Yamaha bounce back with the first podium of the season

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow showed solid race craft in the second superbike race today, confidently sticking with race leaders Max Biaggi and Leon Haslam to stand on the World Superbike podium for the first time. After dropping to fourth initially Crutchlow capitalised on his opportunity to move up when Johnny Rea was pushed wide by Haslam going into the first corner on lap three. He was never more than 0.3 seconds from the lead, taking his well earned podium in third at the finish line. Team-mate James Toseland wrapped up the day in race two with style, charging through the pack from 15th, overcoming a number of competitive riders to cross the line in sixth, nearly ten places up from the start. Race one proved to be a display of consistency and determination from British rider Toseland. Starting from a less than perfect 15th on the grid, Toseland gradually worked his way through the pack. The final lap saw him close down a half second gap, taking Haga on the last corner to steal a well deserved seventh place finish at the line. His team-mate Crutchlow spent the majority of the race in third until an unfortunate low-side crash three laps from the end dropped him to 15th. He managed to pass 14th placed rider Tom Sykes on the last lap to stay in the points. Crutchlow heads to Valencia in tenth position with 25 points, Toseland heads to the third round in Spain in 11th, tied on points with his team-mate with 25.

Cal Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (14th, 3rd) "It was a tough day today from the first race, I made a stupid mistake, my own fault I was pushing too hard. We've made big steps from Australia, all credit to Yamaha they've done a fantastic job. We came here fighting but unfortunately in the first race I went down and Johnny Rea got through and got the podium. I'm looking forward to the next weekend in Valencia, if we can continue doing a good job and getting the success we're starting to experience it'll be a good season, let's keep the ball rolling. The team have put in a sterling effort this weekend. Well done to Max Biaggi and Leon Camier as well."

	James Toseland

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (7th, 6th) "We've still got a lot of work to do but we've made massive improvements. We really deserved the third and sixth in that last race, After Cal's Superpole he was unlucky to crash in the first race so I'm really pleased with his result in the second. The potential of the bike is very good, once we use the full power of the engine we're right up there. It was only my crash that stopped me being on the front row I think. I was a bit sore today and my head was bit fuzzy after its knock yesterday so I wasn't completely on form. Considering that and starting from 15th on the grid we achieved some good results. It's a shame we started on the back foot this year but we're moving on and we're keeping on pushing." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "For sure we've made a great improvement after Australia, we got a Superpole and we got our first podium. I think this will be helpful in continuing to improve. I'm optimistic that what Cal achieved today can be what we expect to have for the next races. James is also improving, I'm sure that without the crash in Superpole he would have been starting from the first or second row and would have achieved even more during the races. He showed us that he's finding his rhythm with the bike. A big thanks to all the guys in the team who have done a great job getting us back to being competitive, it's something I really appreciate."

Circuit Length: 4.592 Weather: Sunny

Fastest Lap Ever: 1'42.092 (Cal Crutchlow, 28/03/2010) Last Years Winner: Michel Fabrizio

2010 WSB Portugal - PortimÃ£o 28/03/2010

Race 1 - 22 Laps

Pos.	Rider	Manu.	Nat.	Total Time
1	Max Biaggi	Aprilia	ITA	37'59.283
2	Leon Haslam	Suzuki	GBR	0'00.200
3	Jonathan Rea	Honda	GBR	0'06.901
4	Carlos Checa	Ducati	ESP	0'07.457
5	Leon Camier	Aprilia	GBR	0'07.564
6	Shane Byrne	Ducati	GBR	0'11.420
7	James Toseland	Yamaha	GBR	0'18.391
8	Noriyuki Haga	Ducati	JPN	0'18.536
9	Troy Corser	BMW	AUS	0'24.514
10	Ruben Xaus	BMW	ESP	0'32.427
11	Michel Fabrizio	Ducati	ITA	0'35.045
12	Lorenzo Lanzi	Ducati	ITA	0'36.816
13	Sylvain Guintoli	Suzuki	FRA	0'36.841
14	Cal Crutchlow	Yamaha	GBR	0'44.678
15	Tom Sykes	Kawasaki	GBR	0'44.942

Race 2 - 22 Laps

Pos.	Rider	Manu.	Nat.	Total Time
1	Max Biaggi	Aprilia	ITA	38'06.128
2	Leon Haslam	Suzuki	GBR	0'00.191
3	Cal Crutchlow	Yamaha	GBR	0'00.658
4	Carlos Checa	Ducati	ESP	0'01.015
5	Leon Camier	Aprilia	GBR	0'03.123
6	James Toseland	Yamaha	GBR	0'09.131
7	Shane Byrne	Ducati	GBR	0'11.033
8	Noriyuki Haga	Ducati	JPN	0'13.452
9	Sylvain Guintoli	Suzuki	FRA	0'13.964
10	Troy Corser	BMW	AUS	0'16.377
11	Michel Fabrizio	Ducati	ITA	0'26.351
12	Ruben Xaus	BMW	ESP	0'27.964
13	Tom Sykes	Kawasaki	GBR	0'33.566
14	Lorenzo Lanzi	Ducati	ITA	0'33.823
15	Max Neukirchner	Honda	GER	0'37.372

Best Lap

Rider	Manu.	Nat.	Total Time
Max Biaggi	Aprilia	ITA	1'42.774

Rider Standings

28/03/2010

Pos.	Rider	Manu.	Nat.	Points
1.	Leon Haslam	Suzuki	GBR	85
2.	Max Biaggi	Aprilia	ITA	69
3.	Carlos Checa	Ducati	ESP	60
4.	Michel Fabrizio	Ducati	ITA	46
5.	Noriyuki Haga	Ducati	JPN	43
6.	Jonathan Rea	Honda	GBR	39
7.	Sylvain Guintoli	Suzuki	FRA	33
8.	Leon Camier	Aprilia	GBR	32
9.	Troy Corser	BMW	AUS	29
10.	Cal Crutchlow	Yamaha	GBR	25
11.	James Toseland	Yamaha	GBR	25
12.	Shane Byrne	Ducati	GBR	25
13.	Lorenzo Lanzi	Ducati	ITA	15
14.	Ruben Xaus	BMW	ESP	10
15.	Jakub Smrz	Ducati	CZE	8

Manufacturer Standings

28/03/2010

Pos.	Manufacturer	Points
1.	Suzuki	85
2.	Ducati	71
3.	Aprilia	69
4.	Honda	40
5.	Yamaha	32
6.	BMW	29
7.	Kawasaki	7

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Yamaha bounce back with the first podium of the season

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