Razgatlioglu heads up Yamaha 1-2 in Portimao FP1

WorldSBK Portimao – Free Practice Results (1)

Toprak Razgatlioglu set an impressive benchmark in first free practice for round three of the 2020 WorldSBK Championship at Portimao, more than half a second quicker than his rivals.

The Turk, who comes into the weekend chasing down a 32 point margin to Scott Redding after two costly DNFs in six races, was untouchable as he first pumped in a 1m 42.424secs lap that would have been plenty enough to secure him the top time in FP1.

However, in the closing stages he’d extend the initiative with a 1m 42.103s effort to end the session a full six tenths clear of his Pata Yamaha team-mate Michael van der Mark.

Jonathan Rea was third quickest, his 1m 42.803secs lap being set in the relative early stages of the session, while Michael Ruben Rinaldi emerged as the highest-placed Ducati rider in fourth position on the privateer GoEleven machine.

Loris Baz made it three R1s inside the top five in fifth position, ahead of series leader Redding, who made steady gains as the session progressed but is ultimately losing time in the middle portion of the sector.

A late improvement from Alex Lowes lifted the Kawasaki rider up to seventh place, displacing top Honda man Leon Haslam down to eighth, while BMW’s Tom Sykes and Ducati’s Chaz Davies rounded out the top ten.

Just outside the top ten, rookie Garrett Gerloff ran inside the top ten for a time before slipping to 11th, the Ameircan nonetheless proving quicker than Honda’s Alvaro Bautista – a winner on the Ducati in Portugal last year – and Eugene Laverty on the second of the BMWs