Superbikes | Round Estoril, Race1: You are champion Rea!

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) only needs a fourth place to reconfirm himself as Superbike World Champion for the sixth consecutive time: at Estoril the "Cannibal" writes another extraordinary page in the history of motorcycling.

We probably ran out of words to describe this legendary champion two world championships ago: Rea won the world championship crown at the end of a strange, very difficult season, with many unknowns at the start and, perhaps for the first time, a truly tough opponent like Scott. Redding.
The Northern Irishman had the great merit of never losing his composure, even when things weren't going well, maintaining a clarity and concentration which, combined with an always exceptional bike and his crystal-clear talent, allowed him to close the gap before with Redding and then to give the decisive push to the title.
When it comes to racing, Rea never holds back: he wanted the title and he got it. Nobody gave him anything, luck had nothing to do with it: Rea won without any ifs or buts.

To seal an already memorable weekend, Rea only needs to celebrate his 100th victory in WSBK, given that Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) crossed the finish line first in the Estoril Pirelli Round at the Circuito Estoril, while Scott Redding ( ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) is forced to withdraw due to a technical problem.
Razgatlioglu started well from pole position and kept first position as best he could to go on to win his second race of the season after the one he won at the beginning of the year in the Australian Round. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and the American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) also get on the podium with him, putting Rea behind him.
Rea crashes in the Tissot Superpole and starts from 15th place. During the first lap he gained eight positions before also overtaking his teammate Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team).
Thanks to an overtaking on Gerloff he moved into second place. However, the American responds after a few laps, then Davies overtakes Rea. The Northern Irishman and the Stars and Stripes driver gave life to a beautiful duel for the last step of the podium; Razgatlioglu and Davies extend their lead while Gerloff clears Rea and takes the second podium of his career.
Rea finished fourth with a nice margin over Leon Haslam (Team HRC) who battled with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC); the Spaniard crashes while he is in fifth position. Lowes finishes sixth.
The new official Ducati rider for 2021 Ducati Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) finishes seventh ahead of Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and the Frenchman Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) closes the top ten and places Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) behind. The German wildcard therefore scores some good points and precedes Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) by ten seconds.
The Argentinian Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) is 13th ahead of Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) and his teammate Eric Granado; the Brazilian therefore enters the points in his first WorldSBK appearance of the season. 16th place for Sheridan Morais (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) ahead of Alvaro Bautista and Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR).
Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) crashed in the second part of the race while van der Mark slipped while fighting for the podium. Redding was the victim of a technical problem on the sixth lap and thus gave Rea the chance to become world champion for the sixth time. Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) does not reach the checkered flag.

Below are the top six from Game 1:

1.) Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team)
2.) Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +3.039
3.) Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) +4.220
4.) Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +9.645
5.) Leon Haslam (Team HRC) +15.732
6.) Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +15.926