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Dominique Aegerter, however, was not quite able to repeat his strong pace from the day before in Saturday's race, but still fought to the end to claim another important podium.

The first race at the tenth stop of FIM Supersport World Championship at the demanding circuit of Portimao in southern Portugal was not for the faint of heart. Dominque Aegerter immediately stormed to the front of the field after a dream start from second place on the front row. At the start of the second lap, however, three competitors past him, so that the 31-year-old Yamaha rider from the canton of Berne even dropped back to sixth position in the meantime.

This did not really fit into the picture at all, because after his dominant victory last Sunday in Jerez, Aegerter was also able to convince with a consistently strong pace in the second free practice session on Friday afternoon in similar conditions to today. After several changes of positions, however, Aegerter became stronger and stronger the longer the race lasted. Step by step he worked his way back to the front to secure his 13th podium of the season after 17 exhausting races and thus take further points from his first contender in the title fight, South African Steven Odendaal, who finished in sixth place.

#77 Dominique AEGERTER (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha, Yamaha YZF R6)
Grid position: 2nd / Race 1: P3

"Third place in the race does not quite meet my expectations. We were very strong during free practice sessions, especially in terms of our race pace. But in the race, I was not able to push as hard as yesterday afternoon. The stronger wind certainly played a role, as it did asphalt temperatures, which were a little different. There were also a lot of slipstream battles on the straights, and it was easy to be overtaken. Of course, I wanted to be further up on the podium, but the battle group was pretty big today. It was a constant back and forth. Sometimes I made up a few positions and sometimes I lost them. Cluzel and Gonzales were very strong today, their pace was just a bit better."

"Tomorrow, however, we have a new chance, which I definitely want to use to take full advantage. Nevertheless, a big thanks to my Ten Kate team and Yamaha already now. They have done a great job. Unlike some other riders, I have not ridden as many laps as them at this track in the past. This is especially noticeable in some corners, where I lose a lot of time compared to the others. I still have to improve in these places. Nevertheless, I am already looking forward to the second race on Sunday. The most pleasing thing from today is that we have made another important step with regard to the championship. In this style I will fight until the end and continue until the decision is made."

#PRTWorldSBK - WorldSSP Superpole:
1 Jules CLUZEL /FRA / GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6 / 1´43.908
2 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6 / 1´43.926 +0.018
3 Niki TUULI / FIN / MV Agusta Corse Clienti / MC Agusta F3 675 / 1´43.954 +0.046

#PRTWorldSBK - WorldSSP Race 1 (17 Laps):
1 Jules CLUZEL / FRA / GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6 / 29´52.761
2 Manuel GONZALES / SPA / ParkinGo Yamaha Team / Yamaha YZF R6 / +0.389
3 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Ten Kate Racing Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6 / +0.565

WorldSSP Standing:
1 #77 Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Yamaha / 343
2 Steven ODENDAAL / RSA / Yamaha / 275
3 Manuel GONZALES / SPA / Yamaha / 236

#PRTWorldSBK - WorldSSP Time Schedule for Sunday October 3rd (CET):
10:25 - 10:40 Warm-Up
13:30 Race 2 (17 Laps - 78.064 km)