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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1539926
Razgatlioglu's advantage over Bulega was cut to 36 points in Spain, when it had been 39 when we all arrived. WorldSSP One immediate effect of the new 800-rpm maximum rev drop for the Yamaha riders in the WorldSSP class was that the best Yamaha qualified "only" fifth in Superpole on Friday afternoon. Mattia Casadei (Motozoo ME Air Racing MV Agusta) took his first pole on his own merits, with a new track best of 1:52.257. Even more novelty arrived in the form of a first-time race win- ner, former MotoAmerica rider Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse Ducati), who battled hard with Can Oncu (Yamaha bLU cRU Evan Bros Racing) all through race one. There were over 20 overtakes out front, and this win was the first one for the Renzi Corse team as well. With Debise's Ducati able to stay with the R9s on the straights, the last-corner battle of wills with the tough Turkish youngster Oncu was won by the Frenchman after a near collision on the final fast lefts. As Debise stopped on the slowdown lap, many of his rivals bunched up around him to offer congratulations to the well- respected and highly dedicated rider, with 88 previous WorldSSP races under his belt. It was remi- niscent of when an even more established WorldSSP rider, Rafa- elle De Rosa, won his first race at Mandalika in 2021 and was also mobbed by his peers after so many podiums and no race wins until then. The first race podium was com- pleted by champion-elect Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), but Oncu's second place means that the championship fight will go to at least Estoril. Behind the podium plots there was another Ducati, the Feel Racing former official bike ridden by Philipp Oettl, with the top MV Agusta in fifth place thanks to Filippo Farioli. An even more closely con- tested second race on Sunday saw Oncu win, by just 0.027 of a second, from Manzi and Debise. Oettl was fourth, with all the top four being covered by 0.499 of a second at the flag. In the championship points, Manzi has 380 and Oncu 320. One of those two riders will be champion, with Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) back on 223 points. With two rounds to go, Estoril and Jerez, there are 100 points available for anyone who wins every race. It's not done yet, by a long way. Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Race One (Top 10) 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) 32:51.237 2. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) +0.030 3. Sam Lowes (Duc) +0.977 4. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) +4.114 5. Alex Lowes (bim) +6.485 6. Andrea Iannone (Duc) +7.427 7. Andrea Locatelli (Yam) +9.734 8. Axel Bassani (bim) +14.342 9. Xavi Vierge (Hon) +14.866 10. Michael van der Mark (BMW) +15.282 WorldSBK Superpole Race (Top 10) 1. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 18:09.560 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) +0.105 3. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) +0.703 4. Andrea Iannone (Duc) +1.593 5. Sam Lowes (Duc) +1.810 6. Alex Lowes (bim) +3.626 7. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) +3.677 8. Jonathan Rea (Yam) +5.138 9. Michael van der Mark (BMW) +7.115 10. Xavi Vierge (Hon) +7.288 WorldSBK Race Two (Top 10) 1. Nicolo Bulega (Duc) 32:42.828 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) +3.248 3. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) +4.973 4. Andrea Iannone (Duc) +12.904 5. Jonathan Rea (Yam) +13.521 6. Alex Lowes (bim) +16.102 7. Andrea Locatelli (Yam) +17.103 8. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) +18.802 9. Axel Bassani (bim) +19.575 10. Xavi Vierge (Hon) +23.297 WIND IN THE P52 Former Vision Wheel M4 Ecstar Suzuki MotoAmerica rider Valentin Debise (53) scored a wildly popular win in race one in WorldSSP. Can Oncu (tight behind Debise) won race two.