Gerloff beat his best previous qualifying time at Portimao by some distance on his Ninja ZX-10RR machine on Saturday morning, and was initially disappointed to find he was starting the opening race from 13th position.

Showing real determination and great pace from the start, Gerloff moved forward quickly and spent most of the exciting race in a highly combative and evolving fight for sixth place with Xavi Vierge and Axel Bassani.

Sixth place looked to be within Garrett’s grasp but he was finally passed by Vierge before the chequered flag, holding off Bassani to claim seventh position.

On Sunday 29 March, a ten-lap Tissot Superpole Race, and another 20-lap WorldSBK race will complete the action at Portimao.

Garrett Gerloff stated: “I wasn’t too sure how the opening race was going to go. My Superpole time was the best qualifying lap that I have ever done here, by something like sixth tenths of a second. So, I knew I wasn’t going slow. I fully expected to come in and see myself inside the top nine places. Then, to be 13th, I was like ‘man, I might not have what I need for the race.’ So, it was really nice to have a good start, be able to make some moves and go forward, and end the race with the guys that I was with.”