Ben Spies put one hand firmly on the title when Noriyuki Haga crashed out on the seventh lap while he was in sixth place in Race 1 at Portimao.
Spies won the race and gained 25 points, fifteen more that Haga and needs just a 6th place in Race 2 to win the championship title Spies won the race from pole position after getting the better of Jonathan Rea and Max Biaggi crossing the finish line with a 1.
697 margin over Rea, second, who took advantage of an error by Biaggi.
Shane Byrne took for fourth.
Fifth place went to Michel Fabrizio behind Bryne’s private Ducati.
BSB champion Leon Camier took sixth on the Aprilia after climbing from 13th on the grid.
Seventh went to Carlos Checa with Ruben Xaus on the BMW took eighth and Lagrive was ninth and Matteo Baiocco closed the top ten.
Portimao Race 1 Results:1 19 Spies B.
(USA) Yamaha YZF R1 38′15.
390 (158,442 kph)2 65 Rea J.
(GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.
6973 3 Biaggi M.
(ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2.
1134 67 Byrne S.
(GBR) Ducati 1098R 2.
7575 84 Fabrizio M.
(ITA) Ducati 1098R 14.
7536 22 Camier L.
(GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20.
0447 7 Checa C.
(ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 25.
6348 111 Xaus R.
(ESP) BMW S1000 RR 31.
1049 14 Lagrive M.
(FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 36.
68910 15 Baiocco M.
(ITA) Ducati 1098R 39.
33111 23 Parkes B.
(AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 41.
82712 100 Tamada M.
(JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 41.
88213 25 Salom D.
(ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 54.
96714 94 Checa D.
(ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1′38.
53315 99 Scassa L.
(ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R DNF’s: 88 Resch R.
(AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 11 Corser T.
(AUS) BMW S1000 RR 91 Haslam L.
(GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 96 Smrz J.
(CZE) Ducati 1098R 50 Guintoli S.
(FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 77 Iannuzzo V.
(ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 41 Haga N.
(JPN) Ducati 1098R 10 Nieto F.
(ESP) Ducati 1098R 71 Kagayama Y.
(JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9DNS:Tom Sykes