Jonathan Rea hoping Portimao form will bring halt to win drought in World Superbike Championship

The six-time champion has been kept off the top step of the rostrum since he claimed a double at Estoril in Portugal in May at round three of the championship, with main rivals Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu winning the 15 races held over the ensuing five rounds between them.

Aruba.it Ducati rider Bautista has won seven times since Rea’s last victory to lead the championship by 59 points from reigning champion Razgatlioglu, who has chalked up eight victories during the Ulsterman’s barren spell.

Rea is eight points behind Razgatlioglu and has a 67-point deficit to Bautista to overcome with four rounds remaining if he’s to have any hope of winning a seventh world crown.

The Kawasaki star and team-mate Alex Lowes took part in a short test at Catalunya in Barcelona following the previous round there before participating in another test at Motorland Aragon on September 28 in preparation for the final quarter of the championship.

Rea will be eager to make his outstanding form at Portimao count as he attempts to claw back ground in the title race. He has won 13 times at the undulating Portuguese circuit, where he made his WSBK debut in 2008.

Only Assen has proved a more rewarding hunting ground throughout Rea’s unmatched career, yielding 17 wins, and the 35-year-old is hoping those statistics stack up in his favour this weekend.

“Portimao is a great circuit, and one which has a lot of special memories for me,” Rea said.

“I had my first ever World Superbike race there in 2008. The circuit itself is very challenging. It has a lot of different characteristics, from slow corners to fast ones, blind entries and apexes, so there is a lot of rider input required. We have enjoyed some success there.

“After Barcelona, where we were able to extract the full potential from our Ninja ZX-10RR, I expect to go to Portugal and keep working with my team to create a good race package.”

Rea expects plenty of support from the stands this weekend with many of his fans from Northern Ireland making an annual trip to Portimao to cheer him on.

“The race in Portugal is also cool because I have a lot of travelling support from Northern Ireland there. It is a great circuit for viewing as well,” he said.

The target is to have a really good weekend. I really want to get back to winning ways after this mid part of the season, where I have had a bit of a win drought.

“Our team has had two good days of testing recently, one in Barcelona following the race and one in Motorland. We have a lot more information now and I am excited to put that to good use in Portugal.”

Free practice gets under way on Friday at Portimao from 10:30 BST, with race one on Saturday at 14:00 BST.