WorldSBK Estoril Superpole Results | Rea pips Razgatlioglu as Redding impresses

Jonathan Rea will start Round 3 of the 2022 WorldSBK Championship from pole position after getting the better of pre-Superpole favourite Toprak Razgatlioglu in Estoril.

After topping FP2 and FP3, Razgatlioglu was expected to extend his run of WorldSBK Superpoles to four events in a row around a Portuguese venue that has suited his Yamaha package in the past.

Instead, Rea was on hand to cause a small upset in ideal but oppressive warm and muggy weather conditions, twice setting a benchmark Razgatlioglu was unable to quite reach as he settled for second on the grid.

Perhaps of more note was championship leader Bautista qualifying a distant third on the Aruba.it Ducati Panigale V4 R, the Spaniard some six tenths shy of his title rivals ahead of a first race in which he will be protecting an 18 point lead.

Heading up the second row, Scott Redding produced arguably the feel-good story of the session with a much improved result on the BMW in fourth, the Briton only 0.022secs shy of getting on the front row.

Andrea Locatelli and Michael Ruben Rinaldi join him on the second row, nudging out Honda Iker Lecuona, who nonetheless gave a good account of himself once more with a run to seventh on the grid.

Alex Lowes was eighth best, while Eugene Laverty consolidated Redding’s efforts on the Bonovo BMW with a solid run to ninth, while Lucas Mahias popped into the top ten for Puccetti Kawasaki in tenth.

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Estoril, Portugal | Superpole Qualifying RESULTS