Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea raced to a dominant race two win a Portimao on Sunday afternoon, crossing the line 5.4 seconds clear of the field.
Scott Redding and Loris Baz completed the podium after a dramatic three-way battle out front was extinguished when Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered a turn 15 crash at middle distance.
The final Portuguese WorldSBK race fired up with Michael van Der Mark on pole after his Superpole victory, Rea waving on the grid to delay the start after the lights failed to deploy as expected. The race reduced to 19-laps as the riders prepared once again.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi returned to action after his heavy sprint race tumble earlier in the day, the Aruba.it Ducati lining up 12th behind Rea and Leon Haslam, who both equally suffered morning crashes.
With the lights releasing second time round, it was Redding and Andrea Locatelli vying for holeshot honours, the Ducati taking the lead as the Pata Yamaha battled with his title-leading teammate. Razgatlioglu quickly finding Rea capturing his third place position through turn 11 after a lightning quick start from 10th.
The Kawasaki was firmly on the move as he scythed passed the second Yamaha before challenging for the lead halfway round the second lap, making it stick before its conclusion. Redding and Razgatlioglu were back in front next time around with the trio inseparable as the race unfolded. The Turk looked to take the lead into the opening corner of lap four before asking a little too much of his hard braking, Redding and Rea capitalising before the places shuffled again a few corners later.
Rea crossed the line in charge at a quarter race distance, the title-challenger looking to break the duo behind as he found his rhythm. Locatelli running a solitary race as behind, the battle for fifth warmed up between Alvaro Bautista, Baz and Rinaldi.
Razgatlioglu took the advantage after dispatching lap six, the Yamaha setting a new fastest lap I the process before the ZX-10 hit back. Redding initially looking to drop off the duelling duo before regrouping to join the fight once again.
The fastest laps kept coming as the battle continued, Redding and Razgatlioglu fighting hard for second as Rea capitalised out front.
It was Yamaha’s turn to face disaster at the halfway stage as Razgatlioglu crashed out at turn 15, the bike appearing to suffer a mechanical at high speed. Rea released at the front with Redding now sitting two-seconds back.
A three-way battle for the final podium spot intensified with seven laps to go, Baz bettering Bautista and Locatelli as the second Yamaha ran wide, van der Mark running sixth ahead of Garrett Gerloff, Haslam and Eugene Laverty.
Bautista’s pressure increased on the Frenchman as the laps counted down, the Spaniard repeatedly showing a wheel as he looked for any opportunity to step on the podium, the Ducati man defending hard as he excelled on his return to the world championship.
Five-seconds separated Rea and Redding as the penultimate lap began, a further four back to the intense challenge behind. A clash at turn five skittling the Honda into the gravel, as Bautista’s hopes for a podium disappeared for the second time this weekend.
Rea took the flag with a dominant lead to reinvigorate his championship challenge, Redding and Baz completing the podium with easy margins either side as Locatelli sat best of the rest at the line.
Gerloff headed van der Mark, Rinaldi and Haslam in the top eight finishers with Laverty demoted by Axel Bassani in the closing stages.
