Perez Gonzalez made a mistake whilst fighting through the field, Kocourek improves

The penultimate race of the 2021 World Supersport 300 season took place today on the circuit of Portimão in Portugal, which is called the “Roller Coaster” due to its unique layout. After a difficult qualifying that was marked by a strong wing and a red flag, both Accolade Smrz Racing riders were looking forward to the race to show their true potential. José Luis Perez Gonzalez embarked on a mission to catch the front group immediately after the start and was able to get into point scoring positions after a few laps. Then, unfortunately, he made a mistake and his effort to score world championship points ended with a crash. Jonáš Kocourek showed good performance in his only second race weekend in the world championship and on a difficult circuit he does not know. He crossed the line in 30th position and improved his personal best lap time in the race

Matthieu Merland (crew chief): “Things were looking very positive on Friday. José Luis finished in a good 10th position and Jonáš, who is learning this demanding circuit, was able to complete a total of 33 laps and finish with a solid lap time of 1:59.1. He was improving consistently. The Superpole session was a bit strange. It was very windy and there was a red flag. Many riders waited for a long time before going back out after the red flag and with a 30-minute session, José Luis only managed a 26th position, Jonáš continued to improve and finished 37th with a lap time of 1:58.8. It was also very windy for the race. José was pushing very hard to recover positions from 26th on the grid but a mistake ended his race. Jonáš, on the other hand, had a good race. His pace was good and lap times were consistent. He improved his best to 1:58.4. Tomorrow’s second race is looking even more exciting and may be quite different as rain is being predicted.”

Jonáš Kocourek: “The weekend has been very successful for me. I felt good in the first practice already. This track is incredible, totally different from what I am used to and I really like it. Friday’s practice went well and qualifying wasn’t bad either, I qualified 36th. I am also happy with the race result. I managed to stay with a group that started in front of me until about 6 laps before the end when I made a mistake and lost 2 seconds. After that it was difficult to catch them again but I am still happy because I managed to improve again in the race. It’s been a positive weekend so far.”

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