The Turkish rider climbs to the top again, conquering the Portimão circuit: not even Ducati can stop him.
Toprak Razgatlioglu lifts BMW with a perfect weekend. The Turkish rider wins all three races, but always chased by Bulega. Completing the podium is Álvaro Bautista, while Locatelli fails to take Yamaha past fourth place.
Race Summary:
THE START – Once again, Bulega gets a great start, taking the lead, followed by Razgatlioglu and Bautista. Petrucci faces a clutch issue: his Barni team bike stalls, and the Italian falls back to seventeenth, facing a race that needs to be fully rebuilt. On the other hand, Alex Lowes recovers seven positions at the start.
Another penalty for Andrea Iannone, following yesterday’s: this time, the cause is an early start, which forces him to serve a double long lap penalty. Vierge and Rabat crash, while a few laps later, O’Halloran also slides off, and Redding enters the pits due to a problem with the rear tire.
First twist: RED FLAG after 9 laps! The reason is due to the track’s safety barriers after a Yamaha tester’s crash. Since two-thirds of the race hadn’t been completed, it will resume with a regrid based on the positions at the time of the red flag.
THE 2ND START – A perfect restart for Locatelli, who climbs to second place from fourth, positioning himself between Bulega and Razgatlioglu. However, within two laps, the Turkish rider takes the lead, placing himself ahead of Bulega and Bautista. Alex Lowes crashes out: his race is over, and it’s a weekend to forget for him and Bimota.
As with the rest of the weekend at Portimão, the battle between Ducati and BMW continues, with a series of overtakes and counter-overtakes, making the race truly thrilling. Meanwhile, Iannone retires after failing to complete his penalty before the red flag, while Mackenzie and Gardner end up in the gravel.
Photo: Nicolò Bulega, Toprak Razgatlioglu
