WorldSBK | Redding (Ducati) beats Toprak (Yamaha) and Rea (Kawasaki) to win race 1 at Estoril
Scott Redding, a Ducati rider, won race 1, this Saturday at Estoril, Portugal, for the WorldSBK world superbike championship.
He managed to beat Turkish Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and six-time champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki).
Redding started with soft tires, the same configuration as Toprak, but different from Rea, who preferred the harder tires.
The Kawasaki rider started from pole position, but already in the first corner, he was overtaken by Ducati and Yamaha.
Despite the tires that last longer, Rea was unable to regain the positions. Both Redding and Toprak bravely defended their positions. The Turk appeared to have more pace than the Briton, but he also failed to overtake.
Garret Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) was fourth, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati) fifth and Chaz Davies with Ducati ‘satellite’ (Team GoEleven) sixth.
Michael Van Der Mark (BMW Motorrad) had a great race, starting from 12th position and finishing in seventh.
Alvaro Bautista (Honda) also performed well: he won 10 positions. He started from 18th position, and finished in eighth.
Closing the top ten, Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) was ninth and Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha), tenth.
Therefore, with the victory this Saturday, Redding managed to close the gap to Rea, being just 8 points behind the leader.
The championship standings are as follows:
- Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) – 73 points
- Scott Redding (Ducati) – 65 points
- Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 50 points
- Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) – 45 points
- Garret Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) – 36 points
- Michael Van Der Mark (BMW) – 30 points
- Chaz Davies (GoEleven Ducati) – 27 points
Finally, the Superpole race and race 2 of the WorldsBK Superbike World Championship, takes place this Sunday, May 30, at the Estoril Circuit, in Portugal.
For more info, access the WorldSBK website.