With five races remaining Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a near perfect day at the Circuito Estoril. A lap record in the Tissot Superpole session was followed by a 20th race victory of the season.
Race 1 Highlights
- A five rider incident at Turn 1 saw the race red flagged. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Tarran Mackenzie (MGM BONOVO Racing), Tetsuta Nagashima (Honda HRC) and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) were all involved.
- When the race restarted the duration was reduced to 20 laps and the Aruba.it Racing â Ducati riders made the fastest start. Alvaro Bautista led for the opening two laps, his first time out in front since the opening round of the year, while Nicolo Bulega was overtaken by Razgatlioglu on the third lap. The Turkish rider hit the front on the same lap and led the field home from there.
- Bulegaâs pace mid-race put Razgatlioglu under pressure. The Italian rider suffered from front grip issues in the final laps and had to settle for the 20 points for second position.
- Bautista spent the first two thirds of the race under pressure. The Spaniard was hassled by Jonathan Rea for the first half of the race. On Lap 12 he ran wide at Turn 1 but he recovered from that moment to re-establish his advantage. Rea would finish in sixth position trailing his Pata Maxus Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli and Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team).
Championship Highlights
- Razgatlioglu extends his championship advantage to 41 points from Bulega.
- Despite withdrawing from this weekendâs racing through injury Petrucciâs season has been rewarded with the Best Independent Rider Award.
- In the Manufacturersâ Standings BMW are now one point behind Ducati.
P1 â Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
âAt the beginning of the race everything was under control but in the middle of the race Nicolo had a bit more grip than me. At the end of the race I was spinning a lot but he was too. Iâm really happy to finish the first race in first position. Tomorrow we have two more hard races, and Iâll try my best again.â
P2 â Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing â Ducati)
âIt wasnât a bad result but itâs not enough. I tried everything but honestly Toprak was very strong today. In the first lap I lost a bit of time and he was already gone. I tried to recover and was nearly able to catch him but in the last five laps I felt a big drop on the front tyre and the risk of crashing was high, so I preferred to take second. Weâll try again tomorrow.â
P3 â Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing â Ducati)
âToday I didnât make any mistakes so Iâm happy. It was important to finish and take good points for the championship. I had a good start but I couldn’t push in the early laps. The bike was difficult, and I felt a bit like a passenger. The maximum today was third because Toprak and Nicolo were really fast. My pace wasnât bad, but I stayed calm to finish on the podium. Iâm happy and tomorrow Iâll try to keep the same mentality and get the maximum again.â
