WorldSBK Jerez Race 1 Results | Razgatlioglu bumps then beats Rea

Toprak Razgatlioglu has eked out his 2021 WorldSBK Championship lead out to six points with a satisfying - if physical - victory over Jonathan Rea in the first of two races at Jerez.

With Razgatlioglu protecting a meagre single point lead coming into the Spanish round - reduced to two races, minus the Superpole Race following Saturday’s cancellation - he and Rea resumed their increasingly boisterous head-to-head in a race of two halves.

However, despite contact mid-way through the race that almost sent both riders down, it was the Turk that would prevail in what could be a vital win as the series enters its closing stages.

Getting the perfect hole-shot from his first pole position of the season, Razgatlioglu led initially but a determined Rea would grab the lead before the opening lap was out with a pass into Turn 9.

However, Razgatlioglu stayed pinned to the rear of the Kawasaki in the ensuing laps, even if he did get too close with a ballsy but flawed late-braking attempt into Turn 5 on lap seven, the Yamaha clipping the back of the ZX-10RR to send them both wide.

Despite the wobble, Rea held onto the lead but couldn’t repel his rival at the start of Lap 14 when Razgatlioglu slid up the inside at Turn 1.

From here Razgatlioglu wouldn’t be pressured, bringing it home for his ninth win of the year, easing out his advantage over Rea to six points with only one more race to come after the Superpole Race was dropped in the wake of WorldSSP 300 rider Dean Berta Vinales’ death on Saturday.

Scott Redding launched a late assault on Andrea Locatelli to snatch the final podium position on the final lap of the race, even if he is now unlikely to be considered a title fighter behind Razgatlioglu and Rea.

Alvaro Bautista made impressive gains after a bad start to bring home a strong fifth place finish for Honda, ahead of arguable ‘rider of the race’ Loris Baz, who marked his return to WorldSBK on the Go Eleven Ducati with an excellent run to sixth position.

Another charging performance by Michael van der Mark saw the BMW rider rise from 13th to sixth at the flag, ahead of Motocorsa Ducati’s Axel Bassani, while Alex Lowes couldn’t make his front row start count after a bad getaway was followed by a wide moment on lap two when he was sucked out onto the dirt by Michael Ruben Rinaldi out-braking himself ahead.

Dropping him outside the top ten, Lowes recovered to ninth to finish ahead of Garrett Gerloff, while Leon Haslam - who ran fifth early on - series returnee Eugene Laverty, Kohta Nozane, Jonas Folger and Christophe Ponsson rounded out the points.

Of the retirements, Rinaldi was the most notable when he suffered a curious early crash coming into Turn 3 on Lap 5.

2021 WorldSBK Jerez | Race 1 RESULTS