More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Razgatlioglu does the double in Jerez after fierce Redding battle, Rea fifth
The battle for victory in Race 2 at Jerez went down to the wire between Toprak Razgatlioglu and Scott Redding
A familiar story to Race 1, with the same outcome but a different opponent for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) as he claimed his second MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship victory of the day at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for the Motul Spanish Round after a late-race battle with Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
LIGHTS OUT
Repeating his start from Race 1, Razgatlioglu got a good start to lead into Turn 1 from Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and, while Rea was able to challenge into Turn 6 on Lap 1, the Turkish star was able to hold on to extend his lead over Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who made a great start to move into podium contention and passed Rea in the opening laps of the 20-lap race.
While Razgatlioglu was able to keep his lead and briefly extend his lead, both Rinaldi and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) were closing in. On Lap 6, Rinaldi ran wide at Turn 6 which almost allowed Redding through, but Rinaldi was able to hold on to second place until Turn 13, when Redding made the move for second.
While Redding was putting pressure on, Razgatlioglu held on until Lap 17 when Redding passed Razgatlioglu for the lead but just one lap later Razgatlioglu made a move into Turn 13 to take the lead onto the penultimate lap. Redding kept the pressure on Razgatlioglu throughout the final two laps, but the Turkish star held on to claim his second victory of the day in Jerez, and his tenth of the season while Redding claimed his 30th WorldSBK podium.
RAZGATLIOGLU EXTENDS HIS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
With Razgatlioglu, Redding and Rinaldi in front, Rea found himself losing ground and having to defend from Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) to defend fourth place. On Lap 7, Locatelli passed Rea at the final corner to move into fourth place.
Just a lap later, Bautista found himself passing Rea into Turn 6 while Italian rookie Bassani tried to follow him through but made contact with Rea with both able to resume the race without losing time or positions. While Bautista was able to pull away, Bassani kept the pressure on Rea as he looked to pass the six-time Champion. Eventually Rea was able to pull away from Bassani and soon found himself back into fifth place after passing Rinaldi.
Bautista was able to make a move on Locatelli for third after passing Rinaldi as he claimed his second podium in four races and his fourth consecutive top-five finish, the first time he has managed that feat since joining Honda. Locatelli came home in fourth place, a very familiar position for the Italian rookie, over a second clear of Rea. With Razgatlioglu taking victory and Rea finishing fifth, the Championship lead now stands at 20 points in Razgatlioglu’s favour.
SCORING POINTS
The top six were clear of Rinaldi at the end of the race with Bassani claiming sixth place as the Italian continues his strong rookie season, finishing ahead of the factory Ducati of Rinaldi. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished in eighth place and closed in on Rinaldi in the closing stages with just a second behind Rinaldi.
Loris Baz’s (Team GoEleven) WorldSBK continued with another top-nine finish as the Frenchman finished in ninth place, just two tenths away from van der Mark. American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed another tenth place finish ahead of Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed 11th place in his first round back for three months, holding off Leon Haslam (Team HRC) by just 0.042s at the end of the race.
Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action) ensured all three BMWs on track scored points in Race 2 as he finished in 13th place, half-a-second back from Haslam. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) claimed more points following his return to the Barni Racing outfit while Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) claimed the final points place despite a crash at Turn 6 on the second lap.
Wildcard Marvin Fritz (IXS-YART Yamaha) was in 16th place after his second wildcard appearance of the season despite a Turn 2 crash on Lap 7 while Andrea Mantovani (Vince64) was in 17th place rounded out the riders on the lead lap. Like in Race 1, Lachlan Epis (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) finished three laps down after spending a substantial amount of time in the pits.
TO NOTE
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was declared unfit following the conclusion of Race 1 with a right hand and wrist functional impairment. Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) did not take part in Sunday’s action. Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) pulled into the pitlane at the end of the Warm-Up Lap and did not take to the start of the race. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was having a strong race before a Lap 4 crash at Turn 6 which forced the Japanese rookie out of the race. At Turn 1 on Lap 5, Belgian Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) crashed out of the race.
P1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
“Today, the afternoon race was not easy. We were fighting with Scott and this weekend I am a little bit sick. I tried my best again; I was fighting for the win. Another win and this year I now have 10 wins. I’m happy but we are not looking at the Championship, we are always focused on the next race. In Portimao, I will try and fight again for the win.”
P2 Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I kind of enjoyed that really. I went into that race with a little bit more confidence than this morning and I knew if I could be there in the start, I would have potential. I think I was the fastest rider but it’s hard to pass Toprak, and racing the Yamaha with the Ducati, we have such different lines in the corners that if I get sucked into riding how he’s riding, I can’t get go fast. When I passed him, I felt like I could go but my reference was gone and then when I passed him, I felt I could go but my reference was gone, I was just focused on him the whole race. I passed and I had to find my rhythm. I just made a small mistake in braking because I know he’s going to try, it’s guaranteed he’s going to try, so you’ve got take a little bit more to try and defend against him. With the Yamaha, you saw how much he could turn back compared to me. I’m happy, I didn’t expect to get two podiums today. I was hoping for a top five. To get that was really good and happy to be battling.”
P3 Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC)
“I’m really happy, especially because I’m getting better and better with the bike. In the morning race I struggled a little bit because when the grip is high, the bike is more aggressive and is quite difficult to use. For sure, you go faster but always struggling and fighting more with the bike. In the afternoon, my energy was not too high, so I tried to keep and conserve some energy for the whole race. I did a good start, I tried to not make mistakes at the beginning and there was a gap to the front riders. About mid-race, I started to feel a bit better physically and with the bike. I saw the gap was staying so I just tried to concentrate. I was catching the other riders. I felt I had a couple of tenths more per lap, so I tried to overtake them. I did it and in the end, another podium two rounds in a row. It’s very positive.”
