Toprak Razgatlioglu made history this Saturday in Portimão. With his victory in the first race of the weekend, the ROKiT BMW rider equaled the record for consecutive wins in the World Superbike Championship.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) had a strong start, taking the lead ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) and Razgatlioglu. The Turkish rider moved up to second place on the second lap.
Petrucci didn’t give up, making two decisive overtakes under braking into turn one to take the lead with 16 laps remaining. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW) and Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Ducati) were not far behind. With 14 laps to go, Lowes was overtaken by the two M 1000 RRs.
🔄 IT'S @Petrux9 WHO LEADS NOW!@toprak_tr is down to P3 and @mickeyvdmark is right behind him👀💨#PortugueseWorldSBK 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/10zmmplH6A
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) August 10, 2024
A battle for the lead ensued between Petrucci and Razgatlioglu for several laps, but while Lowes lost momentum, van der Mark and Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) – who had been outside the top ten – fought for the podium contention in the latter half of the race.
After resisting for a long time, Petrucci lost the lead with eight laps remaining but stayed close to Razgatlioglu. However, the Italian was eventually overtaken by Bautista on lap 18 of 20.
👏🆙 @19Bautista another position gained by a Ducati man👏
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) August 10, 2024
What a determination!💥#PortugueseWorldSBK 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/VMDULrGKQb
Bautista tried to make a final push to catch Razgatlioglu, but the Turkish rider secured the win without any issues, finishing 0.780s ahead. Petrucci completed the podium, while Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) made a surprising recovery to finish in fourth. Lowes rounded out the top five.
