SBK | Portimao, Race 1: Toprak still sets record, Bautista and Petrucci on the podium

Toprak Razgatlioglu… To infinity and beyond! The championship leader seemed to be in trouble, but once again, when it’s time to attack, he doesn’t wait to be asked and in Race 1 at Portimao he triumphed, increasing his lead in the championship. With the success of this first heat at sunset, the 11th in a row, the BMW rider equals the record of Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea.

It was not an easy victory, however, for Razgatlioglu, who had to deal with two more than aggressive opponents, first of all Danilo Petrucci. The standard-bearer Barni, starting from the third position, hooked his prey and never let go, until he took the lead in Race 1. For several laps, Petrux He set the pace, but then it was the Turk who made his voice heard, returning to the lead and crossing the checkered flag first.

Petrucci can still smile, because he was the best of the independent riders thanks to the excellent third position achieved in Race 1. The rider of the Barni team managed to keep up with the leading riders, thus climbing onto the third step of the podium and just under a second and a half behind Razgatlioglu. Between Toprak and the Terni native was Alvaro Bautista, author of a spectacular comeback from 13th position to second place.

The reigning world champion did not have a lightning start, finding himself in the pack in the early stages of the race. However, he showed an incredible pace that allowed him to get back up in a short time and catch up with the leading group. In the final stages of the race he tried, he dreamed for a moment of triumph, but he had to settle for second place, 780 thousandths behind Razgatlioglu.

With today’s result, Alvaro Bautista achieved his 100th podium, a milestone in the Spaniard’s career, which redeems a complicated Saturday for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team. The other side of the garage, in fact, remained more behind: Nicolò Bulega did not go beyond seventh position at the checkered flag, thus losing ground in the championship.

Race 1 went well for BMW, which in addition to the winner placed almost all of its riders in the top 10, with the exception of Scott Redding, who fell: Garrett Gerloff was the author of a solid race, which he finished just off the podium. The American was 4 seconds behind the winner and teammate, but managed to put the wheels of his Bonovo team BMW in front of those of Michael van der Mark, sixth. Alex Lowes slipped in between the two, riding the Kawasaki who had taken the lead in Race 1 in the early stages, but was then sucked into the group, finishing in seventh position.

Axel Bassani had a good Saturday afternoon, finishing in the top 10 with eighth place ahead of Dominique Aegerter. The Swiss was the first of the Yamaha representatives, who were in particular difficulty today, and preceded his teammate Remy Gardner, tenth. Behind the Australian was Andrea Locatelli, 11th, while Jonathan Rea did not go beyond 15th place.

Great effort for the Northern Irishman, who also remained behind the two Hondas and Tito Rabat. Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge finished in 12th and 14th position respectively, while the Spaniard from the Puccetti team crossed the checkered flag in 13th place. The other two Italians also struggled to smile: Michael Ruben Rinaldi struggled and, riding the Ducati from the Motocorsa team, was unable to go beyond 16th place, while Andrea Iannone slipped and ended his Race 1 in the gravel.