WorldSBK Argentina FP Results | Razgatlioglu rapid as Rea tumbles

WorldSBK Championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu got his bid to wrap up the 2021 title with a round to spare in Argentina as he set a fierce pace in free practice at San Juan Villicum, while Jonathan Rea suffered a fall.

The Turkish rider comes into the penultimate round with his first ‘match point’ to become the first rider other than Rea to win a WorldSBK title since Sylvain Guintoli claimed the crown in 2014.

While he faces a big ask to swell his lead from 24 points to 39 over Rea, he at least snatched the initiative in Friday free practice by going 0.3secs faster than his nearest rival on the Pata Yamaha.

Scott Redding got closest with a late surge up the order on the factory Ducati Panigale in FP2 to lead the charge against Razgatlioglu, followed closely by top Kawasaki rider Alex Lowes and the ex-MotoGP rider's Aruba.it team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Facing the prospect of ceding a WorldSBK crown he has held since his first year as a Kawasaki rider in 2015, Rea’s error-prone season suffered another set-back with a low side into the gravel trap and onto the sidelines, less than 15mins into FP2.

It means the Ulsterman has completed a relatively scant 21 laps, putting him on the back foot coming into the first of this weekend’s three races on Saturday.

Chaz Davies marked his return to WorldSBK action with a run to fifth on the Go Eleven Ducati. The Welshman has been out of action since Barcelona after breaking his ribs in an accident, skipping two events during which he announced he would retire at the end of the year.

Axel Bassani made it four Ducati riders inside the top six on the Motocorsa Panigale, ahead of Yamaha duo Andrea Locatelli and Garrett Gerloff, while Leon Haslam rounded out the top ten on the best of the Hondas.

Portimao race winner Michael van der Mark was the best placed BMW rider in 14th, while regular WorldSBk competitor Leandro Mercado was the highest placed of three local riders in 18th, with Pedercini stand-in debutants Marco Solozora and Luciano Ribodino two seconds off the back of the pack in 20th and 21st.

2021 WorldSBK Argentina | San Juan Villicum | Free Practice RESULTS