The first year WorldSBK team and rookie WorldSBK rider PJ Jacobsen took on the challenges of the heavily undulating and endlessly complex Portimão circuit over three free practice sessions on Friday 14th September, looking for an ideal set-up.
Optimum settings proved elusive and PJ entered Superpole 1 on Saturday in 17th position. He eventually qualified 18th on the grid for the first 20-lap WorldSBK race.
Flagged off at 13.00 local time in Portugal, the race saw PJ go from 17th on lap one to 14th and a points scoring position on lap nine. PJ dropped down the order and eventually retired when he felt a problem developing on his machine.
In race two on Sunday, which was started at the later time of 15.15, Jacobsen could not make early progress and finish 17th, not adding to his points score as a result. He is ranked 19th in the points table after ten rounds and 20 individual races.
The next WorldSBK meeting will be held at Magny Cours in France, between the 28 and 30 September.
PJ Jacobsen 99
Yesterday’s race pace was not so bad and we could challenge for maybe 12th place, but then I had a small problem. Today we had a really good rhythm in the warm-up session but the race was totally different. We did not have the grip that we had over the rest of the weekend. No changes or anything but maybe we just did not have the grip.
Manuel Cappelletti
Yesterday PJ retired because near the end of the race as he felt a vibration with his bike. The mechanical and electronic checks showed that that everything was OK, but we could see on the data that the bike was shaking. It may be related to the tyres or something else, so we are investigating. Today the grip level was less than yesterday, but we expected something good because in the warm-up PJ had a good rhythm but in the race it was difficult. We all must do something to show that the championship is not finished so we are looking for better results in the next rounds.
Portuguese RoundAutodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal
WorldSBK 2018, Round 10
- Air Temp: 29°C
- Humidity: 54%
- Ground Temp: 42°C
| # | Rider | Num | Nationality Nat. | Points Pts. | Team | Constructor Constr. | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | 65 | GBR | 25 | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | 34’25.661 |
| 2 | Michael van der Mark | 60 | NDL | 20 | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha | +1.189 |
| 3 | Marco Melandri | 33 | ITA | 16 | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati | +2.813 |
| 4 | Chaz Davies | 7 | GBR | 13 | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati | +4.594 |
| 5 | Tom Sykes | 66 | GBR | 11 | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | +4.834 |
| 6 | Lorenzo Savadori | 32 | ITA | 10 | Milwaukee Aprilia | Aprilia | +11.417 |
| 7 | Eugene Laverty | 50 | GBR | 9 | Milwaukee Aprilia | Aprilia | +11.732 |
| 8 | Michael Rinaldi | 21 | ITA | 8 | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati | +12.507 |
| 9 | Loris Baz | 76 | FRA | 7 | Althea BMW Racing Team | BMW | +12.741 |
| 10 | Xavi Fores | 12 | SPA | 6 | BARNI Racing Team | Ducati | +18.973 |
| 11 | Alex Lowes | 22 | GBR | 5 | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha | +20.244 |
| 12 | Jake Gagne | 45 | USA | 4 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda | +20.943 |
| 13 | Jordi Torres | 81 | SPA | 3 | MV Agusta Reparto Corse | MV Agusta | +23.395 |
| 14 | Leon Camier | 2 | GBR | 2 | Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team | Honda | +31.216 |
| 15 | Leandro Mercado | 36 | ARG | 1 | IodaRacing Team | Aprilia | +32.183 |
| 16 | Yonny Hernandez | 68 | COL | 0 | Team Pedercini | Kawasaki | +33.076 |
| 17 | PJ Jacobsen | 99 | USA | 0 | Triple M Honda World Superbike Team | Honda | +45.173 |
| NC | Jakub Smrz | 96 | CZE | 0 | Guandalini Racing | Yamaha | DNF |
| NC | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 54 | TUR | 0 | Grillini Racing Team | Kawasaki | DNF |
| NC | Román Ramos | 40 | SPA | 0 | Team Go Eleven | Kawasaki | DNF |
