Haslam fought tooth-and-nail with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) in both 22-lappers and lost out on victory by the narrowest of margins - two 10ths-of-a-second in race one and just over a 10th in race two. Haslam’s tally of 40 points keeps him top of the standings, 16 ahead of second-placed Biaggi.

It was always going to be a hard day for Suzuki Alstare team-mate Sylvain Guintoli, who started from the third row of the grid, but the Frenchman put in a pair of solid performances, finishing 13th in the first race and ninth in the second.

Leon Haslam - Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: 2nd:

“If anybody had told me before the start of the season that I would’ve won one race and taken three podiums in the first four races, I would not have believed them. It’s a great feeling to win a race, take three runner-up spots; and be leading the championship and my aim is to try and maintain this kind of consistency as long as I can.

“Today’s races were very hard and I had a lot of fun battling with Max: His bike is fast and there were a couple of places where he could get on the gas quicker than me, but my bike was good on the brakes. I did pass him quite a few times, but making it stick was a different matter. The grip-level was down in race two, but it was the same for everybody, and the lap times were generally down on race one.

“The first time I jumped on the Suzuki Alstare bike I thought it was a good package and all the good work the team has done has proved how good it is. Of course, there are always some areas to improve and we’ll be going to the next round in Valencia hoping to put one over Max and all the other riders.

“I’ve had one victory and now I want more!”

Sylvain Guintoli - Race 1: 13th, Race 2: 9th:

“To be honest, I feel like I messed up the weekend a bit. Race one was a complete disaster and it all started when I braked too late for turn one on lap two and had to go straight on. That cost me a lot of positions and time and I was in 22nd place at the end of that lap and had a lot of catching up to do. After that, I never really found my rhythm and perhaps 13th was not too bad considering.

“The second race was better, but in this championship you cannot afford to be average. You have to be on your game at all times. I don’t know why, but I feel that I didn’t start the weekend quite right and then it was always going to be difficult. The bike is really good, so it’s me who has to raise the bar and perform. But I intend to attack Valencia right from the start of the weekend and be in a good position come race day.”


Portimao WSBK Results:

Race 1: 1 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 2 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare), 3 Rea (GBR-Honda), 4 Checa (ESP-Ducati), 5 Camier (GBR-Aprilia), 6 Byrne (GBR-Ducati). 13 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare).

Race 2: 1 Biaggi, 2 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare), 3 Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha), 4 Checa, 5 Camier, 6 Toseland (GBR-Yamaha). 9 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare).

Championship Points (after 2 rounds): 1 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 85, 2 Biaggi 69, 3 Checa 60, 4 Fabrizio 46, 5 Haga 43, 6 Rea, 7 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 33.