Gordon Ritchie | October 9, 2022
Sunday
WorldSBK Race Two
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) broke the seeming total domination of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx) at the Algarve circuit by winning Race Two at Portimao.
Eventual third-place rider Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the early leader and tried to slow the pace to conserve his tyres. His rivals soon took advantage and passed him, taking turns to lead until Bautista took a final P1 on lap 15 of 20.
He would beat Razgatligolu across the line by over two seconds.
Bautista edged out a few more championship points with the race two win.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had too much on the straights for Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team), with the Ducati rider fourth and Lowes fifth.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was a sixth, once again riding a lonely race.
Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) placed seventh, almost a second a lap slower than Bautista, with Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) eighth.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) recovered from a painful-looking Superpole Race crash for ninth, with his 2023 team-mate Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) tenth.
Jake Gagne (Attack Performance Yamaha) scored a point for 15th in Race Two.
In the championship Bautista has 448 points, Razgatlioglu 392, Rea has 366 and Rinaldi 232.
2022 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
|
| 2 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+ 2.256s |
| 3 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
+ 4.758s |
| 4 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+ 7.833s |
| 5 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kaw) |
+ 8.406s |
WorldSSP Race Two
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) won again in WorldSSP but it was a very late and close run thing in a race with every single manufacturer represented at the sharp end of the results, after some very blunt and direct racing at the front.
A huge early group slowly lost riders to falls and incidents, but it was a three-rider contact into Turn One on lap 13 that saw the biggest change in the final finishing order.
Saturday race winner Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) and the luckless Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) were all involved, with Mazi and Tuuli eventually out and Baldassarri given a long lap penalty for causing the fall in the first place.
Dominique Aegerter came good for the race two win.
At the end of 17 breathless laps Aegerter had survived the many passes and problems to win by just over half a second, with Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) coming from a likely fourth to a remarkable second.
Saturday struggler Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) ended up third after a strong late challenge, displacing frequent leader Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) to fourth place.
WorldSSP Challenge champion Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) was fifth, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was sixth.
Baldassarri recovered from his penalty to secure seventh place, Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) was eighth, Isaac Vinales (D34G Racing Ducati) ninth and Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati) tenth.
In the championship points, Aegerter has 374, Baldassarri 329, Öncü 194 and Bulega 177. Next round, Argentina, October 22-23.
2022 Portuguese WorldSSP Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(Yam) |
|
| 2 |
Raffaele De Rosa |
(Duc) |
+ 0.501s |
| 3 |
Can Oncu |
(Kaw) |
+ 0.625s |
| 4 |
Federico Caricasulo |
(Duc) |
+ 0.630s |
| 5 |
Bahattin Sofuoglu |
(MV) |
+ 2.153s |
WorldSBK Superpole Race
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) made it two-from-two with his win in the WorldSBK Superpole race at Portimao, hitting the front early and keeping the late pressure of second-placed Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) just behind.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was able to hang onto the front two, from pole position, for a time but he had to settle for third place, 1.4 seconds behind the winner. He had set a new lap record 1’40.135 in his desire to end his winning drought, but yet another bronze podium step was his final reward.
Razgatlioglu held off Bautista for the Superpole race win.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was very close behind his team-mate across the finish line in another fast and consistent ride since changing some aspects of his set-up in the summer tests.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fifth, but almost four seconds from Razgatlioglu. Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) was sixth, edging out Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in a close fight.
Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) proved he is getting fitter and more race-ready every time out by securing eighth place, at the had of a five rider group clumped loosly across the line.
Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) and Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) completed the top ten.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) fell and seemingly injured his wrist, while his fellow American Jake Gagne (Attack Yamaha) was 16th, just missing out on a championship point.
2022 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Superpole Race
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
|
| 2 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
+ 0.123s |
| 3 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
+ 1.434s |
| 4 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kaw) |
+ 1.976s |
| 5 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+ 3.965s |
Saturday
WorldSBK Race One
A shortened 14-lap WorldSBK Race One at Portimao was delayed in starting due the medical helicopter being off-site.
Once the racing got underway pole man Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) pulled out a small but immediate lead over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with the two top riders exchanging new lap records ahead of the hard-chasing Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) and Alex Lowes (KRT).
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) went fourth with nine laps to go, as Lowes dropped off the leading pace, although ending up in a fight with Bassani towards the end of a frantic 14 laps.
Razgatlioglu took the race one win.
A big inside pass into Turn One from Razgatlioglu saw him take the lead from Rea before half race distance, and then motor away at an unstoppable pace. His 1’40.328 on lap three is the new lap record in WorldSBK.
Bautista needed two proper goes at passing Rea, as he ran wide into Turn One in his first attempt. Once he was past, Rea could not get back into position to mount a counter-attack given the obvious disparity in each machine’s corner exit and straightline performance.
Bautista closed in on the lead but Razgatlioglu was the winner by 0.657 seconds, with Rea third, just over three seconds from the win.
Bassani was fourth, resisting the resurgence of Lowes, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) a lonely sixth.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was a similarly lonesome seventh.
Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) won a three way fight for eighth place, with Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) ninth and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) tenth.
Jake Gagne (Attack Yamaha ) was 19th.
