Toprak Razgatlioglu advanced his WorldSBK Championship hopes with a hard-fought race one win at Portimao on Saturday afternoon.
The Pata Yamaha rider was pushed all the way to the flag, first by Jonathan Rea before Scott Redding joined the fun and the six-time champion crashed out of contention.
Rea hit the front through turn two as the 20-lap race got underway at the rollercoaster circuit. Razgatlioglu taking charge shortly after with Redding and Leon Haslam chasing the leading pair down. The second Honda of Alvaro Bautista dropping from sixth to 11th as the opening lap concluded.
Close fighting turned to contact in the second lap as the Pata Yamaha pushed its way past after Rea had a glimpse once again of the lead. The Kawasaki was far from giving up, as the third lap saw him back in front but a surprise move from Redding put the Ducati in control.
The leading trio were inseparable as the lap unfolded, two-tenths covering the battle with almost two-seconds distancing them from Haslam in fourth. Hard moves and heart-stopping moments providing an electric start to the opening contest before disaster struck the Northern Irishman. The ZX-10 flipping end over end through the gravel after losing the front at hight speed.
With Rea dispatched the race calmed, Redding holding a three-tenth gap out front as Razgatlioglu looked to settle for the points lead across the mid-race distance. Further back, Michael Ruben Rinaldi was challenging for the podium as he moved his Aruba.it Ducati into third, taking Loris Baz’ Go Eleven with him as Haslam was dumped down to fifth. The situation worsening as his teammate took advantage moments later, leaving the Brit circulating in sixth at the halfway stage.
Razgatlioglu decided he’d had enough of following with 10 laps remaining, the Yamaha sweeping through at the opening corner as Baz did similar for podium contention moments later. The third place bottle was far from done, however, as Bautista was the next to claim the position, Michael van der Mark making his presence felt on the BMW in fifth, as Rinaldi ran wide, rejoining down in eighth behind the second Yamaha of Andrea Locatelli and Haslam.
The top two looked comfortable out front, circulating half a second from each other but eight-seconds clear of the rest of the field. The fight for third was inseparable across the line as lap 14 drew to a close, Baz taking the advantage before van der Mark and Locatelli collided and crashed out at turn five.
Redding was back on the hunt as the race reached its final quarter, the pair briefly swapping places before the Turkish rider returned to the lead. The Ducati remaining hard on the wheels of R1 before using the start-finish straight once again to gain the advantage. It was short-lived, however, as Razgatlioglu hit back through turn one. The patten continued as the race counted down, with a similar situation reflected between Baz and Bautista for third.
Razgatlioglu claimed the victory from a hard-charging Redding, Baz holding out for the final podium place as his Spanish adversary crashed out at the final turn. Rinaldi, Haslam and a late-charging Garret Gerloff completed the top six.
