Under sunny skies in Estoril, the Superpole race proved to be an intense 10-lap battle, with Toprak Razgatlioglu once again showing his speed after his victory in Race 1. The Turkish BMW driver got off to a flying start, but his dominance was soon tested by Danilo Petrucci, Jonathan Rea and Andrea Locatelli, who were determined to shake him up.
Alvaro Bautista et Iker Lecuona, two of the Spaniards in the running, encountered more difficulties. Baptist struggled with the Ducati to improve on his 11th starting position, while lecuona, who had shone the day before with a podium, lost a few places. Xavi Virgo, on the other hand, has made good progress on the other Honda, getting into the leading group to fight with Open up for 5th place.
In the first rounds, Razgatlioglu seemed in control, playing with his opponents before increasing the pace from the third round to widen the gap. But that was without counting on Open up, the only one able to keep up with the pilot's pace BMW. In a fierce duel until the finish line, the Italian finally managed to beat Razgatlioglu narrowly, taking advantage of the slipstream to cross the line first.
Bulega still resists Razgatlioglu for title win
For its part, Baptist capitalized on the previous day's fall, finding a good rhythm and gaining places to finally climb onto the podium in third position, overtaking Locatelli with two laps to go. Locatelli had to settle for 4th place, while Petrucci secured a solid 5th place by resisting the attacks ofalex lowes.
The race was tough for Jonathan Rhea, who saw his hopes dashed after a fall while battling with Virgin for 7th place. This allowed Virgin to gain some respite, leaving his teammate lecuona finish in 8th place.
Razgatlioglu remains at the top of the general classification with 448 points, maintaining a lead of 41 points on Bulega. The suspense is at its peak as the championship approaches its conclusion, but Razgatlioglu maintains a solid position in the title race in WSBK.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) can claim the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship title in Race 2 at Circuito Estoril. “El Turco” leads his rival Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) by 41 points and should leave the Estoril round with a 62-point lead over the Ducati rider to secure the crown this Sunday.
Razgatlioglu will be crowned Champion in Race 2 if he wins the race and Open up finished 12th or lower.
WSBK Superbike Estoril, Superpole Race: standings