Toprak Razgatlioglu pipped Nicolo Bulega to the line to claim victory in Race 1 of the WorldSBK Portimao round.
The reigning WorldSBK champion claimed victory by only 0.067s ahead of his Italian rival in a photo finish.
Bulega launched off the line to take the lead at Turn 1 whereas pole sitter Razgatlioglu fell down to eighth.
Alvaro Bautista and Scott Redding crashed out early after a battle in the midfield. Redding had nowhere to go on his Bonovo Ducati, which caused the Spaniard to get caught up in the collision.”
The whole grid had a massive shakeup following the first lap but Bulega led Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli and Marc VDS rider Sam Lowes.
Razgatlioglu forged his way back up to fifth by the end of Lap 1, before pulling off a stunning move around the outside of Danilo Petrucci at Craig Jones Corner.
The Turkish rider dispatched Lowes and Locatelli over the next two laps to put himself back into winning contention.
Bulega established a 0.5s advantage while Razgatlioglu recovered back up the grid, but the Ducatis lead looked under considerable threat.
His Turkish rival displayed immense confidence on the Bavarian bike and was all over the back of him by the end of Lap 5.
Razgatlioglu made an opportunistic move at Turn 12 and both riders were side-by-side at Turn 14 before the hill leading up to the pit straight. The Panigale machinery was more potent in the final sector due to its acceleration.
Once again the BMW rider forged his way through at the same corner the following lap but retained the lead heading into Turn 1 as he held the inside line.
Lowes crashed out from his best-ever position since joining the series in 2024, ending any hopes of a possible podium finish.
His brother Alex Lowes joined him in the gravel traps the following Lap despite rising from last to ninth place, losing the front end of his Bimota.
The Ducatis’ rapid straight-line speed was evident on Lap 9, as Bulega launched his V4 past the BMW, despite starting the start-finish straight at least four bike lengths behind. Bulega lost the lead when Bulega ran slightly wide at Turn 1.
The 2024 championship protagonists were neck and neck for several laps, building a four-second advantage over their nearest challengers.
On Lap 12 Bulega pounced by changing his exit line at the final Turn to reclaim the lead down the start-finish straight, before establishing a multiple-tenth advantage a Lap later.
Razgatlioglu, as usual, displayed his never-say-die attitude and cut the gap to only a few-tenths and completed a late lunge on Lap 16 at Turn 1.
The Turkish rider spent time behind the Italian, studying where his M1000RR was weaker, and navigated the move at one of its most vulnerable points on the circuit.
Once again, both riders swapped positions on Lap 19 before the BMW regained the advantage, but the race was won due to Razgatlioglu fending off his line at the end.
Razgatlioglu produced his first win of the 2025 WorldSBK season after he struggled at the season opener at Phillip Island.
Bulega claimed second to finish as the lead Ducati to continue his podium streak to four consecutive races.
Locatelli mustered third place for Yamaha, featuring on the rostrum for the first time in 2025 despite finishing nearly 8s adrift off the Ducati and BMW.
Petrucci secured fourth for Barni Spark Racing, ahead of Honda HRC rider Xavi Vierge and the second BMW of Michael van der Mark.
Andrea Iannone claimed an impressive seventh despite starting in 16th place, pulling off an impressive move on Dominique Aegerter in the latter stages.
Axel Bassani salvaged 9th for Bimota as GRT Yamaha’s Remy Gardner closed out the top ten positions.
Iker Lecouna could only muster 11th on his return following injury woes, but the Honda factory team can be happy with its result.
Garrett Gerloff established 12th place for Kawasaki, finishing clear of rookie rider Bahattin Sofuoglu and Petronas Honda rider Tarran Mackenzie.
Tito Rabat finished in the final points-scoring position, followed by WorldSBK rookie Ryan Vickers and Yamaha rider Jason O’Halloran.
