Jonathan Rea has lucky escape after last-lap battle with Toprak Razgatlioglu in Superpole race at Most

Jonathan Rea survived a huge near-miss on the final lap of the Superpole race at Most in the Czech Republic after battling with Toprak Razgatlioglu for victory.
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Reigning champion Razgatlioglu and Rea went head-to-head for the win in the second half of the sprint race after Ulsterman Rea closed the deficit to the Yamaha rider.

On the 10th and last lap, Rea swept past Razgatlioglu on the brakes into Turn 1, but his deep entry into the corner enabled his rival to get the power earlier, and the Turkish rider powered to the front again through Turns 2 and 3.

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Rea, though, made one final attempt for the victory and narrowly avoided colliding with Razgatlioglu’s dangling leg as he dived underneath the 25 -year-old on the brakes. The Kawasaki star ran into the gravel but was able to re-join the race ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), who won Saturday’s opening race to extend his title lead over Rea.

Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu were locked in battle in the World Superbike Superpole race at Most in the Czech Republic.Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu were locked in battle in the World Superbike Superpole race at Most in the Czech Republic.
Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu were locked in battle in the World Superbike Superpole race at Most in the Czech Republic.

Razgatlioglu – a treble winner at Donington Park – clinched the win by 2.3s from Rea, with Bautista one second further behind in third.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) finished fourth ahead of Axel Bassani on the Motocorsa Ducati, with Razgatlioglu’s team-mate Andrea Locatelli completed the top six.

Scott Redding, third on Saturday, was eighth on the factory BMW.

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Eugene Laverty finished outside the points in 18th position. The Northern Ireland rider announced his plans to retire from racing at the end of this season, when Laverty will take up a co-ownership and coaching role with the Bonovo Action BMW team.

Ahead of this afternoon’s final race (13:00 BST) at the sixth round of the championship, Bautista is 27 points ahead of Rea, with Razgatlioglu 16 points further back in third.

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