Smrz tops times in Portimao

Added on Monday, January 31st, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor

Jakub Smrz topped the combined times for last week’s official WSB test in Portimao, posting a time of 1:43.503.

As rain left many teams and riders frustrated on Friday’s third and final day in Portugal, the satellite Ducati rider was left standing at the top of the time sheet, 0.173 seconds ahead of Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea.

In a tight testing event, just 0.376 split the top seven riders, with Eugene Laverty, Tom Sykes, Carlos Checa, Max Biaggi and Michel Fabrizio all posting sub-1:44 times.

Naturally, Smrz was delighted with his performance during the session, despite the frustrating conditions on Thursday and Friday.

“We brought two bikes here, one with almost the set-up as the one I used for a while last year and one set up like the factory team of last year. That had some different things with geometry, gearing, swingarm and so on and I was fastest on that one on the first day.

“The other two days there was not so much do, because the conditions were not fully dry, not fully wet, most of the time. The team worked perfectly and it is great for them to start the season being fastest in this test.”

WSB Test: Portimao – Combined Times

Pos	Rider	Nat	Bike	Time
1	Jacob Smrz	CZE	Ducati	1:43.503
2	Jonathan Rea	GBR	Honda	1:43.676
3	Eugene Laverty	ROI	Yamaha	1:43.707
4	Tom Sykes	GBR	Kawasaki	1:43.770
5	Carlos Checa	SPA	Ducati	1:43.789
6	Max Biaggi	ITA	Aprilia	1:43.840
7	Michel Fabrizio	ITA	Suzuki	1:43.879
8	Sylvain Guintoli	FRA	Ducati	1:44.369
9	Leon Camier	GBR	Aprilia	1:44.446
10	Joan Lascorz	SPA	Kawasaki	1:44.752
11	James Toseland	GBR	BMW	1:44.764
12	Noriyuki Haga	JAP	Aprilia	1:44.857
13	Ruben Xaus	SPA	Honda	1:44.885
14	Maxime Berger	FRA	Ducati	1:44.886
15	Marco Melandri	ITA	Yamaha	1:45.461
16	Ayrton Badovini	ITA	BMW	1:45.678