Gordon Ritchie | August 11, 2024
WorldSBK Race Two
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) all made valiant attempts to prevent Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) from running away with the final evening race of the Portimao weekend.
In the final results, and even after losing one of his BMW’s large aero wings for the majority of the race, Razgatlioglu won his third race of the weekend to extend his championship lead – and his new record for successive race wins to 13.
Razgatlioglu had Bautista snapping at his heels until the Spaniard bit the dust and the Turk rode on his merry way.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) tried to run him down in the second half of the race but after Razgatlioglu ran a little wide on the left hand hairpin of T5 Bautista folded the front and crashed trying to to move up the inside. Bautista remounted to finish 19th, not scoring any points.
Bautista’s slip left the other official Ducati, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fighting with Razgatlioglu at the end. He would even lead, and close in on the very last corner, but after the final sweeping right Razgatlioglu won by a narrow 0.035 seconds.
Lowes would finish up third, 6.3 seconds back, for his second Sunday top-three.
The resurgent Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven Ducati) was a clear and almost lonely fourth.
Petrucci, Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) and van der Mark and battled it out from fifth to seventh, ending the race in that order.
Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), a strong Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) and Dominique Aegerter (GRT Yamaha) rounded out the top ten.
In the championship points, Toprak has 365, Bulega 273, Bautista 223 and Lowes 213.
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldSBK Race Two
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
|
| 2 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.035 |
| 3 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
+6.299 |
| 4 |
Andrea Iannone |
(Team GoEleven) |
+9.715 |
| 5 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+11.318 |
WorldSSP Race Two
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) took his second race win of the Portimao weekend after a tense early battle with the championship leader, Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati).
Montella’s job was made easier by the fact that Huertas fell at the inside hairpin, just one lap after another top rider, Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati) had done the same thing in the same spot.
Huertas would get back into action again to charge towards a final 12th place, scoring a few points to mitigate for his mistake.
Montella took some big chunks out of Huertas with his Portuguese efforts.
Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) won the battle of the top two Yamahas when he finished second, 3.5 seconds ahead of Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha).
Fourth was Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing MV Agusta) and fifth Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha). Glenn van Straalen (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was a close finisher behind Mahias, with Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) – originally – seventh and Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) eighth.
John McPhee (WRP-RT Motorsport by SKM-Triumph) was ninth in the final analysis and top Triumph rider, ahead of the another Triumph rider, Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph).
Schrötter was finally penalised to drop one position for an over-hard pass on McPhee, which promoted Öncü to seventh and demoted Schrötter to eighth.
In the championship Huertas has a reduced 20 point advantage over Montella, 260 to 240, with Manzi on 219.
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldSBK Race Two
| 1 |
Yari Montella |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
|
| 2 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Pata Prometeon Ten Kate Racing) |
+5.897s |
| 3 |
Valentin Debise |
(Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) |
+9.487s |
| 4 |
Federico Caricasulo |
(Motozoo ME AIR Racing) |
+12.436s |
| 5 |
Lucas Mahias |
(GMT94 Yamaha) |
+19.187s |
WorldSBK Superpole Race
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had some company early in the intense ten-lap Superpole Race at Portimao but he set a consistent pace that no-one else could finally match and went on to score a new record in WorldSBK.
No rider, not ever Rea or Bautista, had scored 12 race wins in succession, but Razgatlioglu managed it today as he left second placed Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) 2.980 seconds behind, and and third placed Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 3.251 seconds behind.
Razgatlioglu does his usual approach to parc ferme in the Superpole race.
Lowes had to work hard for his latest podium with an old Yamaha team-mate, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in a top three spot until Lowes re-asserted himself and held onto a podium finish by 0.021 seconds on the short drive to the finish line.
The factory Ducati pairing of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed fifth and sixth, finishing of the second place group chasing the latest hole in the air created by Razgatlioglu and his rapid BMW.
A very determined Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) placed seventh, although over eight seconds back.
Dominique Aegerter (GRT Yamaha), Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven Ducati) and a one-time-sixth-placed Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten.
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldSBK Superpole Race
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
|
| 2 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+2.980s |
| 3 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
+3.251s |
| 4 |
Michael van der Mark |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
|
| 5 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+3.563s |
WorldWCR Race Two
Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport) and Nicole van Aswegen (Andalaf Racing) collided on the first lap of the second race and a red flag stopped the race. Both those riders and lone faller Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) did not get back onto the grid for the restart.
An eventual seven lap race saw the usual Spanish quartet break free, with Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) out front and trying to ride away to the lead.
It was tighter than ever but Carrasco (22) came home with the race two win.
Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) led onto the final corners but was passed by Carrasco for the win and Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) for second place – by a very narrow margin of 0.025 seconds. Just off podium, Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was no threat to third placed Herrera, and 1.825 seconds from the win.
Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) was fifth, albeit 15 seconds from the winner, with Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) a finally lonely sixth.
Astrid Madrigal (ITALIKA Racing FIMLA) was seventh, just 0.2 seconds ahead of Ornella Ongaro (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team). Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) was ninth.
In the championship, after six races over three rounds, Herrera leads with 129 points, Carrasco has 122 and Sanchez has 108.
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldWCR Race Two
| 1 |
Ana Carrasco |
(Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) |
|
| 2 |
Sara Sanchez |
(511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) |
+0.025s |
| 3 |
Maria Herrera |
(Klint Forward Factory Team) |
+0.120s |
| 4 |
Beatriz Neila |
(Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) |
+1.825s |
| 5 |
Roberta Ponziani |
(Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) |
+15.837s |
WorldSBK Race One
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had to work hard for his 11th straight win in WorldSBK after starting from pole position, but he held a small advantage of 0.780 seconds over slow starter Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at the end of an very hot and tense 20 lap race.
Both riders made history in Race One, as Razgatlioglu equalled the record for successive wins and Bautista recorded his 100th podium finish in WorldSBK.
It was the first attempt at running a race so late in the afternoon in WorldSBK, with the 18.00 start still taking place under the backdrop of a bright sun.
Razgatlioglu had a fight on his hands but eventually pulled away for an 11th win.
With some engine issues in practice on day one, and having to use a harder front tyre than the other manufacturers, Razgatlioglu was content to let eventual fifth placed rider Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) lead for the first few laps.
The championship leader would end up hitting the front and then lifting his pace near the end to keep the rapidly closing Bautista behind him.
Bautista had been 12th on lap one, but he too had to work right to the end of the race to overtake the remarkable force of racing nature that is Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati).
He was in aggressive mood from the start, despite his still problematic right arm injury, and only dropped back close the end of all 20 laps. He ended up just 1.450 seconds from the winner, in third place, and easily the top privateer.
Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) had a superb ride by some recent standards to finish fourth, with Lowes just behind him.
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was riding in the leading group for much of the early stages and was right on Lowes’ tail at the end.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was seventh and a fast-starting Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team) eighth.
The GYTR GRT Yamaha duo of Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner completed the top 10.
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldSBK Race One
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
|
| 2 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.780s |
| 3 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+1.450s |
| 4 |
Garrett Gerloff |
(Bonovo Action BMW) |
+4.313s |
| 5 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
+4.690s |
WorldSSP Race One
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) enjoyed a start-to-finish victory in a hot opening WorldSPP race at Portimao. He set a new lap record of 1’43.246 on lap six to help make his escape from the chasing pack even more impressive.
Such was his early pace that even runaway championship leader Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati) could not get near Montella and the Spanish rider finished second, by over three seconds, after 17 laps.
Montella made it look easy for his first win since Phillip Island.
Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) won a tough final battle with another Ducati rider, Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati) to take third place.
Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing MV Agusta) was top MV competitor in fifth place, heading off Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) and Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in a loose trio of riders across the line.
Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) was eighth, Glenn van Straalen (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) ninth and the top ten was rounded out by Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Ducati).
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldSSP Race One
| 1 |
Yari Montella |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
|
| 2 |
Adrian Huertas |
(Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) |
+3.241s |
| 3 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) |
+10.598s |
| 4 |
Jorge Navarro |
(Orelac Racing VerdNatura) |
+12.169s |
| 5 |
Federico Caricasulo |
(Motozoo ME AIR Racing) |
+14.868s |
WorldWCR Race One
Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) was finally victorious in an overheated Race One to give her a winning record of four in five races so far in the inaugural season of WorldWCR.
In hot conditions she only just held off the attentions of Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) who had closed in on the final laps, after Herrera had won her early personal duel with Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team).
Herrera (6) just managed to grab the win over Sanchez (at rear).
Herrera crossed the line after the 11th and final lap just 0.060 seconds ahead of Sanchez.
Carrasco would finish third, with the final rider in the consistently leading Spanish quartet out front being Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha).
In this race the Spaniards would finally fill the top five places, although Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) would finish over 26 seconds from the winner, at the head of a small chasing pack.
Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) was seventh and Australian rider Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport) eighth. Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) crashed at T3 with another rider, and no scored.
