The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was back in action for a thrilling evening Race 1 in an all-new schedule for the Pirelli Portuguese Round. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took victory after a tough battle, with the #54 crossing the line to win by 0.780s. Razgatlioglu claimed his 11^th straight win this season, matching the all-time winning streak in WorldSBK.

STREAK CONTINUES: Razgatlioglu takes an 11^th consecutive win

‘El Turco’ claimed his 52^nd win, equalling Troy Bayliss at the fourth all-time spot after he took victory from Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who had an eventful Race 1 – battling through the field after a bad start. The #1 secured his 100^th podium after an impressive ride, beating Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) to the line by just 0.670s at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The Italian fought for the lead, claiming his sixth podium after securing P3.

PERFECT LAUNCH: Lowes leads early as an incredible battle begins

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had an impressive start, flying into the lead, and stretching out a strong gap on the opening lap. Meanwhile, polesitter Razgatlioglu would begin to put down the hammer on lap 2, closing the gap to the #22. Further back, Bautista had a tough start to the race, dropping outside of the top 10 as teammate Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) dropped to fifth and was under early pressure from Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha), who passed the Italian with 18 laps remaining.

After an explosive start, the action did not stop there as Petrucci took the lead with 16 laps to go and Razgatlioglu ran wide - dropping to third. The #54 worked hard, reclaiming second before entering the lead briefly with 11 laps remaining as he began to battle with Petrucci. Razgatlioglu had another unsuccessful attempt with nine laps remaining before making the move stick on Lap 12. Meanwhile, Bautista continued an incredible recovery ride, soon entering the podium places before passing Petrucci for P2.

TOUGH BATTLE: Victory for Toprak

Heading onto the final lap, everything was still up for grabs as Razgatlioglu stretched his lead to over one second. Petrucci was still locked onto the rear tyre of Bautista on the final lap as the Italian continued to put pressure on the reigning Champion for second place. However, the order would stay as it was over the line, with Razgatlioglu taking a hard-fought victory.

THE BATTLE CONTINUES: Gerloff and Lowes round out the top five

Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) missed out on the podium, finishing fourth at the line after pipping Lowes by 0.377s. The British rider would round out the top five, finishing in front of Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who had a confidence-inspiring result, making it six riders from six countries inside the top six. Seventh went the way of the Bulega, who crossed the line ahead of Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) as the final spots inside the top 10 went the way of GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner.

FINAL POINTS: Rea drops to P15

Andrea Locatelli missed out on a spot inside the top 10, finishing P11 and ahead of Team HRC’s Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge. Meanwhile, the final point-scoring positions were occupied by Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Rea, who dropped down the order in the latter stages. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) would crash out with nine laps remaining on the entry to Turn 1, bringing a disappointing end to Saturday. The Italian was not the only crasher as Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) fell at Turn 5.

The top six from WorldSBK Race 1, full results here:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.780s

3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +1.450s

4. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +4.313s

5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +4.690s

6. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +4.963s

Fastest lap: Alvaro Bautista, Ducati – 1’40.612s

Next up in Portugal is the Superpole Race on Sunday at 14:45 Local Time (UTC +1), so make sure you watch the action using the WorldSBK VideoPass - now 50% off!