The final ride on WorldSBK’s favourite rollercoaster took place Sunday afternoon, providing another nail-biting battle between rivals Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati). A red flag was thrown on Lap 10 after Jason O'Halloran (Pata Maxus Yamaha) crashed at Turn 1. In the ensuing 11-lap sprint, two of the title contenders engaged in a thrilling battle for the race win. ‘El Turco’ came out on top for the third time on the weekend, completing his second consecutive Portimao hat-trick; earning his ninth win at this track, equalling his tally at Donington Park.  Prior to the red flag, Toprak and ‘Bulegas’ had paired off at the front of the pack, while Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) had maintained his P3 grid start, and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) had fallen down to P9 from his P4 grid position.

TOPRAK HAT-TRICK: 60^th WorldSBK win surpassing King Carl Fogarty to sit third all-time

Bulega took the holeshot of the restarted race; and he was able to defend his P1 until Toprak overtook him, taking P1 momentarily on Lap 2, at Turn 1. Bulega retook the lead in the run to Turn 1 of Lap 3 then Laps 6-8 saw the pair grit their teeth and throw caution to the wind overtaking each other a total of 6 times. The final three laps were fought tooth and nail as Toprak held on through the final stages of the race to claim his 60^th WorldSBK win, now sitting third all-time in WorldSBK wins ahead of Fogarty. Bautista pushed his Ducati Panigale V4R hard to try to keep up with the #1 and his factory Ducati teammate, however the gap increased as the race went on, crossing the line 3.512s behind the #1 as he secured third place.

LOCATELLI CLOSES PORTIMAO ON A HIGH NOTE: P3, P5, P4 on the weekend

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) had a good jump off the line after the red-flag restart, moving into second place before falling to P4, closing out a strong weekend for the top Yamaha rider. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) had an up and down ride in Race 2, starting the race well, before falling to P7. However, the Dutchman was able to recover to P5 for his best result of the season so far. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) started the first race in P4, however a poor jump at lights out saw him fall all the way out of the scoring positions. The red flag helped him out greatly, re-compacting the grid and allowing him to climb up to P6 to complete a great comeback for ‘Petrux’. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) again was the only Bimota rider of their pair to finish the race, taking his season’s best result of P7.

A STEP FOR LECUONA: P8 for the Spanish rider

Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) set a high-water mark for this season, finishing P8 in his return round after missing Australia due to injury. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) benefited from the restart, climbing from P12 to finish in P9. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) had another result to be proud of for the Italian rookie, Top 10 for the third time in six races in WorldSBK. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) finished P11, fighting up from P14 where he began the restarted race. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) showed glimpses of progress after the red flag, climbing from P17 to P12.

ROOKIES SOFUOGLU AND VICKERS SCORE POINTS: Sofuoglu P13, Vickers P14

Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) both took home points from Race 2, with the duo improving after the restart. Scott Redding had a technical issue before the red flag. He was able to take the restart from last on the grid and finished in P15,  to claim a point. Petronas MIE Honda riders Zaqhwan Zaidi and Tarran Mackenzie finished P16 and P17, Mackenzie crashing however was able to finish.

HEAVY HITTERS TAKE HOME 0 POINTS FROM RACE 2: Alex Lowes crashes after restart and Iannone retires

Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) crashed on Lap 4 prior to the red flag. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) crashed out of the race at Turn 1 of Lap 5, spoiling a very strong start to the race where he led his fellow Honda HRC teammate Lecuona from P6 before his crash. Jason O'Halloran (Pata Maxus Yamaha) crashed in the same Turn 1 as Vierge. After the red flag restart, Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) crashed at Turn 12 of Lap 11 ending a difficult weekend for the British rider. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed on Turn 1 at Lap 10. Ducati Independent rider Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) enjoyed a quick start to his race, jumping from P12 to start up to P8. However he was applied a pair of long lap penalties due to a jump start which he failed to complete, earning him a ride-through penalty in the restarted race, retiring shortly after.

The top six from the WorldSBK Race 1: Full results here!

1.Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.195s
3. Álvaro 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
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, BMW – 1’39.614s
Championship standings:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 111 points
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 82
3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 60
4. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 59
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 56
6. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) 44

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