A shortened Race 1 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship did not give any less drama at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve for the Pirelli Portuguese Round, as the top three in the Championship standings battled at various points over the podium places. In the end, it was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) who claimed victory ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at the end of the 14-lap battle.

FIGHTING FOR THE PODIUM: Razgatlioglu vs Rea followed by Bautista vs Rea

With the race shortened following a delay after a crash in the WorldSSP300 Race 1 encounter and waiting for the medical helicopter to return to the circuit, the 26-strong field battled it out over 14 laps for Race 1 honours. It was reigning Champion Razgatlioglu who took victory in the shortened battle after a fight with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the first half of the race. Razgatlioglu’s race winning move came at the start of Lap 6 at Turn 1 as he passed Rea, while he also had to fight Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) for second in the opening few laps.

Bautista had to fight from fourth on the grid, and lost time at the start of the race, but was able to move up to second place by the end of the race as he passed Lowes at Turn 1 on Lap 3 and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) on Lap 11 at the same corner. Bautista had to make the move twice as, when he made it on Lap 8, he ran wide at Turn 1 and cost himself time. Bautista’s crucial move for second place came at the end of Lap 11 and start of Lap 12, as he blasted past Rea on the pit straight for second place, with Rea claiming third spot in Race 1.

Victory for Razgatlioglu gave him the 27^th win of his WorldSBK, putting him level with Doug Polen and Bautista in the all-time standings while it was also his 73^rd podium and 20^th of the 2022 season. Bautista’s second place means he is one shy of 50 podiums in WorldSBK and put him level with Carlos Checa as the Spanish rider with most podiums. Third place for Rea continues his winless drought, now at 16 races, but he did claim Kawasaki’s 510^th podium in WorldSBK.

BASSANI FIGHTS FOR THE PODIUM: starting strong, dropping back

As seen so often in 2022, Bassani was in the podium fight throughout the first half of the race but dropped back as the race progressed, eventually finishing in fourth place. He had to continue fighting once dropping out of the podium places, fighting against Lowes with the pair separated by just 0.091s at the line. Lowes had been running as high as second in the opening laps but, like Bassani, dropped back for fifth place. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) took sixth place, four seconds behind Lowes and four seconds ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in seventh.

ROUNDING OUT THE TOP TEN: a three-rider fight for eighth

Three riders were fighting hard for eighth place in the shortened race with the trio separated by less than half-a-second at the end of the 14-lap race. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) took home eighth place ahead Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in ninth and American star Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) who rounded out the top ten. Baz was just 0.160s behind Vierge as they crossed the line, while Gerloff was a further 0.269s down on Vierge.

TAKING HOME POINTS: completing the top 15

Gerloff had a more than three-second margin to Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) who took 11^th place in his first WorldSBK race at Portimao, ahead of Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven). Oettl started the race where he finished in 12^th place, finishing just over a second clear of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 13^th place. BMW pair Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) rounded out the points-scoring positions with 14^th and 15^th respectively.

THE CLASSIFIED RUNNERS: finishing Race 1

Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) just missed out on points with 16^th place, only 0.389s behind Laverty who took the final point in Race 1. Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) was 17^th and around a second away from points at Portimao, with the Sammarinese rider finishing almost three seconds clear of Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Redding had been running inside the top ten but a last-lap crash at Turn 5 dropped him down the order to 18^th place.

Two-time American superbike champion Jake Gagne (Attack Performance Yamaha Racing) was 19^th on his return to WorldSBK racing, finishing four tenths down on Redding. Moto2™-bound Japanese rider Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 20^th, ahead of wildcard Marvin Fritz (IXS – Yart – Yamaha). Fritz had finished ahead of Nozane but was penalised with a one-position drop for exceeding track limits at Turn 4 on the final lap, with the German rider finishing ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha), Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP). Argentinean rider Mercado had to take a Long Lap Penalty in Race 1.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from the first WorldSBK at Portimao

Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the first retirement of the race when he suffered a technical issue on his Honda machine, pulling off the track at Turn 14 at the end of Lap 3. Leon Haslam (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was the second retirement from the race, with the British rider bringing his bike into the pits and retiring from the race.

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

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.657s

3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +3.032s

4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +4.471s

5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +4.562s

6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +8.805s

Fastest Lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 1’40.328s, New Lap Record

Watch the remainder of the Portuguese Round in style using the WorldSBK VideoPass!