WorldSBK Argentina Race 1 Results | Razgatlioglu inches closer to title with win

Toprak Razgatlioglu has taken another step towards the 2021 WorldSBK Championship title with a commanding victory in the opening race of the San Juan Villicum weekend in Argentina.

The Turkish rider comes into the weekend with his first ‘match point’ in that he can become the first rider other than Jonathan Rea to win a WorldSBK title since Sylvain Guintoli back in 2014, though faces a challenge to end the weekend with the 62 point cushion he’d need to be crowned with a round to spare.

Nevertheless, victory in Race 1 moved things in the right direction, Razgatlioglu getting the jump on pole sitter Scott Redding on the run to Turn 1 before stretching clear to secure his 13th win of the year by more than five seconds.

Redding might have posed a more convincing threat than Rea but his race was hampered with a low side coming round the first corner, the Briton’s wide sweep to defend from his Kawasaki rival instead resulting in the Ducati folding beneath him.

Though it cleared the way for Rea - running a stunning new livery that pays homage to Scott Russell’s 1993 WorldSBK Championship winning Kawasaki ZXR-750 - he couldn’t maintain his title rival’s pace, leaving him second at the flag and now 29 points shy in the title race.

With Redding reduced to fighting back from the tail of the field after remounting, Michael Ruben Rinaldi spared Ducati’s blushes with a strong rise through the pack for third having started ninth, followed by Alex Lowes on his own alternatively liveried ZX-10RR, this time the maroon and black hues of the GPZ900R made famous in the original Top Gun film.

Axel Bassani consolidated his career-best third on the grid with a spirited challenge for the podium before landing his fourth top six result in nine races, while Michael van der Mark rounded out the top six on the highest-placed BMW M 1000 RR.

With the chasing pack stretched out by the flag, Garrett Gerloff crossed the line in seventh, with Andrea Locatelli slipping down to eighth as the race progressed.

Redding produced a fine fight back to claw his way up to ninth position, the ex-MotoGP rider getting a second chance at a victory challenge from pole position in the Superpole Race on Sunday. 

Leon Haslam completed the top ten, denying Tito Rabat the position after a step forward on the Puccetti Kawasaki.

Only two riders failed with finish; Alvaro Bautista crashed at the start of lap two, while Isaac Vinales ran off track before retiring in the pit-lane.

2021 WorldSBK Argentina | San Juan Villicum | Race 1 RESULTS