Razgatlıoğlu made a clean start to convert his second-place qualifying directly into P2, but it turned into a somewhat lonely race for the young Turkish rider who quickly pulled a safe gap to the chasing pack but, despite adding pressure in the first five laps, was unable to catch pole-sitter Jonathan Rea.
By contrast, van der Mark provided a big dose of excitement at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Starting from fifth on the grid at one of his favourite circuits, the 27-year-old became embroiled in a thrilling four-way battle for the remaining podium position.
If not for a missed gear-shift which forced him to run wide at Turn 14 which relegated him to sixth in the early stages of the race, Van der Mark could potentially have also challenged with his teammate at the front. Instead the Dutchman provided the bulk of the entertainment this afternoon, with a masterful “two for the price of one” overtake on Alex Lowes and Loris Baz at the start of lap nine, followed by a smooth pass on the inside of Scott Redding to ultimately take third position on lap 12.
Having qualified in 11th GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team’s Garrett Gerloff was in a race-long fight to hold onto his starting position. However, in the final laps he was demoted to 14th, while teammate Federico Caricasulo picked up the final point in 15th.
Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSBK Supported Team rider Loris Baz made a strong start from his sixth place on the grid, moving into the podium places early on. The Frenchman battled with van der Mark and Scott Redding, eventually conceding as he struggled with rear grip through the middle stages of the race. Baz eventually came home in sixth after repassing Redding’s Ducati in the closing stages.
The action does not stop here as tomorrow, following a short 15-minute warm up at 09:00 local time (GMT+1), the Pata Yamaha riders will once again aim to fight for victory and podium honours with the 10-lap Tissot Superpole Race at 11:00 followed by the second full-length, 20-lap Race 2 at 14:00.
For full Race 1 results, click here.