WorldSBK Estoril Race 1 Results | Bautista battles back to grab last gasp win

Alvaro Bautista has taken an extraordinary fourth WorldSBK win of the season in Estoril after completing a dramatic and unexpected comeback from a lap one error to snatch victory from Toprak Razgatlioglu in the sprint for the finish line.

In a race that barely featured the Spaniard until the closing stages, it appeared victory would instead go the way of either Razgatlioglu or Jonathan Rea, who spent two-thirds of the race engaged in a cat-and-mouse battle for the lead.

However, after swapping the lead on nine occasions - a couple of which were spurred on by mistakes under braking that invited the other through - the persistent battling ultimately allowed Bautista back into the fray from a margin of 2.4secs back at one stage, culminating in him out-dragging the Yamaha on the run to the chequered flag..

Indeed, the Ducati rider got a strong start from the front row but after out-braking himself into Turn 1, proceeded to get bottled up behind Andrea Locatelli for four laps, allowing Razgatlioglu and Rea to get away.

While neither leader helped themselves with errors, first when Rea clipped the back of the Yamaha ahead on lap three to drop back and then when Razgatlioglu got it wrong under braking on lap six to let him through again, Bautista even then never looked in the mix for victory.

However, with the short and technical Estoril circuit showing itself to be easier to follow a rider than lead one, Rea and Razgatlioglu’s persistent swing of momentum would ultimately allow Bautista to close again..

Perhaps the most pivotal moment came with six laps to go when Rea got his braking wrong into Turn 1, allowing Bautista through and immediately on the hunt to catch Razgatlioglu.

Though the Turk played a strong rear guard action against the advancing Spaniard, it wouldn’t matter as they entered the home straight for the final time, the diminutive Bautista close enough to use the Ducati’s power-to-weight advantage to surge past his rival on the run to the finish line, much to Razgatlioglu’s chagrin.

The win - both the manner of it at the end and the circumstances leading up to the finish - will be of major concern to Razgatlioglu and Rea, not least because it sees Bautista unexpectedly swell his championship advantage to 27 points.

Behind Razgatlioglu, Rea ended up a fairly distant third on the Kawasaki, well clear of Locatelli on the second of the Pata Yamahas in fourth position, some 17secs behind.

Xavi Vierge enjoyed a strong Race 1 to lead a Honda 5-6 over team-mate Iker Lecuona, the pair having eventually gotten the better of Scott Redding, the Briton battling hard on the special yellow-livered BMW M 1000 RR early on following run to fourth on the grid, but ultimately fading to eighth behind also Alex Lowes.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi ran wide at the start before recovering to a lowly ninth, while Loris Baz completed the top ten. 

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Estoril, Portugal | Race 1 RESULTS