Jonathan Rea third in race two at Most in Czech Republic as Alvaro Bautista capitalises on Toprak Razgatlioglu crash for record win

Pata Yamaha rider Razgatlioglu was leading the race from championship pacesetter Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) when he suffered an unusual high-side on the exit of Turn 2, gifting his chief rival victory and a 25-point swing.

The cause of the crash was blamed on a rear tyre failure, with Pata Yamaha team principal Paul Denning revealing the Pirelli slick had delaminated.

A win for Razgatlioglu would have cut Bautista’s title lead to 44 points going into the summer break, but instead the factory Ducati rider now holds a commanding advantage of 74 points with four rounds remaining.

Bautista also made history at Most, becoming the first rider to win 18 races in a single season as he secured victory by 4.652s from Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Ducati), who squeezed past Rea to snatch the runner-up spot by only 0.073s on the sprint to the line.

Nonetheless, it was a strong weekend for six-time champion Rea, who ended his wait for a first win of the season in Saturday’s weather-hit opening race before finishing as the runner-up on his 400th race start in the Superpole race on Sunday behind Razgatlioglu.

Former MotoGP rider and 2006 125cc Grand Prix world champion Bautista was also celebrating a milestone 50th World Superbike win as he took full advantage of Razgatlioglu’s misfortune.

Axel Bassani was a close fourth on his Motocorsa Racing Ducati after getting the better of factory rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati), with Remy Gardner in sixth on the GRT Yamaha ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha).

Ulsterman Rea – fourth in the standings going into the eighth round – now has a 24-point gap to Locatelli after climbing above the Italian into third.

Rea, though, is 176 points behind Bautista and 102 down on Razgatlioglu, with third in the championship his most realistic target this season.

Meanwhile, former British Superbike champion Tarran Mackenzie (Petronas MIE Racing Honda) won his maiden World Supersport race after resisting the temptation to pit and change tyres when the rain arrived.

Mackenzie, who started from 22nd on the grid, surged into the lead and was able to hold on for Honda’s first win in the class since 2016.

The World Superbike Championship resumes after the summer break at Magny-Cours in France from September 8-10.