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldWCR Race One
| 1 |
Maria Herrera |
(Klint Forward Factory Team) |
|
| 2 |
Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) |
+0.060s |
|
| 3 |
Ana Carrasco |
(Evan Bros. Racing Yamaha Team) |
+2.253s |
| 4 |
Beatriz Neila |
(Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) |
+2.262s |
| 5 |
Pakita Ruiz |
(PS Racing Team 46+1) |
+26.707s |
WorldSBK Superpole
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) saw off all comers in a Superpole Qualifying session with an unusual start time of 14.45, although he did not quite beat the existing Superpole record set in 2022.
Despite losing some track time on Friday in FP1, Alex Lowes (KRT) was only just over one tenth of a second behind Razgatlioglu, and thus moved up to a confident second place. Fastest man on Day One, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati), took the final position on the front row for Race One.
Factory Ducati rider Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed fourth in Superpole, with Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in fifth place after being towed around by his team-mate Razgatlioglu for a time.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was sixth, to take the final spot on the second row.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) was seventh and one place ahead of his team-mate, Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team).
Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was ninth and Dominique Aegerter (GRT Yamaha).
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldSBK Superpole
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
1:39.783s |
| 2 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
+0.104s |
| 3 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+0.188s |
| 4 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.344s |
| 5 |
Michael van der Mark |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
+0.463s |
Friday WorldSBK
A hot Friday at Portimao was the backdrop for an experimental race weekend schedule, with the day shifted forward to have FP1 kick off at 13.15 and FP2 start at 18.00.
On track, in the first day of the second half of the 12-round season, the fastest rider overall was Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati), who finished one place ahead of eventual faller Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
Danilo Petrucci took a welcome P1 in Portugal on Friday.
Third overall, but stuck in the pitbox for much of the final Friday session due to a second technical problem of the day, was Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ended up fourth fastest, with the top Yamaha rider proving to be Dominique Aegerter (GRT Yamaha)
In fifth place overall.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) slotted into sixth place, with Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) seventh.
The top ten was completed by Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), top Kawasaki rider Alex Lowes (KRT) and another late faller in FP2, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati).
The top Honda rider was Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) in 11th place.
2024 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Friday
| 1 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
1:40.681s |
| 2 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.023s |
| 3 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
+0.102s |
| 4 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.130s |
| 5 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) |
+0.140s |
Friday WorldSSP
Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati) took the Superpole qualifying ‘win’ at Portimao by setting a best lap time almost a quarter of a second faster than his most regular 2024 competitor, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati).
In third place the consistently fast four cylinder rider, Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) headed up the quickest of the three cylinder machines ridden by Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing MV Agusta).
Huertas took P1 yet again in Supersport.
Fifth place was earned by the rejuvenated Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati) and sixth by the lead Kawasaki of Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Öncü was just over one second slower than Huertas’ best time.
Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha), Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha), Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Ducati) completed the top ten in what was a hot Superpole session, with ambient temperatures of 34°C recorded. Due to a schedule change at this round, to allow for a twilight finish for the Superbike races on Saturday and Sunday, the WorldSSP Superpole session took place between 16.55 and 17.42 on Friday.
2024 Portuguese WorldSSP Results—Friday
| 1 |
Adrian Huertas |
(Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) |
1:43.352s |
| 2 |
Yari Montella |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+0.240s |
| 3 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) |
+0.739s |
| 4 |
Federico Caricasulo |
(Motozoo ME AIR Racing) |
+0.804s |
| 5 |
Jorge Navarro |
(Orelac Racing VerdNatura) |
+0.831s |
WorldWCR
Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) headed up Superpole Qualifying by 0.834 seconds on day one at Portimao, with Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) second fastest, despite not having recently tested at the complex Portimao circuit.
Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) placed third in the pre-race Superpole contest, but over a second from Herrera’s best lap.
Maria Herrera topped the Friday running in WorldWCR.
Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) joined the other main front runners in 2024 by qualifying fourth, with South African Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) fifth – until penalised with a three place grid drop in Race One for irresponsible riding.
Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) was sixth before the application of any penalties.
Australia’s Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport) was ninth and America’s Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) 15th.
Although some riders ran wide and onto the gravel, none of the 23 entrants crashed in the Superpole session.
2024 Portuguese WorldWCR Results—Friday
| 1 |
Maria Herrera |
(Klint Forward Factory Team) |
1:54.609 |
| 2 |
Ana Carrasco |
(Evan Bros. Racing Yamaha Team) |
+0.834s |
| 3 |
Sara Sanchez |
(511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) |
+1.031s |
| 4 |
Beatriz Neila |
(Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) |
+1.524s |
| 5 |
Jessica Howden |
(Team Trasimeno) |
+2.248s |
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