WorldSBK Estoril | Rea regains initiative with hard fought Superpole Race win

Jonathan Rea has re-established some of his advantage at the top of the 2021 WorldSBK Championship standings with a hard fought victory in the Superpole Race at Estoril.

The Ulsterman recovered from being shuffled down to third early on to pick his way to the front when Scott Redding ahead made a mistake before getting the better of leader Toprak Razgatlioglu at the half-way point in the ten lap race.

A chance for Rea to reassert himself after finishing behind both Redding and Razgatlioglu in race one, the Ulsterman was again left with work to do initially when - having avoided contact through a busy first turn - he was overtaken by Redding at Turn 4.

Then as the riders came round to start lap two, Razgatlioglu benefited from the ‘double bubble’ slipstream to scythe past, the Turk just getting it stopped in time to make the corner.

From here Redding set about trying to get the better of the Yamaha ahead but his race would come undone on lap four when he out-braked himself at Turn 4, allowing Rea into second and Garrett Gerloff into third. 

Releasing Rea onto the back of Razgatlioglu it marked the mirror of Saturday’s race when the Kawasaki rider repeatedly tried to out-brake the Turk, only to be rebuffed each time. On this occasion though Rea would get uit just right, though not before a Razgatlioglu and his skipping R1 attempted to hold the line around the outside.

Now in the lead, Rea could control the pace to the flag, easing home for his third win of the year from Razgatlioglu, with Redding completing the podium having gotten the better again of Gerloff with three laps remaining.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi rallied with the front runners early on but would settle for fifth, ahead of a recovering Alex Lowes on the second of the factory Kawasakis. 

Tom Sykes enjoyed a solid trouble-free race in seventh, ahead of BMW counterpart Eugene Laverty, while Chaz Davies squeezed into ninth position from 15th on the grid, a crucial result in that it means he can start in that place for Race 2, unlike those behind who revert to where they qualified.

2021 WorldSBK Estoril | Superpole Race Results