Turkey's Toprak Razgatlioglu has won a superb opening race in the 2020 Superbike World Championship, outlasting Kawasaki's Alex Lowes by just 0.007 seconds - the fifth-closest finish in the history of the production series.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a thrilling conclusion to the Phillip Island opener, the 22-lapper boiled down to a four-way battle between 23-year-old Razgatlioglu, British pair Lowes and Scott Redding (Ducati), and Dutch rider Michael van der Mark (Yamaha).
Razgatlioglu held all the aces by leading onto Gardner Straight for the final time, and he held tight to his advantage, despite a late lunge by Lowes, with Redding and van der Mark flashing across the finish line in third and fourth.
Just 0.041 seconds separated the top three, the closest podium in World Superbike history.
It was Razgatlioglu's third World Superbike victory, and a dream debut for the emerging Turkish superstar in Yamaha factory colours.
As he came into the pits his team celebrated by donning red fez hats, and he goes into Sunday's two races with a first-place haul of 25 points, in the process becoming the first Turkish rider to lead the World Superbike championship.
"I'm really happy. I needed the first race podium, and after the race I feel much better, I need the motivation," he said.
Leon Haslam made an excellent debut on the all-new factory Honda to finish in fifth position, four seconds down on Razgatlioglu.
Haslam led home his team-mate Alvaro Bautista, followed by Loris Baz (Yamaha), Chaz Davies (Ducati), early race leader Tom Sykes (BMW) and Michael Rinaldi (Ducati).
It was, however, a disastrous season opener for defending champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), who ran off the circuit on lap one after grazing fairings with the polesitter Sykes at turn nine. Five laps later he crashed heavily at turn eight while pushing hard to make up lost time.
Scant consolation for Rea was a best lap of 1:30.501, while Bautista was the fastest down Gardner Straight at 327km/h.
Fifteen riders completed the distance, with Xavi Fores (Kawasaki) and Takumi Takahashi (Honda) joining Rea as DNFs.
Race two for the WorldSBK field is the 10-lap sprint at midday on Sunday, followed by a second 22-lap battle at 3pm.
In World Supersport qualifying, the form guide from the past week has been maintained, as Italian Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) sits on pole ahead of Randy Krummenacher (MV Agusta).
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki) made it three different manufacturers on the front row, while Australia's Oli Bayliss qualified in 20th - giving him a row-seven start for Sunday's 16-lap race.
Australian Associated Press
