Razgatlioglu continues record Superbikes streak
Toprak Razgatlioglu set a record for the most consecutive World Superbike race wins as he clinches two more victories in Portugal.
Toprak Razgatlioglu set a record for the most consecutive World Superbike race wins as he clinched two more victories in Portugal to extend his unbeaten run to 13.
The Turkish rider, 27, broke the existing record when he took Superpole victory in Sunday’s opening race in Portimao.
For good measure, Razgatlioglu then won Race Two at the Algarve circuit to increase his World Championship advantage to 92 points after Alvaro Bautista crashed with four laps remaining as he was battling for the lead with the BMW rider.
Razgatlioglu had also to hold off a late challenge from Nicolo Bulega before taking a narrow victory as Great Britain’s Alex Lowes secured his second third-place finish of the day.
Bautista, in 2019 and last year, and Northern Ireland’s six-times champion Jonathan Rea in 2018, had previously secured 11 straight World Superbike race wins.
Razgatlioglu dominates Superpole race
In the Superpole Race, Razgatlioglu produced another dominant ride on his BMW to finish nearly three seconds clear of Danilo Petrucci, with Lowes completing the podium positions.
Michael van der Mark, Bulega and Bautista completed the top six with Rea finishing in 10th place.
In Race Two, Lowes and Van der Mark had stints in the lead before the Turkish rider moved ahead by lap six.
A charging Bautista moved ahead of Lowes into second spot on lap eight but Razgatlioglu still had a comfortable looking 1.394 second advantage by half distance.
However, the defending champion steadily chipped away at Razgatlioglu’s advantage and briefly moved into the lead with four laps remaining only to almost immediately slide off after the runaway championship pacesetter had regained a narrow advantage.
As Bulega and Lowes took the other podium positions, Andrea Iannone, Petrucci and Rea completed the top six.
Razgatlioglu’s 92-point advantage over Bulega in the series makes him a huge favourite to regain the title he won in 2021.
Bautista’s latest mishap leaves him 132 points behind, with Lowes a further 10 adrift and six-time champion Rea in 10th spot some 279 points off the pace.
