WorldSBK Barcelona Race 2 Results | Rinaldi from Razgatlioglu as Rea flounders

Michael Ruben Rinaldi pulled off an unexpected victory in the final WorldSBK race of the weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as Toprak Razgatlioglu recovered the overall lead from a struggling Jonathan Rea.

As with the Superpole Race in the morning, the afternoon encounter was marred by a red flag period - thrown on lap two - following an accident involving Tom Sykes and Lucas Mahias, that has resulted in the 2012 WorldSBK Champion being hospitalised.

On the resumption of action it was pole man Razgatlioglu that got the better getaway to lead into the first turns, leaving Rea and Rinaldi to squabble over second position.

However, while the first two races of the weekend would see Rea and Razgatlioglu surge ahead to fight for victory, it was Rinaldi that would keep both honest and ensure the pendulum of his rival’s title fight kept swinging.

After dispatching Rea at the start of lap two, Rinaldi used the top speed benefits from his Ducati to his advantage to slipstream past Razgatlioglu for the lead coming into Turn 1 on Lap 4.

From here Rinaldi and Razgatlioglu began to move clear of a waning Rea in third place, the Ulsterman unable to keep up with the front pair and instead slipping into a busy chasing pack behind.

First tackled by the Yamaha of Andrea Locatelli, once the Italian worked his way through on lap 12 of 20, it kick-started a chain reaction that would see Scott Redding move past into fourth place, before Alvaro Bautista grabbed fifth into Turn 1, Rea - seemingly struggling with tyre wear - subsequently out-braking himself and running wide in his desperate attempts to hold onto position.

Indeed, with this being the only race of the weekend to run to full length in sunny conditions, there were disparate fortunes with tyre degradation up and down the order.

However, though it initially appeared as though Rinaldi would be next to struggle when Razgatlioglu slipped back through into the lead on lap 13 at Turn 4, when the Italian breezed by on the home straight the next time around, it was the Turk that would find himself in trouble.

With Razgatlioglu unable to maintain the tempo of his Ducati rival, Rinaldi was able to stretch clear for a surprise win, his third of the season to go with his double from Misano earlier in the year.

Despite fading quickly in the final laps, Razgatlioglu was able to get across the line in second place, just ahead of Redding, who together with Bautista in fourth had dispatched of Locatelli, leaving the Yamaha man in fifth place.

Seven seconds back, Rea could only manage sixth position, a result that sees him relinquish the lead of the standings once more to Razgatlioglu, though the pair remain finely poised with just a single point between them heading to Jerez next weekend.

Garrett Gerloff crossed the line in seventh place from Axel Bassani, Michael van der Mark and Kohta Nozane, the latter completing his most convincing event of his season in ninth place.

Overshadowed by Bautista on the lead Honda, Leon Haslam could only manage 11th with Samuele Cavalieri 12th on his return aboard the Barni Ducati. Christophe Ponsson, Leandro Mercado and Isaac Vinales completed the points’ paying positions.

As well as Sykes, Alex Lowes was another to retire during the initial start when he also crashed in the pack through a crowded Turn 1 on Lap 1, the Kawasaki man unhurt despite being struck by the Lachlan Epis on the Pedercini Kawasaki.

2021 WorldSBK Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | Race 2 RESULTS