Race 1
Toprak takes first factory win
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) has won his first race as a factory Yamaha rider by just 0.007 seconds from Kawasaki’s new arrival Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team). In his first race in the category new WorldSBK rider Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) delivered on his podium promise by finishing third, just 0.041 seconds behind Razgatlioglu.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) looked good for the win until the final two laps, relegated to fourth by the end of the race, but just 0.137 seconds behind team-mate and race winner Razgatlioglu.
A great start for Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) from fifth place on the grid saw the brit leading the race on a number of occasions before dropping back due to rear tyre issues finishing fifth.
Despite a fast crash from Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) earlier in the day the Italian brought the second of the HRC bikes home in sixth, just half a second from team-mate Haslam.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was seventh with all top seven riders inside a bracket of less than five seconds.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) went from 16th in Superpole to eighth in the race, even passing Sykes after the BMW rider’s rear tyre went off. Sykes had chosen a different option from some others.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven Ducati) was tenth and Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 11th, with Davies, Sykes, Rinaldi and Laverty all in one group. The top 11 riders all finished within 12 seconds of each other.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) took the early race lead before an incident with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) at turn eight caused Rea to run wide and onto the grass. Rea re-joined in last before crashing at high speed on lap six while attempting to pass Michael Ruben Rinaldi (GeEleven Ducati) outside on the fast right of turn eight.
Race 2
Rea Wins Intense Ten Lapper
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) won the ten-lap WorldSBK race on Sunday morning at Phillip Island to restart his World Championship campaign in strong form after crashing out of race one. A good entry onto the straight on the last lap from Rea kept hard-charging race 1 winner Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) at bay, with the Yamaha rider finishing second, just 0.067 seconds behind Rea.
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was third by just 0.005 seconds in another blanket finish for the podium places. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored fourth and was just over 0.2 seconds from the win.
Just one second back from Rea, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crossed the line in fifth, followed by Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in seventh.
Leon Haslam (HRC Honda) got away from the line strong but finished eighth after running wide on the first lap. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven Ducati) finished ninth and Maximilian Scheib (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) tenth.
Race 3
Lowes Wins First For Kawasaki
WorldSBK had its first weekend where three different riders won races when Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) took the final victory of the weekend, after successes for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) on Saturday and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) in the Superpole race.
Another super close race saw Lowes take victory by just 0.037 of a second from Rea, with Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) enjoying a triple podium treat on weekend one, finishing in third 0.849 seconds behind Rea.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) slid into fourth as team-mate and race one winner Toprak Razgatlioglu retired in the closing stages with an unspecified technical issue.
After a less than ideal start to the weekend Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fifth, one place ahead of his 2019 team-mate Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda), who was recovering from his own largely tough weekend.
Scheib crossed the line in seventh, just under five seconds from the win, finishing as the top Independent Rider. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) recovered after an early off-track excursion to finish eighth. Cortese (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) rolled over the line in ninth with Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) rounding out the top ten.
Alex Lowes leads the championship snatching 51 points in the first round, leading second-place stander Scott Redding by 12 points. Toprak Razgatlioglu sits in third with 34 points, while reigning WSBK champion Jonathan Rea sits in fourth just two points behind Razgatlioglu.
Pick up your copy of AMCN for the full race report
Words Gordon Ritchie
Pics GnG
