Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1300774
vated than I was before the first podium in Barcelona. At Estoril, I had my best qualifying of the year, another podium, and then I had a second place in the Superpole Race, which is now my best finish. In race two though, I had a little crash and unfortunately I wasn't able to continue. That was a little bit frustrating, but sometimes it happens, and it doesn't make me any less happy, because we still finished the season in a strong way, for the most part. I can't wait for the next year. I am really confi- dent and I think we can do some good things." WorldSSP Both 2020 World Champion Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Evan Bos Yamaha) and the former World Champion who gave him the hardest time, Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), were having their final WorldSSP races at Estoril on Saturday and Sun- day, and each was to win one. They will both go to WorldSBK in 2021 and each needed a big send off. They each got one, of their own making. The first race on Saturday was not over the planned 18 laps, but a final 12, after a red flag incident stopped the first attempted outing. In the restart it took no time for Raf- faele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Mahias to tangle and see both play no further part. Locatelli rampaged his way to another win, although he was being dragged into the orbit of the progressing Philipp Ottl and the Kawasaki Puccetti machine. He would not quite get there and settled for second once he real- ized he would not, but had to play hardball all the way to make sure that Hannes Soomer (Kallio Rac- ing Yamaha) would finish behind him in third place. In the second race, resched- uled after TV clashes with the rescheduled MotoGP weekend, Mahias looked like a winner, but so did the other nine or so riders who were in a leading pack by half race distance. It was the best WorldSSP race of the season by miles and it was ever changing in its running order in dry condi- tions. There were 12 changes of lead across the 18 laps, as every- body had real motivation to make a big finish with a win. Only a late and truly classy push from Mahias saw his team- mate Ottl miss out, and some interference in the forces behind passing and re-passing, decided the result. Mahias won by 0.886 seconds, from Locatelli with De Rosa just two thousandths of a second from second place. Steven Odendaal was a whole second behind Mahias in fourth, Ottl placed fifth (and yes, third overall) and Isaac Vinales sixth. Even Vinales was just 1.6 sec- onds back from Mahias' win, which Lucas said felt almost as emotional as his championship win for Yamaha in 2017. Gordon Ritchie Saturday Race 1 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yam) 2. Chaz Davies (Duc) 3. Garrett Gerloff (Yam) 4. Jonathan Rea (Kaw) 5. Leon Haslam (Hon) Sunday Superpole 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yam) 2. Garrett Gerloff (Yam) 3. Mark van der Mark (Yam) 4. Chaz Davies (Duc) 5. Jonathan Rea (Kaw) Race 2 1. Chaz Davies (Duc) 2. Scott Reading (Duc) 3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yam) 4. Mark van der Mark (Yam) 5. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) IN THE WIND P44 American Garrett Gerloff had his best finish when he took second in Superpole.