Honda Powersports Racing - Road Schedule - 09 World Superbike

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) finished the 2009 World Superbike championship as the top Honda rider, partly thanks to second- and third-place finishes in Portimao.

Rea qualified fourth in Superpole and started from the front row. He finished Race One in second, just 1.697 seconds down at the flag.

In Race Two Rea was leading near the end of the race, after an aggressive and controlled ride, but dropped from first to third on the final lap.

Again Rea was less than two seconds from the winner and ended the season with 315 points in total, narrowly missing fourth place by just four points.

In Race One Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) scored nine points for his seventh-place finish, having started the race from 12th on the grid.

Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea CBR1000RR) posted ninth in Race One and 13th in Race Two. Despite having raced in only a handful of events this year he still took 19th place in the final rankings.

This is my best weekend so far in the season," Rea said. "I have to thank the team for all the help this year to get me to this point. I am already thinking about coming back next year.

Checa: “In Race Two we improved the bike a little, going a little bit softer in the rear and changing the tire. It definitely made things better because while everyone else’s pace was slower, I was able to improve my lap times.”