Toprak Razgatlioglu won a shortened Race 2. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team rider was pushed all the way by Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) during an 11 lap race. The original race was shortened due to a crash on Lap 9
Bulega led five laps and put Razgatlioglu under pressure with the pair bar to bar in the closing stages. The Italian claimed his 30th career rostrum finish
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) started from the outside of the front row and finished third. The Spaniard finished ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) as the trio spent the full race distance circulating in that order
Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) returned to action this weekend. The Spaniard missed the opening round of the year through injury and ended the Portuguese weekend with a strong sixth place finish
Bulega continues to lead the championship. But Razgatlioglu’s hat-trick of wins reduced the gap to 29 points.
Danilo Petrucci moved up to third in the standings courtesy of three top six finishes in Portugal
Ducati continues to lead the Manufacturers Standings. The Italian brand are 27 points ahead of BMW with Yamaha third courtesy of Locatelli’s performances this weekend
P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
"I want to thank my team because everyone is working really hard to improve the bike. We made progress in every session this weekend. Also, congratulations to Nicolo because he did a great job this weekend. He’s really strong, and his pace was very fast. I’m happy that we could have such a good fight, and I think everyone enjoyed watching the race. My biggest target for this weekend was to win. We’re back, and we’re here to show everyone that we are ready to fight."
P2 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
"I couldn’t do more than what I did today. I’m happy because this is one of Toprak’s best tracks. He’s always very, very strong here in Portimao. To battle with him here is a good sign. It means we’re making progress. This is important for the rest of the championship. Two weeks ago, during testing, I didn’t have a great feeling here, but we made big improvements to the bike for the race weekend. Ducati and my team have worked so hard and I’m happy with our progress. See you soon in Assen!"
P3 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
"Today was a very positive day. We were able to recover a lot of positions in the Superpole Race. Having missed race time yesterday I struggled a bit during the first few laps because I needed to get used to the pace. After that, I found my rhythm and built my confidence. I was happy to finish on the podium and secure a good position for Race 2. I had a good start in Race 2 and stayed with Nico and Toprak but after a few laps I started to drop back a little. They were a bit faster than yesterday. Overall, we have to be happy because we found some positives with the new tyre. We also discovered some negatives. Now, we need to analyse the data and keep improving for the future. We’re working on small details that could give me more confidence and help me push to stay with them."
Race 2 Results
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’39.614
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.195s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +3.512s
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +6.617s
5. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.478s
6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +10.155s RACE 2 RESULTS
- Razgatlioglu claimed his 22nd Tissot Superpole Race victory. His winning margin was less than a tenth of a second from Bulega. The duo battled throughout the ten lap duration with Bulega leading the opening four tours before Razgatlioglu hit the front on Lap 5. From that point onwards there was little to separate them before a last lap dice was settled in the Turkish rider’s favour
- Starting from the third row of the grid meant Bautista had plenty of work to do during the Superpole Race. He finished the opening lap in sixth position before passing Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) on Lap 2. He made his way through on Andrea Locatelli at half distance before passing Petrucci with two laps remaining
- Iker Lecuona claimed the final point scoring position in ninth position. The Spaniard finished less than a second behind his Team HRC teammate Xavi Vierge
Superpole Race Results
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.055s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.407s
Career first victory for Bendsneyder
- Having started from the front row Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) dropped to seventh position on the opening lap. It took until lap 13 for the Dutchman to take the lead. Setting his personal best lap on Lap 15 of 17 he showed his race craft to manage his pace throughout and finished with a margin of two seconds from Stefano Manzi. The race victory was Bendsneyder’s first win at World Championship level
- On his birthday weekend Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing’s Manzi claimed two podium finishes and extended his championship lead to 13 points. He spent the majority of the race in second position having been involved in an eight rider scrap throughout
- Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) finished on the podium having fought his way past Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) in the closing stages
- Race 1 victor Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) converted his pole position into an early lead but the Turkish rider crashed out of proceedings at Turn 1 on Lap 9
P1 – Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
"It’s an amazing feeling to take this victory. The pace here is incredibly fast but today I realised that I wasn’t just fighting for second; I was fighting for the win. I felt better on the bike compared to yesterday so I stayed calm and tried to save the front tyre a little. When the pace started to drop I pushed to catch and overtake the others. From that moment on, I just gave everything I had. With six laps to go, I told myself, ‘it’s time to push.’ I was expecting Stefano to attack me again like yesterday but he didn’t. It’s incredible to take this victory with MV Agusta and now the next race is my home round in Assen!"
Race 2 Results
1. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 29’22.573
2. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +2.348s
3. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +3.443s
4. Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) +3.684s
5. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) +3.900s
6. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) +4.062s
Fernandez delivers the win for KOVE
- A ten rider group battled out a thrilling last lap battle with Benat Fernandez coming out on top by just 0.018s. The Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove rider claimed a victory on his debut weekend in the Supersport 300 World Championship. Having claimed the Superpole on Friday and finishing fourth in Race 1 it was a fantastic weekend for the 17 year old Spaniard
- Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) finished second in both races this weekend. The Spaniard claimed his eighth career podium as he finished ahead of teammate Antonio Torres to match their results from Race 1
- On the final lap Race 1 winner, Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing), crashed heavily at Turn 1. The incident came after contact with his teammate Phillip Tonn and led to contact with Humberto Maier (Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by MS Racing) with the Brazilian also crashing.
- Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki) crashed out on Lap 2 after an incident with Faerozi Toreqottullah (ProGP NitiRacing) at Turn 8. Having previously won five races in a row in Portimao Gennai left the opening weekend without any points
- Julio Garcia holds a two point lead from Fernandez with Torres in third position
P1 – Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove)
“That was a crazy race! I was constantly overtaking. I’m not sure how I managed it because on the last last lap I went from the inside to the outside. I was second coming into the last corner and I focused on the slipstream in the last sector. I sacrificed the entry to the final corner to open the throttle earlier. That allowed me to catch the slipstream and overtake on the inside. I launched like a rocket to the finish line! This is my first race in SSP300 and I wasn’t expecting this result. It’s incredible. The work that my team puts in has been amazing.”
Race 2 Results
1. Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) 1’55.021
2. Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) +0.018s
3. Antonio Torres (Team ProDina XCI) +0.095s
4. Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) +0.121s
5. David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) +0.133s
6. Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) +0.166s