Last-lap Heroes
All the three races over the weekend were won on the last lap. While Rea and Bautista got big trophies, Razgatlioglu had to be content with podiums
Cloud cover held the threat of inclement weather during the qualifying session; however, that did not deter the top three in the championship from going flat-out around circuito estoril. Jonathan rea emerged the fastest by shattering the lap record and claiming pole position (1’35.346). toprak razgatlioglu smashed the lap record, too, but he had to settle for a second-place start, just 0.091 seconds behind rea. Alvaro Bautista rounded off the front row.
razgatlioglu got the best start for the first race and took the holeshot with rea on his tail. the duo swapped the lead multiple times, particularly at turn one. this dance for the lead continued for a few laps until an error by rea allowed Bautista to sail through into second. With rea playing catch-up, Bautista put his head down and began to put pressure on the race leader, razgatlioglu. the defending champion put up a remarkable defence right until the end. however, the Spaniard astride the Italian missile got a better drive off the final turn and out-dragged the Yamaha to the finish line, taking the victory by a slim 0.126-second lead.
the battle in the Superpole race was between rea and razgatlioglu. After a slew of leadswapping, the turk was in the lead when he made an error and lost the front of his Yamaha. rea swept through into the lead and won the race but razgatlioglu stole some of his thunder by pulling off a miraculous save that went viral on social media after the race. Such was the appreciation that it overshadowed rea’s latest achievement—the longest winning WorldSBK career. Bautista brought it home in third place.
the fans certainly got their money’s worth because the third race was just as exciting as the first two with a last-lap tussle for the win. things began to get interesting on the 11th lap when Bautista went from third to first in one move. of course, rea responded soon thereafter, but it was not enough to hold off the ducati of Bautista. From there onwards, Bautista led the race until the last lap where rea pulled off a move down the inside of turn Nine. rea had to push hard into the final corner and was on the verge of throwing it all away but somehow managed to keep things together as he rocketed across the line to win the race. Bautista and razgatlioglu finished in second and third places respectively.
Bautista continues to lead the championship with 161 points with rea (144 points) and razgatlioglu (109 points) in second and third places respectively.