2022 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Race One
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
|
| 2 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
+ 0.657s |
| 3 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
+ 3.032s |
| 4 |
Axel Bassani |
(Duc) |
+ 4.471s |
| 5 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kaw) |
+ 4.562s |
WorldSSP Race One
A little bit of motorsport history was made in Portugal when Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) gave the famous British marque its first ever WorldSSP race victory, after 12 laps of pure intensity after a long delay to the start of the opening race.
An earlier accident in the first attempted running of the WorldSSP300 race saw top competitor Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) airlifted to hospital with polytrauma and head injuries. With the mandatory helicopter no longer trackside there were delays and shortened Saturday races in each class.
Stefano Manzi created a slice of Triumph history with the race one win.
Once the WorldSSP Race got underway there was a larger leading group, which would finally be headed home by Manzi and his converted naked streetbike. Not only was this his and Triumph’s first race win in this category but Triumph became the first manufacturer in the ‘Next Generation class to win against the massed ranks of Yamaha R6s (and a few Kawasaki ZX-6R).
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was second, and Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) third.
Dominant championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was, realtively speaking, beaten up a bit in this race and finished fourth.
Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) kept the Next Generation joy going in fifth place on his big-bore MV Triple, as did Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) on another Ducati in sixth place.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was seventh and Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS).
Top Kawasaki rider was Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in ninth and Isaac Vinales (D34G Ducati V2) placed tenth.
Non-qualifier Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati) was allowed to race but started from the very back of the 32-rider grid, finishing 15th.
2022 Portuguese WorldSSP Results—Race One
| 1 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Tri) |
|
| 2 |
Lorenzo Baldassarri |
(Yam) |
+ 0.011s |
| 3 |
Federico Caricasulo |
(Duc) |
+ 0.128s |
| 4 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(Yam) |
+ 0.181s |
| 5 |
Niki Tuuli |
(MV) |
+ 1.732s |
WorldSBK Superpole
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) took his 40th career Superpole win, and the fifth of the year thanks to a stunning 1’39.610 lap time that aced even the biggest pre-race star to that point, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
There were no special SCQ qualifying tires at this round, making the increase in pace compared to previous seasons all the more impressive.
Toprak was first into the 1:39s in Superpole (having already beaten the old track best in FP3 on a standard SC0 tire) but Rea would summon up the pace to finally move ahead with just a few seconds of the Superpole session left to run.
Jonathan Rea stuck it on the Superpole for Kawasaki.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the only other rider to dip into the 1’39s in Superpole, taking third spot on the grid.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was fourth on the other factory Yamaha, while Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was fifth fastest, and the top Independent rider.
Factory rider Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) was sixth, 0.7 seconds from Rea’s stopwatch masterclass, with the top ten rounded out by Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda).
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) suffered a dramatic technical failure in the morning FP3 season, and finished Superpole 11th, one place up on Philipp Oëttl.
Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing. WorldSBK Team) was a surprise 13th and the last one into the top half of the field that contained 26 riders. Wildcard rider and recent double MotoAmerica champion Jake Gagne (Attack Yamaha), was 16th in Superpole. 1.5 seconds from Rea.
2022 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Superpole
| 1 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
1:39.610s |
| 2 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+ 0.162s |
| 3 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kaw) |
+ 0.249s |
| 4 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
+ 0.336s |
| 5 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Yam) |
+ 0.390s |
Friday
WorldSBK
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the quickest rider after the first two free practice sessions at a sunny Portimao, thanks to a 1.40.720 set in the afternoon session.
The first session this morning put Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) second quickest overall.
Top Independent was Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), with his Catalunya mojo crossing the border into Portugal on day one to see him third best overall.
P1 for number one Razgatlioglu on Friday.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was fourth overall and the clear championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fifth best.
Another step forward for Honda gave Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) a top six confidence booster, with Alex Lowes (KRT) still searching for his final race set-up in seventh place.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) pushed himself to eighth best time thansk to his FP1 pace.
Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) was ninth and a late push from Philipp Öttl (Team GoEleven Ducati) saw him tenth.
2022 Portuguese WorldSBK Results—Friday
| 1 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
1:40.720s |
| 2 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+ 0.245s |
| 3 |
Garrett Gerloff |
(Yam) + 0.362s |
|
| 4 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
+ 0.476s |
| 5 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
+ 0.476s |
WorldSSP
Despite the influx of new kinds of WorldSSP machinery in 2022 – the ‘Next Generation’ as they are called – it has still ben a bit of a Yamaha benefiot at the very front this year.
Early days at Portimao, but after two free practice sessions the WorldSSP timesheets were topped by Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) and then Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS).
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was third on his R6 and the machinery variety continued with Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) foiurth fastest on the V2 Ducati.
Niki Tuuli came good for MV in Supersport.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was fifth, Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) sixth and soon-to-be-retired Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) seventh.
A tough day for the Kawasaki riders saw Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) only eighth, despite having been on two Catalunya podiums recently.
Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati) placed ninth and Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Yamaha) tenth.
2022 Portuguese WorldSSP Results—Friday
| 1 |
Niki Tuuli |
(MV) |
1:44.260s |
| 2 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Tri) |
+ 0.070s |
| 3 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(Yam) |
+ 0.104s |
| 4 |
Raffaele De Rosa |
(Duc) |
+ 0.211s |
| 5 |
Lorenzo Baldassarri |
(Yam) |
+ 0.250 |
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