Portimao WorldSBK FP2 Results: Toprak Razgatlioglu smokes the chasing pack

Toprak Razgatlioglu dominates WorldSBK FP2 in Portimao as Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista complete the top three. 

After a small delay due to red flags being shown in the preceding WorldSSP300 FP2 session, WorldSBK FP2 got underway with Alex Lowes setting the fastest time. 

Iker Lecuona then went quicker than the Kawasaki rider after setting a time of 1:41.524s, which was his best lap of the weekend to that point while also enough to hold off Rea who jumped in second spot. 

Seemingly running into trouble aboard his R1, Razgatlioglu made a quick return to pit lane as Rea went a tenth quicker than Lecuona. 

Like Razgatlioglu in FP1, Rea was managing to keep hold on P1 despite being slower in the final sector compared to Lecuona and series leader Bautista. 

The Aruba.it Ducati rider, who was beginning to look more and more menacing after a slow start to FP1, then went quicker than Rea by over two tenths, as Lecuona closed in on the six-time world champion for second. 

Marvin Fritz suffered a fast crash at the final corner but was unhurt as he got back to his feet immediately.

With his front brake issues sorted, Razgatlioglu stamped his authority on the Portimao circuit as he went half a second clear of Bautista with  his first flying lap.

Despite his stunning time of 1:40.720s, Razgatlioglu was again less than impressed with his Pata Yamaha machine as he returned to pit lane once again.

Out of pit lane for his third stint, Razgatlioglu was off the pace compared to the time he set earlier, instead focusing on race pace. 

As Razgatlioglu and Rea exchanged positions during the final few minutes, the pair began to ramp up the pace as they both went red in the first sector before both lost time as the lap went on and therefore failed to improve. 

Portimao WorldSBK Records: 

Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha 1:40.219s

2021 Portimao Winners:

Race 1: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha

Superpole Race: Michael Van Der Mark NED BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

Race 2: Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team

FP1 saw Michael Ruben Rinaldi take top spot from Garrett Gerloff as title contenders Razgatlioglu, Rea and Bautista rounded out the top five.

There was just one crasher during the morning session as Puccetti Kawasaki rider Lucas Mahias went down at turn three. 

Portimao Weekend Schedule:

Friday 

Free Practice 1: 10:30-11:15

Free Practice 2: 15:00-15:45

Saturday

Free Practice 3: 09:00-09:30

Superpole: 11:10-11:25

Race 1: 14:00

Sunday 

Warm-up: 09:00-09:15

Superpole Race: 11:00

Race 2: 14:00