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/1507502
Without the problem, he felt he could have fought for the win. Up front, Toprak Razgatlioglu was going to be the winner in everyone's eyes, but soon-to-be- ex-official Ducati rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi was in a tough and determined mood, and he gave Razgatlioglu a very hard time. Near the end Razgatlioglu put more pressure on and Rinaldi had to settle for second place, 2.6 seconds down. Jonathan Rea (KRT) finished third after some tough fights with his teammate Alex Lowes, Gerloff and some others, as he had to start from the second row. Lowes would finally drop to eighth over the last two laps, giv - ing Gerloff an off-podium finish, but a strong fourth place and a starring role as the lead BMW. Danilo Petrucci took his Barni Spark Ducati to fifth, once more aggressive and effective and re- ally enjoying it all. In the 10-lap Superpole race on a sunny Sunday morning, a top-three fight instantly de- veloped among Razgatlioglu, Rinaldi and Bautista. With six laps to go, the number- one plate holder apparently out- braked himself into the hairpin and clipped the back of Rinaldi's machine, knocking him off and out just as Razgatlioglu had passed Rinaldi to retake the lead. The accident was deemed to be a racing incident, and no further action was taken. Bautista said that it was Razgatlioglu's overtake that caused Rinaldi to have to change course into the already commit- ted path of Bautista, who could not brake any harder than he was already. The Pata Yamaha team made an official appeal regarding the incident. Not allowed to com- plain about the incident itself, they appealed against the Stew- ards' decision not to sanction Bautista. The stewards did not agree and did not put any sanc- tions on Bautista after the race. Razgatlioglu's suddenly clear lead was enough to let him take the win, but Bautista recovered to take second after some more minor errors. Rea was third. WIND IN THE P62 Toprak Razgatlioglu was a double winner.