The Turkish driver, who had given way to Jonathan Rea during the various free practice sessions run in Portugal so far, ended up pulling out all the stops in qualifying to take pole position.
The Superbike qualifying session opened a new chapter in the merciless battle between Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Jonathan Rea this season. The latter did not deviate from his reputation as an uncompromising driver in Portimão, obtaining the best time so far this weekend at the end of each of the three free practice sessions.
On a circuit where he achieved the hat-trick last year, suffice to say that the Kawasaki rider intends to continue his momentum, especially since circumstances now demand it in the championship, the Northern Irishman accusing 20 points behind its Turkish rival.
Summary of the results of the 2020 edition:
| WSBK Superbike Portimão | August 2020 | October 2021 |
| FP1 | 1'42.103 Toprak Razgatlıoğlu | 1'41.542 Jonathan Rea |
| FP2 | 1'42.508 Loris Baz | 1'41.466 Jonathan Rea |
| FP3 | 1'41.658 Toprak Razgatlıoğlu | 1'40.553 Jonathan Rea |
| Super poles | 1'40.676 Jonathan Rea | 1'40.219 Toprak Razgatlıoğlu |
| Race 1 | Rea, Razgatlioglu, Van der Mark | |
| Warm up | 1'41.616 Toprak Razgatlıoğlu | |
| Superpole race | Rea, Razgatlıoğlu, Baz | |
| Race 2 | Rea, Redding, Van der Mark | |
| All time lap record | 1'40.676 Jonathan Rea |
Razga confirms its progress in FP3
But if Rea managed to pocket the best time during all of the free practice sessions, we cannot turn a blind eye to the constant progress of Razgatlıoğlu this weekend, the latter who started this eleventh round cautiously before passing the higher speed this morning by getting closer to the six-time World Champion in the hierarchy, just 46 thousandths precisely.
This heralded a very competitive qualifying session between the two strong men of the championship, who did not disappoint in the exercise. Rea also held the rope for a long time to return to pole position for the first time since Magny-Cours last month, but a final high-flying lap allowed Razgatlıoğlu to sign his second Superpole in a row after the one obtained in Jerez.
More records for @toprak_tr54 ????
⏱First time with back-to-back poles for a @yamaharacingcom rider since 2010: @calcrutchlow in Brno and Silverstone.
⏱New record set at Portimao: 1'40.219#PRTWorldSBK 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/DfxJWnByG4
- WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 2, 2021
Winning tactic at Yamaha
The Turk in fact used tactics to have the last word: He went to the garage of his teammate Andrea Locatelli to urge him to leave the pits with him at the time of his final flying lap, in order to hold a hare in front of him which would at the same time allow him to benefit from the aspiration and maximize his top speed.
A winning maneuver, and not just a little, the Yamaha rider relegating his Kawasaki counterpart to more than three tenths of a second. The first row of the grid is completed by a surprising Leon Haslam, who is ahead of Scott Redding, Michael van der Mark, as well as his HRC teammate, Álvaro Bautista.
Locatelli, who demonstrated impeccable team spirit during this Superpole, must be content with seventh place. The one who scored a double here last year in Supersport is ahead of Garrett Gerloff and Loris Baz on the third row, while the top 10 is completed by Michael Ruben Rinaldi. Finally, Christophe Ponsson will start this afternoon from 18th place on the grid.
Great effort from Haslam💪
The HRC rider sits 2nd with 5 minutes of Superpole left!#PRTWorldSBK 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/nVlYvVHuu4
- WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 2, 2021
