World Superbikes: Rea fights back with Portimao win as Razgatlioglu crashes out

Jonathan Rea capitalised on Toprak Razgatlioglu's second retirement of the season

The fight for the World Superbike Championship title took another twist in the second feature race in Portimao as Northern Ireland's Jonathan Rea won while Toprak Razgatlioglu crashed out.

Six-time champion Rea, 34, England's Scott Redding and title rival Razgatlioglu put on a thrilling race.

However Razgatlioglu crashed out with 10 laps to go, which allowed Kawasaki's Rea to win ahead of Redding's Ducati.

The Turkish rider's lead stands at 24 points, with Redding 30 further back.

It has been an eventful weekend for Rea, who saw his championship hopes hit by two uncharacteristic crashes in Portugal.

After being passed fit following a high-speed accident at 140mph on Saturday, Rea took the lead in Sunday's Superpole race but slid off on the first lap in damp conditions.

Despite Rea's retirement, Razgatlioglu struggled to sixth position for Yamaha but still extended his lead to 49 points, with Redding 74 behind his Turkish rival.

• Razgatlioglu wins in Portugal to extend series lead as Rea crashes out

With two rounds left after the final race in Portimao, Rea knew he had to attack and from 10th on the grid following his Superpole race crash, he immediately got into the top four before pulling a superb move on Razgatlioglu to take third by the end of lap one.

He then swiftly powered past the Yamaha of Andrea Locatelli and set after Redding before making another bold pass through the sweeping left-hand corner at turn 12.

Kawasaki's power disadvantage this season was evident when Redding and Razgatlioglu both flew past Rea down the main straight on the second lap.

However Razgatlioglu ran wide as he attempted to pass Redding, which allowed both his rivals through before Rea jumped past the Ducati to lead the pack once more.

Razgatlioglu breezed past Rea down the straight once more with 13 laps to go, but Rea, stronger in the corners, again made a move stick at turn 12.

Rea fought back after retiring from consecutive races for the first time since 2016

As Redding and Razgatlioglu scrapped behind for second, Rea set the fastest lap of the race to try and build up a cushion, and in a role reversal of the Northern Irishman's accident on Saturday, his rival crashed at turn 13 to give the championship another twist.

Replays suggested the front mudguard came off the Yamaha and caught the front wheel, which sent Razgatlioglu off the bike and into the gravel trap.

Rea was able to sprint clear of Redding to take a comfortable win, the 110th of his World Superbike career, and reignite his title challenge.

Loris Baz claimed his third podium of the weekend as he filled in for Welsh rider Chaz Davies despite a late incident with Honda Alvaro Bautista.

Locatelli was fourth ahead of Yamaha's Garret Gerloff and Superpole race winner Michael van der Mark. Ducati's Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Honda's Leon Haslam and Northern Ireland's Eugene Laverty rounded out the top nine.

This weekend's meeting at Portimao is the last round to be held in Europe, with trips to Argentina on 15-17 October and the new Mandalika circuit in Indonesia from 19-21 November to follow.

'We have the fight to keep going'

After his earlier disappointments, Rea was visibly emotional after his victory and celebrated with a tyre burnout on the run-off area where Razgatlioglu had 'swept up' with a broom following his victory 24 hours earlier.

"I have to thank the team, not just my team but every individual inside the box at KRT, they worked tirelessly between races to build my bike," the county Antrim man told Eurosport after his win.

"My team did everything for me this weekend and I threw it away by being impatient when I knew I had the rhythm, and again the wet conditions caught me out this morning.

"I'm happy to repay a bit of that back in the second race. I showed we have the pace, we have the fight and we can keep going.

"I enjoyed every minute of that race, step-by-step, doing my rhythm, and the last three of four laps I could take a step back and breathe in that victory.

"Thanks again to the Kawasaki Racing Team and all the fans for turning up, I love this support, and we will see you in Argentina in a few weeks."

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