Italtrans Racing’s Joe Roberts made a piece of history in Portimao by becoming the first American to win a Grand Prix in over a decade. His victory did come with a huge slice of luck after an eleven rider crash on Lap 9 saw many of the leading contenders retire from the race. I’ve had a lot of races and a lot of practice sessions in those conditions where it starts to rain and, as a rider, it’s so hard to know how hard to push. I saw Jorge’s [Navarro] pace and it looked pretty good in the first part of the race, so there were some riders in there that I knew were quick and could battle for the win. I was talking to Wayne Rainey last night actually and his feeling about winning his first race is pretty similar to mine.

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