06.09.19
Autódromo Internacional do Algarve
BMW Motorrad WorldSBK’s Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger kicked of this weekend Acerbis Portuguese Round following FP1 and FP2 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
This morning FP1 session got under way with track temperatures of around 37°C. Markus Reiterberger eager to return to the action managed to comfortably put his BMW S 1000 RR into P7, just +0.500 behind championship leader Jonathan Rea. Tom Sykes unfortunately didn’t get his weekend of how we would have hoped following a small crash at T14 – he would end the session in P12.
As the day progressed into the afternoon the track temperature increased to 46°C, which saw only 5 riders out the 20 improve on their FP1 time. Tom Sykes despite his difficult FP1 managed to get some good solid lap times under his belt, whilst gaining data and more crucially a realistic race simulation in the likely hot conditions tomorrow. Markus Reiterberger backed up his good performance from this morning as he again found himself in the top 10, P7 on overall times.
Shaun Muir - Team Principal
"A good day for Markus, he's been comfortably in the top 10 all day and tried a few different set ups with the bike throughout FP1 and FP2 which puts him in a good position for tomorrow. Tom unfortunately had a tip off during this mornings FP1 which set us back some time however, managed to get some data in FP2 which again will bode well for the hot conditions in tomorrows race.”
Tom Sykes - (GBR)
"I think P12 is not where we are realistically, that result was from this morning where we didn’t push and obviously the conditions were better. This afternoon in race conditions I was very happy with the changes we made to the BMW S 1000 RR and gained some good information, so overall I’m feeling quite comfortable and confident in those hot conditions which for me is the real preparations for the race tomorrow."
Markus Reiterberger - (GER)
"Today was a good day, overall P7 which is not so bad and just only +0.500 behind the front guys. This morning I enjoyed my riding and tested out the tyres which gave us a good direction to work in. This afternoon it was really hot which made It difficult continue the same lap times as this morning so we focused on getting the balance of the bike and the tyre wear. Tomorrow we will try to work on the brake stability but for sure I will be again pushing for the top 10."
