Yamaha’s Jonathan Rea secured a best result of sixth at Round Seven of the World Superbike Championship at Portimao in Portugal, which was dominated by runaway title leader Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Rea – 15th in Saturday’s first race after struggling with an electrical issue – claimed 10th in the Superpole sprint race yesterday before improving to sixth in the final race of the weekend.
The six-time champion remains 10th in the Championship, and while Rea pointed to some positives with the set-up of his Pata Prometeon Yamaha machine, the 37-year-old says he is hoping to ‘catch a wave’.
“Of course, there are still some areas where we need to improve, but in the areas that we’ve been working on – for example, my one-lap pace with a fresh tyre – I felt good,” Rea said.
“With the electronics, I could take liberties with the bike and ride on the limit, so there’s a lot of boxes ticked but we didn’t have the result to show for it.
“We’ll try to remain positive and feel like the wave might start to come and we will catch it, and try and build some momentum.
Jonathan Rea finds his line during the World Superbike round at Portimao in Portugal
“It’s been a positive weekend in some ways, as we improved my feeling with the R1 a lot, but Portimao has highlighted where we need to improve.
“Yesterday in Race One, I had a good rhythm and pace until we had the technical issue, and today in the Superpole race I got a good start, but fighting in the group proved difficult when everyone had grip.
“That compromised our start position for Race Two, I had to start P11. I made a good start, but I got involved in a few fights, especially with (Xavi) Vierge, I struggled a lot to pass him and it dictated my race a bit as he was not as strong over the lap but stronger down the straight, so it was a bit of a fight before I could get through.
“When I got through I focused on both (Michael) van der Mark and (Danilo) Petrucci, and even though the gap was there, I managed to close them down as one of our strengths with the R1 is pace on used tyres, so I was able to make use of that and stick a strong pass on ‘Mikey’ on the last lap. I’ve got mixed emotions as it’s the best I’ve felt with the bike from a chassis point of view and was able to use the bike’s strengths much better.
“All in all, it’s been a confidence-inspiring weekend as from a feeling point of view, and with the electronics, I’ve gained more trust to ride the bike more like I should.”
Turkey’s Razgatlioglu made history with a new record of 13 successive wins as he sealed a fourth consecutive World Superbike treble. The 27-year-old surpassed the previous best of 11 victories in a row, held jointly by Rea and Alvaro Bautista.
Jonathan Rea aims to fend off the challenge of his opponent during the World Superbike event at Portimao
Razgatlioglu is now steaming towards a second world title following his Yamaha triumph in 2021, and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider is 92 points ahead of Italy’s Nicolo Bulega with five rounds of the Championship remaining.
He beat Danilo Petrucci (Barni Ducati) by almost three seconds in the Superpole race and prevailed in Race Two, fending off Bulega (Aruba Ducati) by a few hundredths of a second on the run to the line despite losing a winglet from his machine after a collision with Kawasaki rider Alex Lowes, who finished on the podium in third.
“It’s been an incredible weekend; we broke the record and now have 13 wins in a row,” said Razgatlioglu.
“I have 54 wins in total, and I’m really happy. In the last race, I was fighting with Nicolo and Alvaro but, in general, I’m really happy.
“It’s very special because every day, we are becoming more like a legend. I feel like we’re a family in World Superbike, and with the BMW, we are at the level to win every weekend.
“I don’t know when this streak will finish, but the feeling is good and I’m just trying to push for the win.”
Magny-Cours in France is next up on the calendar from September 6-8 when Razgatlioglu will be out to extend his stunning unbeaten run.