Championship leader Diaz finished fourth whilst his main title rival Steeman was second.

Friday highlights – WorldSSP300

P1 – Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing)

• Perez Gonzalez led both Free Practice sessions at Portimao.
• He set his fastest time in the morning session with a new lap record too.

“I’m very happy for today’s good result. Tomorrow, I will try to fight for first place in Superpole. I will try to be consistent in the race to get a podium in Race 1. The circuit is very good; I like it.”

Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) finished Friday in second place in the combined results. He was 0.154s behind Perez Gonzalez’s best time, whilst Miko Gennai (Team BrCorse) was third with a best time of 1’55.697s, exactly half a second behind the top time.

Championship leader Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) was one of the only rider to improve his time in FP2 to finish 0.532s behind the fastest time in fourth place. Inigo Iglesias (SMZ Racing) was fifth but had a crash at Turn 13 during FP1 which limited his running. Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) completed Friday’s top six.

Third in the Championship standings, Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) was 15th.

To note:

The FP2 session was red flagged after Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) crashed on the exit of Turn 4 with around 12 minutes gone in the 30-minute session; the Japanese rider has been declared unfit for the remainder of the event with a possible concussion, chest contusion, left collarbone fracture and left scapula fracture. He was transported to Portimao hospital for further assessments.

The permutations for Diaz to be crowned Champion in Race 1 are:
If Diaz is inside the top 15, he is Champion
If Diaz is outside the top 15, and Steeman does not win, he is Champion

WorldSSP300 action resumes on Saturday with the Tissot Superpole at 9:45 and Race 1 at 12:40.

WorldSSP300 Combined Results after FP2
1. Jose Luis Perez Gonzales (Accolade Smrz Racing) 1’55.197s
2. Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) +0.154s
3. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) +0.500s
4. Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) +0.532s
5. Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) +0.581s
6. Bruno Ieraci (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) +0.727s

For more info checkout our dedicated World Supersport 300 News page superbike-news.co.uk/world-supersport-300/

Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com