WorldSBK championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu recovered a stunning 0.3s in the final sector of his final qualifying lap to take the Superpole at Estoril.
The Turkish rider produced a lap time of 1.52.430s on the wet track and will start on the front row alongside fellow interchangeable condition specialists Danilo Petrucci and Yamaha’s Jonathan Rea.
Petrucci was lapping fastest at the end before a marginal error in the third sector meant he missed the chance of claiming his first WorldSBK pole position by only 0.082s.
The wet weather at Estoril in the last few days played a pivotal role in the final classification in the Superpole. Despite the clear weather, some parts of the track were still wet with standing water, meaning the 15-minute session made the stakes even higher for the championship battle.
Given the mixed weather conditions, it was paramount that riders start setting lap times from the get-go. Alex Lowes was the first rider to crash a Turn 8 despite almost rescuing it at the last second.
The British rider returned to the pits to ensure the bike was safe to return on track, and he had enough time to string together a run.
Alvaro Bautista crashed out while lying in seventh place in the classification, but with the lap times improving by the minute, he wouldn’t stay there.
With three manufacturers in the top three positions, the factory Yamaha outfit made a stunning feature to occupy third and fourth, with Andrea Locatelli finishing behind his team-mate Rea.
Nicolo Bulega finished in fifth for Aruba.it Ducati, with Michael van der Mark and Sam Lowes finishing sixth and seventh respectively.
Tarran Mackenzie delivered a strong eighth position for Petronas Racing Honda, given the bike’s sheer lack of overall competitiveness which usually occupies the tail end of the grid.
The Kawasaki Racing Team duo of Lowes and Axel Bassani finished qualifying in ninth and tenth spots.
The second Aruba.it Ducati rider of Bautista was lucky to lose only four spots following his late crash in the session, meaning he will start the first race from 11th.
Recent first-time WorldSBK winner Andrea Iannone will start from 12th, ahead of the factory Honda duo of Xavi Vierge and iker Lecuona.
The departing Michael Ruben Rinaldi finished 15th place in the final classification.
