Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea claimed victory in the opening race at Mandalika but it wasn’t enough to keep his seventh WorldSBK Championship hopes alive.
Pata Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu’s determined defence, taking second in the inaugural Indonesian Superbike action, secured the spoils to become the first Turkish World Champion and the first for Yamaha since Ben Spies in 2009.
Aruba.it Ducati’s Scott Redding completed the historic podium after the trio continued their season-long battles.
The WorldSBK race action prepared after Saturday’s postponement with the threat of rain once again hanging in the air. Jonathan Rea lined up in second for his 200th start in Kawasaki green having topped warm-up, his title-challenger Toprak Razgatlioglu alongside on pole.
The start, as yesterday, was delayed as the rain returned to the half the circuit. Razgatlioglu running off at turn one on the sighting lap after a moment in the mixed conditions. The race distance reduced to 20 laps ahead of the eventual lights out.
The rain reduced as the lights finally went out, Rea launching of the lead as he took the holeshot. Scott Redding recovering from an initially poor start to claim second with Razgatlioglu third. Tom Sykes was through to fourth from Andrea Locatelli before Axel Bassani struck for fifth. Alvaro Bautista heading seventh from Michael van der Mark and a rapidly advancing Chaz Davies with Leandro Mercado rounding out the top 10.
Razgatlioglu was up to second as the race unfolded, Rea defending already as his rival looked for an opportunity to better with the pair breaking free of the pack out front. The Yamaha took charge as lap three began and looked to gap almost instantly. Bassani going through on Redding and Sykes for the final podium position and reeling in the leaders in the process.
The front group became a five-rider gaggle with a trailing quartet pushing hard behind to join the action. Bassani sliding through on Rea as the Italian claimed second with the R1 next in his sights.
Turn 10 and the Motocorsa Ducati took the lead, Rea hitting back as lap five began with Razgatlioglu dropped to third. The Pata rider back up to second and challenging the Kawasaki’s rear wheel as the pace picked up, next time around.
Rea continued to master the race, the six-time world champion attempting to back his rival into the pack while defending his leading position but the leading group became just four as Sykes dropped well over a second back.
Razgatlioglu was back in the lead as pushed through turn 10 with 12 laps to go. The Yamaha maintaining control despite a determined Ninja attack as the next lap began with the pair inseparable as it unfolded.
The Northern Irishman was back in charge in the final sector as Redding returned to the fight with a fastest lap effort. The fight firing up as the moves kept coming and the trio ignited, just three-tenths covering the entire battle.
Redding scalped Rea at the halfway stage as Bassani regained the fun, Razgatlioglu running wide as the Ducati picked up the pieces on the close of lap 12. Rea returned to second as the pair looked to break free, pulling a second’s gap over the championship leader, with the Kawasaki rider needing a dominant result to keep his title fight alive through to the final contest.
Toprak regrouped from third as he tried to recover the distance. Redding circulating almost half a second ahead of the number one before Rea returned to his rear wheel.
Lap 15 dispatched and it was a two-rider fight for the win as Rea and Redding bickered repeatedly, the Kawasaki back in charge with four to go and pulling an instant gap from his countryman as the race wound down.
Razgatlioglu reeled in Redding before sliding through for the final three laps. Rea now a second clear out front with the Ducati struggling to maintain his grip on his nearest rival.
The Yamaha halved the gap to the leader with a new fastest lap as they crossed the line for the penultimate time. Rea holding fast to take the victory but with 25 points separating the pair, the Turk took the title thanks to his dominant record of feature race wins.
Redding came home third with Locatelli dispatching Bassani for fourth in the closing stages, albeit five seconds back on the leading fight. Van der Mark claimed sixth from Bautista, Davies and Mercado with Sykes fading to 10th at the line.
