Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty was relieved to make up for his World Superbike race one retirement when a blown engine forced him out by bagging victory in the second outing at Portimao this afternoon.

The Irishman admitted he was nervous about the final race, as heneeded to take away big points from this weekend. Coming away from race one with none did nothing to ease the rider’s nerves, and he knew he had to have a solid finish to make up for the retirement, thought be caused by a dropped valve, earlier in the day.

“In race one we had the pace, but to make amends in race two was important. To lose those points in the first race was tough to take on board, but I knew I had to finish the second, that was the thing that made me nervous because when you go into the second race 44 points down you can’t afford to lose anymore points and you have to make that race count," said Laverty, speaking to bikesportnews.com at the circuit.

“Already in race one the problems started with the bike, so I knew it would not last very long so I thought I would try and enjoy it till it lasts, and I knew it wouldn’t last much longer during the race. It is frustrating because the bike is always reliable it looks bad because it always happens during the races but all over the weekend we never had any problems with the bike, as it is always really bulletproof. Just in Aragon and here it happened during the race.”

Laverty’s teammate Sylvain Guintoli made it on to the podium twice, finishing both races in second. The Frenchman has been consistent all year, and currently leads the championship, something that Laverty is keen to replicate.

“You have to admire the consistency and finishes that Sylvain is putting in, and you don’t have to win races to win the championship it is about being on the podium and getting those big points, and Sylvain has been doing that consistently more than anyone else.”