​There were positives for Bradley Ray at the latest round of the World Superbike Championship in Portugal, and whilst there were no points scored he did close the gap to the front in all the races.

The weather at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal was hot and sunny as Ray came home in 17th place in race one on Saturday afternoon, followed up with two 18th place finishes in Sunday’s races.

With the schedule having been modified at the weekend due to the expected high temperatures, the Superpole Race began at 3.45pm local time, while Race 2 ran at 6pm to give Ray and his fellow riders some respite from the heat.

The next WorldSBK round will take place on 8-10 September at the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit in France.

Speaking after the weekend, a satisfied Ray said:“Overall, I’m happy with the weekend, but not completely of course, because I think we have the pace to fight for the top ten.

“We just need to improve in qualifying so that the races are a little easier. We only made small changes to the bike, but I felt we made a good step, reducing the gap to the front across all the sessions and in the races too.

“So we’ve made some good progress here. Now we just need to keep working in this way and take the fight to the top ten group.”