Toprak Razgatlioglu completed a dominant performance in a dramatic opener to the Hungarian WorldSBK weekend to extend his championship lead.
The race was red-flagged after seven riders crashed out on the opening lap, but Razgatlioglu responded to the dramatic start to take victory by 3.738s.
Razgatlioglu made a good start from the pole position, and was able to hold onto the lead going into the first corner.
Andrea Locatelli also made a good start from third and pressurised Razgatlioglu for the lead of the race after the Turkish rider appeared to lose a wing off the right side of his BMW machine.
The concertina-effect down at Turn 2 saw a multiple rider pile-up as Andrea Iannone lost the ran into the back of Danilo Petrucci as both riders crashed out.
Garrett Gerloff, Yari Montella, Ryan Vickers also crashed at the corner, while Remy Gardner and Iker Lecuona suffered minor injuries as a result of the incident.
Both Bimota riders also entered the gravel while trying to avoid the stricken bikes and riders, but both Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani were able to rejoin the race unscathed.
The race was red-flagged a few corners later, just as Locatelli made his move on Razgatlioglu, with a restart scheduled as per the original grid positions.
Ahead of the race recommencing, Iannone was awarded a double long lap penalty for his role in the incident, while Petrucci rejoined the race from the back of the field after missing the deadline to exit the pitlane.
Vickers was unable to restart the race due to an issue with his MotoCorsa machine, while both Gardner and Lecuona were taken to the medical centre.
Razgatlioglu made the best start the second time around, and unlike the initial start, was able to maintain his lead throughout the first lap over Locatelli.
Lowes also made a decent getaway but lost a position to the Italian in third, though he looked to be the fastest rider on the circuit by the end of the first lap.
Petrucci also made a fantastic start to the race from the back of the grid and progressed into the top 10 by the second lap of the race.
As Razgatlioglu began to make his mark on the rest of the field, championship rival Nicolo Bulega battled Ducati team-mate Alvaro Bautista for fourth, with the Italian coming out on top at the final corner.
Bulega immediately closed down the gap to Lowes and Locatelli in front as the Brit and the Italian fought for second place ahead.
Lowes made his move on Locatelli on Lap 5, which allowed the MarcVDS rider to escape down the road in his bid to track down Razgatlioglu at the front.
One lap later, Bulega made his move on his compatriot to take the final spot on the podium, as Locatelli was demoted to fourth.
Lowes had taken two tenths out of Razgatlioglu’s lead after moving into second place, but a mistake at Turn 2 saw him crash out of contention.
Following Lowes’ error, the battle for the final spot on the podium appeared to be between four different riders, as Bautista made an overtake on Locatelli.
The battles down the order continued, as Jonathan Rea, Vierge, Montella and Gerloff all fought for seventh position. The Spanish rider was the first to make his move past the six-time World Champion.
The riders in the third group managed to hold their position until Rea crashed out of eighth position. Although the Northern Irishman was able to rejoin, he crashed again at Turn 4 to end his race.
Further up the order, Bimota’s Lowes ran wide while trying to defend his fifth position from the fast-charging Petrucci, which allowed the Italian an easy opportunity to make his 16th overtake of the race.
At the front, Razgatlioglu crossed the line to seal his 70th WorldSBK victory by almost four seconds to extend his lead in the standings by another five points.
Bulega was able to close the gap to the Turkish rider but finished a distant second, while team-mate Bautista completed the podium in third.
Locatelli maintained fourth position, two seconds clear of Petrucci after a fantastic display from the back of the grid.
Lowes took the flag in sixth, as Montella came home in seventh after creating a gap to the group behind.
Vierge completed the race in eighth position, while Gerloff bested Axel Bassani to the line to round out the top 10.
Michael van der Mark fended off a late challenge from Dominique Aegerter to finish 11th, with Iannone completing a comeback ride in 13th after serving his double long lap penalty.
Tarran Mackenzie returned to the championship with MGM Bonovo after Scott Redding departed from the team, as the Scotsman sealed 14th position.
Bahattin Sofuoglu rounded out the points finishers in 15th.
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