Reigning WorldSBK champ Jonathan Rea will attempt to extend his winning streak at Portimao to an astonishing eight victories at the Portugese track this weekend.

The Kawasaki man has taken the chequered flag for the last seven races in the Algarve and in race one on Saturday, he will aim to make it eight after testing well and finding a good base from which to work.

“I am really excited to get back into racing again. It has been such a long time since the last WorldSBK races and I can’t wait for the Portimao weekend," said Rea.

I love the track and after the tests we have a clear direction of the base settings that we will start with on the Ninja ZX-10RR. We will work step-by-step through Friday, trying to get a race package, and then focus on our qualifying to make sure we have a good race.

"I am going to have a lot of travelling support over from Northern Ireland and I cannot wait to get back to business. That race weekend feeling is something I really enjoy, together with all my team.”

After trailing Alvaro Bautista up until the Jerez round, Rea now has an 81-point margin over the Ducati man with only four rounds - 12 races - left to run. Bautista has never raced at Portimao, nor has he at Magny-Cours or Argentina's San Juan...