Fans both at the track and worldwide were treated to a spectacular show on track for both Race 2 and in particular, the 10-lap Superpole Race, where Razgatlıoğlu and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati) touched through the final corner in a no-holds barred sprint to the finish. The two riders, along with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) traded places and rubber for the podium positions throughout.
Competition continued to heat up in Race 2, where Razgatlıoğlu strategically followed the front runners of Alvaro Bautista (Ducati), Rinaldi and Rea in order to save his tyres for the final laps. A mistake from Rea on Lap 4 gave Yamaha’s defending champion a chance of third position, but it wasn’t until Lap 16 that Razgatlıoğlu consolidated his third podium of the weekend with a signature overtake into Turn 1 on Rinaldi.
Razgatlıoğlu and Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK leave Aragon with their best results at this circuit, and with just an 18-point deficit to early series leader Bautista. As a comparison, in 2021, Razgatlıoğlu left the first round in fourth position in the Riders’ Championship, 27 points from the lead.
Locatelli made a step forward in the Superpole Race this morning to finish in a close fifth position, just 1.5s behind his teammate on the podium and in touch with the “top group” of riders. In Race 2, the young Italian pushed hard to join the battle at the front but unfortunately lost the front into the slow left-hander of Turn 9 coming down the hill. He was able to recover his R1 WorldSBK and finish the race in 19th, remaining positive about the potential to fight for the podium at the second round of the season, just around the corner at TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands from 22-24 April.