Gordon Ritchie | August 9, 2020
WorldSBK Race Two
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored his fifth win of the 2020 season in the long final race two, as he took all three Portimao race wins to add to his sprint race singles from Australia and Spain. It was his first triple-header whitewash since Losail last season.
Picture perfect for Jonathan Rea in Portugal. He’s now back in the title lead.
Rea leads the world championship for the first time this year, ending his weekend in Portugal four points up after arriving from Spain 24 points down.
Behind Rea, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) fought it out in sometimes vastly different lines on their very different four-cylinder motorcycles.
The early race was all about who could catch Rea, and the early answer was no-one, not even the fast starting and effective Redding, who held off VDM at the end.
The Ten Kate Yamaha joy of their first podium was short lived in race two as Loris Baz fell on lap two. Another potential podium rider, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was also to tip off, more slowly at the hairpin, and get going again to move back into the points.
With Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) a faller and then a retiree Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fourth,
A long fight between four other riders on Ducati and Honda machines provided entertainment in the off podium places – until Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) fell just after half race distance.
Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) finally placed fifth, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven Ducati) sixth, and top BMW rider was Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) seventh.
Razgatlioglu got back up to eighth, Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha) ninth and Leandro Mercado (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) tenth.
In the championship, Rea has 136, Redding 132, Razgatlioglu 103, Lowes an unchanged 91 and van der Mark 82.
2020 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
|
| 2 |
Scott Redding |
(Duc) |
+4.360 |
| 3 |
M. van der Mark |
(Yam) |
+4.453 |
| 4 |
Chaz Davies |
(Duc) |
+8.363 |
| 5 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Hon) |
+10.336 |
WorldSSP Race Two
Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) continued to show the dominant pace of man and the number 55 machine with his fifth straight win in the WorldSSP class, after another early lap fight with the only man in the championship who has come close to matching his level and consistency, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha).
Another race, another win for Andrea Locatelli. That’s five in a row.
Locatelli’s five race-winning start breaks new ground in this class, having never been done before.
With Cluzel second, Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing Yamaha) scored his first podium of the 2020 season in third, 5.5 seconds from the win.
Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Yamaha) moved forward to fourth, clearly ahead of a real scrap for fifth place between Kawasaki rookies Philipp Öttl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Yamaha men Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha)
and Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing Yamaha) – who finished in that order down to eighth.
Miquel Pons (H43 Team Nobby Yamaha) was ninth, and the top ten – in what was a full distance 17-lap contest today – was completed by another rookie rider Can Oncu (Turkish Racing Team Kawasaki).
In the championship points Locatelli has a perfect 125, Cluzel 90, early faller today Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 62 and Perolari 57.
2020 Portuguese WorldSSP Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Yam) |
|
| 2 |
Jules Cluzel |
(Yam) |
+2.889 |
| 3 |
Isaac Viñales |
(Yam) |
+5.517 |
| 4 |
Steven Odendaal |
(Yam) |
+9.547 |
| 5 |
Philipp Oettl |
(Kaw) |
+16.743 |
Superpole Race
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored his second win in Portimao in as many days, and his 11th Portuguese success all-in, with a front-running display that saw him finish almost three seconds ahead of his early lap shadow, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
Rea held of Razgatliogu for the Superpole win.
True success for the Ten Kate Yamaha team came with a deserved third place for Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) on his 2020 spec machine, after a strong start and determined push to stay head of the official Kawasaki of Alex Lowes.
Having to muscle his bike around the intense 4.952km long Portimao layout, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fifth and enters the final race of the weekend in a few hours time with just a single point lead over Rea.
The Superpole race top six was rounded out by Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), under pressure from Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven Ducati) eventually won a fight with Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) for eighth, with the ever-improving Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) tenth and one place up on the HRC Honda of Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda).
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had an early coming together, with Laverty a lap down and last and Davies retiring in the pits.
2020 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Superpole Race
| 1 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
|
| 2 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+2.946 |
| 3 |
Loris Baz |
(Yam) |
+4.748 |
| 4 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kaw) |
+6.605 |
| 5 |
Scott Redding |
(Duc) |
+6.605 |
WorldSSP Race One
Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) had a real fight with his previously consistently closest challenger Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) in the early laps of the much delayed WorldSSP race at Portimao, but once again triumphed in what is his rookie WorldSSP season.
Locatelli making it look oh so easy.
His four-from-four winning run is the best since Kenan Sofuoglu made a similar impact in 2017, but this was the first time it had been done at the start of a season.
Cluzel was gapped by Locatelli then started a fight back, but he was to fall by pushing so hard and restarted sixth, to finish in that position at the end.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took advantage of his fellow countryman Cluzel’s bad luck to finish second, fighting against the effects of the wind, which had changed direction and strength in the hour long delay to the race start. The medical helicopter had been taking the injured WorldSBK rider Sandro Cortese to hospital and further action could not get underway until it was back in the vicinity.
