14 Alex Lundh (Sweden) Kawasaki ZX-10R +37.993
15 Matteo Baiocco (Italy) Ducati 1098R +39.397
16 Lorenzo Lanzi (Italy) Ducati 1098R +39.666
17 Norino Brignola (Italy) BMW S1000 RR +42.434
18 Lorenzo Lanzi (Italy) Ducati 1098R +1min00.356
19 Leon Haslam (Britain) BMW S1000 RR +1 lap
RACE 2
1 Eugene Laverty (Ireland) Aprilia RSV4 Factory - 38min35.105
2 Jonathan Rea (Britain) Honda CBR1000RR +0.162sec
3 Max Biaggi (Italy) Aprilia RSV4 Factory +3.766
4 Sylvain Guintoli (France) Ducati 1098R +10.440
5 Carlos Checa (Spain) Ducati 1098R +20.153
6 Ayrton Badovini (Italy) BMW S1000 RR +23.152
7 Loris Baz (France) Kawasaki ZX-10R +27.314
8 Michel Fabrizio (Italy) BMW S1000 RR +35.682
9 Brett McCormick (Canada) Ducati 1098R +35.766
10 Lorenzo Lanzi (Italy) Ducati 1098R +38.311
11 John Hopkins (US) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +47.814
12 Lorenzo Zanetti (Italy) Ducati 1098R +57.359
13 David Salom (Spain) Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min11.035
14 Alex Lundh (Sweden) Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min28.197
15 Norino Brignola (Italy) BMW S1000 RR +1min42.589
POINTS (after 13 of 14 rounds)
1 Max Biaggi (Italy) Aprilia RSV4 Factory - 347
2 Tom Sykes (Britain) Kawasaki ZX-10R - 316.5
3 Marco Melandri (Italy) BMW S1000 RR - 308.5
4 Carlos Checa (Spain) Ducati 1098R - 278.5
5 Jonathan Rea (Britain) Honda CBR1000RR - 255.5
6 Eugene Laverty (Ireland) Aprilia RSV4 Factory - 241.5
7 Leon Haslam (Britain) BMW S1000 RR - 189
8 Sylvain Guintoli (France) Ducati 1098R - 172.5
9 Chaz Davies (Britain) Aprilia RSV4 Factory - 156.5
10 Davide Giugliano (Italy) Ducati 1098R - 125
WORLD SUPERSPORT
1 Jules Cluzel (France) Honda CBR600RR - 36min05.886
2 Kenan Sofouglu (Turkey) Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.645sec
3 Fabien Foret (France) Kawasaki ZX-6R +0.969
4 Broc Parkes (Australia) Honda CBR600RR +1.035
5 Sam Lowes (Britain) Honda CBR600RR +3.905
6 Sheridan Morais(South Africa) Kawasaki ZX-6R +5.936
7 Dan Linfoot (Britain) Kawasaki ZX-6R +22.555
8 Alex Baldolini (Italy) Triumph Daytona 675 +22.595
9 Ronan Quarmby(South Africa) Honda CBR600RR +23.121
10 Mathew Scholtz(South Africa) Honda CBR600RR +23.740
POINTS(after 12 of 13 rounds)
1 Kenan Sofuoglu (Turkey) Kawasaki ZX-6R - 218
2 Jules Cluzel (France) Honda CBR600RR - 185
3 Fabien Foret (France) Kawasaki ZX-6R - 160
3 Sam Lowes (Britain) Honda CBR600RR - 152
5 Broc Parkes (Australia) Honda CBR600RR - 135
6 Sheridan Morais(South Africa) Kawasaki ZX-6R - 94
7 Alex Baldolini (Italy) Triumph Daytona 675 - 86
8 Ronan Quarmby(South Africa) Honda CBR600RR - 84
9 Vittorio Iannuzzo (Italy) Triumph Daytona 675 - 60
10 Vladimir Leonov (Russia) Yamaha R6 - 52
WORLD SUPERSTOCK
1 Bryan Staring (Australia) Kawasaki ZX-10R - 21min34.528
2 Sylvain Barrier (France) BMW S1000RR +1.722sec
3 Jeremy Guarnoni (France) Kawasaki ZX-10R +3.839
4 Lorenzo Savadori (Italy) Ducati 1198R +6.249
5 Eddi La Marra (Italian) Ducati 1198R +6.444
6 Christoffer Bergman (Sweden) Kawasaki ZX-10R +12.990
7 Fabio Massei (Italy) Honda CB1000RR +16.963
8 Leandro Mercado (Argentina) Kawasaki ZX-10R +19.648
9 Markus Reiterberger (Germany) BMW S1000RR +19.708
10 Ondrej Jezek (Czech Republic) Ducati 1098R +20.487
11 Santiago Barragan (Spain) Kawasaki ZX-10R +20.754
12 David McFadden(South Africa) Kawasaki ZX-10R +37.996