BMW rider Toprak Razgatlioglu capped off his weekend by producing an impressive treble in Race 2 at the Portimao WorldSBK round.
The race signalled another close battle between himself and Nicolo Bulega, as both crossed the line by 0.195s.
Razgatlioglu had a better start compared to Race 1 and the Superpole from first on the grid but Bulega once again took the lead.
Danilo Petrucci stalled off the line, reasoning unclear, and as a result fell to 14th place following the first events on Lap 1.
A minor unforced error from Razgatlioglu saw him clip onto the kerb at Turn 1 on Lap 2 as the second factory Ducati rider of Bautista put all the pressure on him.
At Turn 1 on Lap 3, Andrea Locatelli and Michael van der Mark swapped positions before the M1 Yamaha rider replied to regain fourth place at Turn 3.
The stewards issued GoEleven Ducati rider Andrea Iannone a double long lap penalty for jumping the start, further dampening a difficult weekend for the Italian.
Xavi Vierge crashed out of proceedings on Lap 4 after losing the front of his Honda HRC between Turn 1 and Turn 2.
The first segment of the race saw the field stretch out even further, with Bulega and Razgatlioglu once again pulling away from the rest of the pack.
Only 0.5s separated the two as both crossed the line on Lap 5, but the second Aruba.it rider Alvaro Bautista dropped further down to 3s behind.
Petrucci’s recovery to the front of the grid saw the Italian move up to ninth before Lap 6 began, as the Italian continued to show grit battling through minor injuries.
Jason O’Halloran joined Vierge in the gravel traps at the elusive Turn 1 itself on Lap 9, after he stood in for six-time champion Jonathan Rea.
O’Halloran’s crash resulted in a red flag due to damage sustained to the barrier/air fence, but the Australian wildcard walked away with no problems.
Scott Redding’s race appeared to have ended on Lap 8 due to technical issues with his Bonovo Racing Panigale. However, following the red flag, the team fixed the problem, and he rejoined the pack in last place.
The race restarted with 11 laps remaining and Bulega started from the front, putting him in an optimal position to lead the race into Turn 1.
Yamahas Locatelli had the standout start though, pipping Razgatlioglu on his outside line until the BMW rider sneaked through at the same corner the next lap.
Iannone ignored completing the second long lap penalty which resulted in a ride through penalty issuing.
Alex Lowes’ race ended on Lap 11 at Turn 7 as he lost the front of his Bimota. Despite his best attempts to secure points from starting in the pack, he leaves the weekend with zero points on the board.
Razgatlioglu pulled off an impressive lunge at Turn 1 to take the lead in the race for the first time before his Italian rival reclaimed the lead one lap later.
The top three riders consisted of Bulega, Razgatlioglu, and Bautista, with all three riders separated by only 0.5s. The Aruba.it Ducati duo sandwiched the BMW but on Lap 13 the leading duo extended the advantage to nearly a second.
Bulega made his first big mistake of the weekend on Lap 15 in the final sector, leaving an open door for the BMW to go through.
Despite the mistake, he responded to reclaim the lead impressive at Turn 14, a corner notorious for late braking.
Razgatlioglu sat back for most of the following lap but made his move with a characteristic late-braking manoeuvre at Turn 13, only for Bulega to out-speed him down the straight.
The enticing battle continued into the subsequent laps and Razgatlioglu’s late braking made things notoriously difficult for Bulega. Both riders rode with such grace ensuring that each rider had enough space after overtaking.
The reigning champion led from four laps to go and a very minor mistake from Bulega saw the gap extend further to 0.4s, putting him out of contention for the race victory at the end.
Razgatlioglu cemented his place further in the history books, climbing to third on the all-time wins list with 60 victories, surpassing four-time champion Carl Fogarty.
Despite Bulega’s best efforts, he finished 0.195s behind, ending his weekend with three second-place finishes.
Bautista rounded off the podium to make up for a difficult Saturday, ensuring that both factory Ducatis made it onto the rostrum.
Andrea Locatelli and Michael van der Mark held firm to take fourth and fifth place for Yamaha and BMW, respectively.
Petrucci recovered from his poor start to claim sixth, and once again finished as the top independent rider.
Axel Bassani brought the bike home in seventh for Bimota, delivering a strong result considering his lack of confidence ahead of the weekend.
Iker Lecuona and Dominique Aegerter pulled off eighth and ninth place, as Yari Montella rounded off the top ten for Barni Spark Racing.
Sam Lowes fell from sixth to 11th by the end of the race, but finished a country mile ahead of Garrett Gerloff and rookie Bahattin Sofuoglu.
Ryan Vickers claimed 14th spot and Redding recovered to take the final point after suffering technical issues earlier on in the race.
Zaqhwan Zaidi came close to securing his first point in the series with a 16th-place finish, but ended over 30 seconds adrift of Redding after the restart’s 11-lap race.
