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/1504789
just as his fully wet tire options would have been if he didn't come into the pits. He had opted for wets and then came into the pits for slicks after eventual race winner Rea had passed him, and the rains really were not going to re-appear. Rea then set out to make himself uncatchable. Razgatlio - glu ate into Rea's lead, but in a vintage display of control and pace near the edge, Rea kept first Scott Redding's BMW, then Petrucci's Ducati behind him. As Razgatlioglu became the biggest threat, Rea's 13-second advantage was reduced to just over four at the flag. More than enough for an emotional win, with Razgatlioglu second. Petrucci was a podium-perch - er again, also on intermediates, of course, and more recent BMW good news was a fourth for Redding, who re-passed Locatelli and managed to hold the resur - gent Iker Lecuona (HRC) behind him across the line. The 10-lap Superpole race on Sunday was run in dry condi- tions, but again only after heavy overnight rain. The race was led off by Bas- sani, from Rea and Razgatlioglu, but another messy entry to the tight first chicane saw Baldas- sarri, Konig and Oettl all mixed up and falling, whereas Petrucci simply ran wide. Bautista could not get back into the orbit of the leading trio until very near the end, but almost inevitably Razgatlioglu would pass Bassani, and then Rea would follow as quickly as he could. Rea managed to get into the lead, into the second-to-last left- hander, but Razgatlioglu pushed him back soon after the won the 10-lap race by a deserved 1.203 seconds. Rea was second, and finally, Bautista's push after starting from the fifth row gave him a third place—and a front-row starting position for the final long race of the Most weekend. Race two was a solid gold man-to-man classic of passing and re-passing between Bautista and Razgatlioglu, until the Turk's rear tire blistered and then sud - denly deflated as he exited turn two. The crash looked strange, and the cause was only real- ized afterward. Pirelli made no attempt to hide the problem but was as perplexed as everybody else as to why it happened, even though Rea and Gardner would find blisters on their rears, just not terminal ones like Toprak's two different points of rear tire damage, then instant deflation. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Rac - ing – Ducati) had been passing Razgatlioglu every chance he got on the start/finish straight, only for Razgatlioglu to out-brake him into T1. He even did it around the outside once, which sounds impossible were it not witnessed by so many. But with Toprak suddenly out, Alvaro set a record 18th race win in a single sea - son, taking his own 50th career WorldSBK race win, as well. Rea looked on course for second place, but the charging Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) put himself second at the line, leaning on Rea in the final turn and thanking him afterward for not pushing him harder, or he would surely have fallen. It was Petrucci's first-ever runner-up spot in WorldSBK, and his third podium overall. With Rea thinking he was a safe third, he was almost surprised by early grass-tracker Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) who had been making VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P53 Winner Alvaro Bautista (left) and Razgatlioglu battle in race two before Razgatlioglu slid off the track.