The summer is drawing to a close and Aruba.it have sprung back in to action for the tenth round of the world-SBK championship. Portamao played host to this weekend’s bout with the twisty, Algarve based track heating up to a lofty 40 degrees.

The boys in red spent Friday fine tuning their Panigale R setups which gained good results albeit cut short for Chaz following some technical issues in FP3.

Marco Melandri set his sights on a podium position early on, clinging on to the race leader he maintained a blistering pace which resulted in a well deserved 2^nd place. Chaz, still recovering from a reoccurring shoulder injury, gave a show of strength pulling from 15^th to finish 4^th, just missing out on a spot next to fellow team mate, Marco.

Michael Rinaldi, as an independent rider, raced for both kudos amongst the ‘independents’ and a ranking his seasoned peers. The young Italian again showed his potential by finishing 9^th overall and second within the junior riders’ segment.

"Second place was the best we could achieve today. I knew Rea's pace was a bit better, but I had a good start and stayed with him for a few laps…Tomorrow we'll try to improve stability. Then we'll need to have a strong start from third row and make some quick passes. Anyway, I expect another fun race."   Marco

The sun rose in to a bright blue sky on Sunday, producing the hottest temperatures of the weekend. Melandri rode another solid race and crossing the finishing line in third. Chaz fought through his injury pain and defied the odds the again secure a 4^th place finish. To round off a positive weekend of racing Rinaldi finished 8^th overall and 1^st amongst the independents.