WSBK Portimao: 'Tough' weekend for Jonathan Rea as Kawasaki rider's title prospects suffer blow

Spaniard Bautista thwarted Toprak Razgatlioglu’s bid for a treble to claim 25 points after twice finishing as the runner-up in Saturday’s opening race and the Superpole sprint race behind the reigning champion.

Rea was third in all three races on his Kawasaki as he lost further ground on his main rivals. The Ulsterman is now 82 points behind Aruba.it Ducati’s Bautista and 26 down on Razgatlioglu in third in the standings with three flyaway rounds and nine races left.

The 35-year-old’s win drought also continued, with Rea’s last victory achieved at Estoril in Portugal in May. His downturn in fortunes is reflected in the dominance of Bautista and Razgatlioglu, who have won all 18 races since between them, securing nine wins apiece.

Rea said: “It was tough. In the beginning I got to the front and I thought don’t waste my tyre and do as much as I can to stay there.

“In the mid-part of the race Alvaro came past and him and Toprak were fighting, which helped to keep me in the race to be honest.

“As soon as Alvaro got some clear track and put the head down he started to gap me and electronically I struggled a little bit to put the power down, especially when the tyre dropped a little bit I needed a little bit more support.

“But kudos because I think we got the best out of the bike this weekend,” he added.

“I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted to come here and get some race wins under my belt and it wasn’t for the lack of trying.

“Thanks to all of my team because we keep digging in and I think we got the best bike we could at the end. We chipped away at the set-up all weekend and finished with a decent set-up and we look forward to Argentina now.”

Round 10 of the championship at the San Juan Villicum circuit in Argentina takes place from October 21-23 and Rea is already concerned for his prospects of ending his winless streak there, where the long back straight will play to the strengths of Bautista’s Ducati.

“I’m a bit disheartened for Argentina with that long straight,” Rea said.

“There’s no substitute for horsepower but there’s no excuses from me either because Toprak’s bike is very similar to mine and he’s still up the road, so we still have work to do.

“I’ll try to forget about what we don’t have and work with what we do, and try and maximise our opportunities and focus on myself.

“So Argentina, we’ll see what it brings. The track is pretty greasy out there so hopefully we can put the grip down, put the power down and get a good weekend.”

Rea led over the first seven laps and hit back when Razgatlioglu made a pass for the lead at Turn 1, pulling off the same manoeuvre on lap nine as Bautista slotted into second.

Bautista then demoted Rea to third with a pass at Turn 10 at the halfway point, with Razgatlioglu also moving past the Kawasaki rider to take up the pursuit of the red Ducati.

He managed to force his way into the lead on lap 14, but when Bautista blasted past Razgatlioglu on the pit straight on the next lap he began to gradually edge away and went on to win the only 20-lap race of the weekend by 2.2s.

Rea was 2.5s further back in third at the finish with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) claiming fourth by half-a-second from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

Bautista felt he had a strong chance of ending the weekend with a victory over a full 20-lap race and his prediction proved correct, with the 37-year-old executing his strategy to perfection.

“After yesterday’s [Saturday] race I knew with a long, normal race I can be more competitive at the end. In the Superpole race I was quite competitive and I could follow Toprak, he was very fast,” he said.

“I saw him staying behind Jonathan and I think he had a little bit more than Jonathan but he was saving the tyre. I understood that and I just tried to push so he would have to push the tyre and not arrive at the end with a fresh tyre.

“I got the lead and tried to put a good pace and Toprak followed me but at the end he was struggling in the last laps. I’m so happy with the race, more than the victory but with the way that I won.”

Runner-up Razgatlioglu fell just short in his quest for a Portimao hat-track but it was an excellent weekend for the Turkish rider, even if he only reduced Bautista’s advantage at the top by three points.

“I’m really happy because we are again on the podium but I say yesterday race two would not be easy,” he said.

“I tried my best again, second position, I’m happy.”

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) completed the top six in race two ahead of Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad) and Honda’s Xavi Vierge.

Eugene Laverty finished outside the points in 16th place as he competed in his final European race for the Bonovo Action BMW team ahead of his retirement at the end of the season. Laverty was 15th in Saturday’s opening race and the Superpole race.