2012 Portimao WSBK Race Two: The Fickle Finger Of Fate

Race Two was declared dry and the weather would no longer play a part in this weekend's racing. 

Marco Melandri was diagnosed with a bruised kidney after his disastrous crash in race one and missed out on race two. This left the title race between Max Biaggi and Tom Sykes.

Eugene Laverty and Tom Sykes went through the first corner side by side but Laverty won out and Sykes had to settle for second ahead of his rival Max Biaggi. Chaz Davies pushed past Biaggi then Sykes for second.

Then, on the third lap, the title challenge took another turn as Tom Sykes's Kawasaki started spewing oil smoke from the exhaust and the Yorkshireman was taken out of the race.

This gave Aprilia a 1-2-3, with Laverty ahead of Davies and Biaggi, but Chaz Davies slid off and ended his race in the gravel trap. As Biaggi was three seconds behind, Laverty couldn't gift the lead to his team mate and Jonathan Rea locked into place behind the championship leader and tried to find a passing spot. Entering the seventh lap, Biaggi crested the plateau on the start line on his Aprilia's rear wheel, letting Rea power past him on the Honda. As Rea started to try to catch Laverty, who by now had a four second lead, Leon Camier caught Max Biaggi and tried for several laps to pass him.

Leon Camier finally saw his chance to pass, after hounding Max Biaggi for four laps, and made a lunge on a tight line to Biaggi's wide line and the two clashed at the apex. Incredibly, what would normally result in a DNF for one of the riders, Biaggi wasn't slowed and Camier was able to recover and catch Biaggi again. They duelled again on the penultimate lap, swapping places often, but Camier went wide on one corner, conceding the podium and pulling in to the pits before the last lap with a mechanical issue that caused an end to his fight.

At the front, Jonathan Rea finally caught Eugene Laverty, but missed a gear on the last lap and couldn't pass. Laverty rode in his inimitable hanging-off style and took his first Aprilia win, to the delight of the entire Aprilia team.

With Eugene Laverty winning, BMW failing to score points, Tom Sykes not finishing race two and Max Biaggi getting third, Aprilia had a very good day.

Results: