RoKiT BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu took an authoritative WorldSBK victory in Race 2 at Estoril to put one hand on the 2024 World Championship trophy.
Razgatlioglu won his 17th race of 2024 ahead of his closest championship challenger Nicolo Bulega which gave the Turkish rider a massive advantage going into the final round in Jerez.
Bulega got away cleanly from pole position, but his Ducati teammate Alvaro Bautista made the better start. He was promoted to the lead in Turn 1 after his third-place qualification.
The Yamaha pairing of Locatelli and Rea once again made fantastic starts, with Locatelli moving into second ahead of the championship-contending pair while Rea muscled his way past Razgatlioglu for fourth.
The title contenders forged through the field and used their straight-line speed advantage over the Yamahas as Bulega passed Locatelli, and Razgatlioglu cleared Rea.
Razgatlioglu was the fastest rider on track in the first four laps and used his pace advantage to pass his championship rival for second.
Bulega’s speed on the straights was enough to retake his second place momentarily. Still, the Turkish rider was immediately able to overtake to get onto the back wheel of the leader Bautista.
BMW clearly expressed frustration with Bautista’s speed out of the final corner, but the Turkish rider found a way through into Turn 6 and took the lead of the race.
Bautista’s pace appeared to drop off after losing his advantage out front, and the Spaniard found himself overtaken by Bulega for second place.
Locatelli was waiting in the wings for a mistake from the duelling factory, Ducatis, but crashed for the second time over the weekend to put to bed any chance of a good result for Yamaha.
Bulega had a massive moment out of Turn 6 as the Ducati’s rear kicked out, but he recovered and maintained second place, as Honda’s Iker Lecuona crashed out at the same corner just moments later.
Bautista continued to stalk his teammate around the Estoril circuit, but there was no opportunity for the Spanish rider to overtake as he remained comfortable in third.
Razgatlioglu took the chequered flag, 3.866s clear of Bulega in second, while Bautista rounded out the podium in third.
Rea secured an impressive fourth for Yamaha, ahead of a closely fought battle for fifth, which saw Michael van der Mark triumph ahead of HRC’s Xavi Vierge.
Danilo Petrucci took seventh, a position that clinched the Independent Riders’ title for Barni Spark Racing.
A trio of Italians closed out the top 10, with Andrea Iannone coming home in eighth, Michael Ruben Rinaldi in ninth, and Axel Bassani in tenth.
Scott Redding crossed the line in 11th, just 0.06s ahead of fellow countryman Alex Lowes in 12th.
Dominique Aegerter scored points in his return to action in 13th, in front of fellow Yamaha rider Bradley Ray in 14th, as home hero Ivo Lopes scored the final point in 15th.
