Toprak Razgatlioglu is back to his winning ways after taking race 1 of the Portugese round. Technical issues have plague the Turkish rider thus far this season. The issues have rendered his efforts for a title defense difficult. However, after the win in race 1 this weekend Razgatlioglu currently sits second in the championship behind Nicolo Bulega who fell short in the race after periodically leading practice on day one of the race weekend. The two battled at the front for the entire race but Toprak held off Bulega’s advances on the final lap and held on to win it. Razgatlioglu also claimed Superpole which has renewed the fight at the top as the riders head into the Superpole race and Race 2 tomorrow.
Bulega comment on falling short, “I’m happy because this morning we made a step forward compared to the test and then managed to improve further in the afternoon. It was a productive Friday during which we got closer to Toprak, but he remains the weekend’s favorite. If we can take another step forward tomorrow, we have all the credentials to be competitive”.
Razgatlioglu’s teammate Michale Van der Mark finished P5 to secure decent points and to break up what has seemingly been a Ducati dominated top 5. Andrea Locatelli finished P3 behind Nicolo Bulega to keep Yamaha in the fight. Razgatlioglu will be looking to cut the 37 point deficit he current has to Bulega in the championship standings this weekend.
Race 1 Results from Autódromo Internacional do Algarve