It looked like Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing Yamaha) was about to score his first 2020 podium today but a three-rider photo finish saw Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) third, Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) fourth and Vinales only fifth he was chased down across the line.
With Cluzel sixth, Jerez podium man Philipp Öttl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was seventh, with Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Yamaha), Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing Yamaha) and rookie rider Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) tenth. Race two tomorrow, before a mini-break in the recent season restart in Iberia.
2020 Portuguese WorldSSP Results—Race One
| 1 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Yam) |
|
| 2 |
Lucas Mahias |
(Kaw) |
+8.380 |
| 3 |
Raffaele de Rosa |
(MVA) |
+11.217 |
| 4 |
Corentin Perolari |
(Yam) |
+11.228 |
| 5 |
Isaac Viñales |
(Yam) |
+11.235 |
WorldSBK Race One
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored his 91st career race win during race one of the 2020 Portuguese WorldSBK round, and his first full distance win of the season, to close the gap on championship leader Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who was only seventh.
Easy peasy for Jonathan Rea on the number one Kawasaki in race one at Portimao.
Rea ran away with it from his pole position start, outpacing potential race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and easing away to win by over five seconds.
Toprak was second and after some great fights with the other top seven riders, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) made it two R1s on the podium in third, seven seconds from Rea.
Off the podium, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was a combative and then cool fourth, with privateer Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven Ducati) fifth and early race podium-bound Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) sixth.
Redding at first passed his rivals and then was in turn re-passed, with Baz, Redding, and then eighth-placed Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) all across the line in one loose grouping.
The top ten was completed by Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) some 14 seconds back from Rea, and the second BMW of Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Amerian Garrett Gerloff finished 14th on his GRT Yamaha.
In the points, with two more races tomorrow, Rea’s tenth race win at Portimao sees him now just eight points behind Redding at the top of the table.
2020 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—WorldSBK Race One
| 1 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
|
| 2 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+5.142 |
| 3 |
M. van der Mark |
(Yam) |
+7.029 |
| 4 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kaw) |
+9.851 |
| 5 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+10.705 |
Friday
First session fast man Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was over 0.4 seconds ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) as the 2020 Portuguese WorldSBK round got underway at a hot but not overheated Portimao after FP1 and FP2 sessions came to a close today. Razgatlioglu had to rely on his morning time for his class-leading pace.
Razgatlioglu was flying on the Yamaha.
Third overall – before FP3 and then Superpole qualifying on Saturday – was five times champion Jonathan Rea (KRT) just 0.035 behind Baz.
The top Ducati rider was Jerez surprise package, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven Ducati), in fourth place overall and one place ahead of Jerez double winner and new championship leader, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Ducati).
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) slotted in sixth, and early BMW pace-setter was Tom Sykes in seventh.
Again a relatively slow starter this weekend, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was eighth, pushing out top Fireblade rider Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) to ninth and second BMW rider Eugene Laverty to tenth. American Garrett Gerloff was 13th.
Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Ducati) rounded out the top 12.
WorldSBK Superpole and race one will take place tomorrow, with Superpole and then race two on Sunday 9th.
2020 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Friday Combined
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
1:42.103 |
| 2 |
Loris Baz |
(Yam) |
+0.405 |
| 3 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
+0.440 |
| 4 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+0.457 |
| 5 |
Scott Redding |
(Duc) |
+0.550 |
WorldSSP
So-far dominant WorldSSP rider Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) continued his strong early season form by topping the times after FP1 and FP2 in Portugal, easing out his consistently closest challenger so far, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) to second place by 0.068 seconds on combined times.
Locatelli is the form man right now in WorldSSP.
Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing Yamaha) tripled-down the Yamaha front-runners in third. The first non-R6 rider was Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), fourth fastest.
Raffaele De Rosa scored fifth place on his Reparto Corse MV Agusta F3. Over half a second from Locatelli. Another consistent top challenger behind the leading R6 rider, Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha), was sixth today.
Last year’s WorldSSP300 champion, Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGo) placed seventh, Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing Yamaha) eighth and Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Yamaha ninth. The top ten was rounded out by Jerez race one podium finisher and another rookie this year, Philipp Öttl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).
Superpole and race one take place tomorrow, Saturday 8th August.
2020 Portuguese WorldSSP Results—Friday Combined
| 1 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Yam) |
1:45.598 |
| 2 |
Jules Cluzel |
(Yam) |
+0.068 |
| 3 |
Isaac Viñales |
(Yam) |
+0.202 |
| 4 |
Lucas Mahias |
(Kaw) |
+0.464 |
| 5 |
Raffaele de Rosa |
(MVA) |
+0.550 |
