Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea took the win in a re-started WorldSBK sprint race at Laguna Seca today as title rival Alvaro Bautista failed to make the grid after tangling with Toprak Razgatlioglu and was in the medical centre as the lights went out for a second time.
Rea and Chaz Davies had taken off from the front tow of the grid and, as the charged into the Andretti Hairpin, Bautista’s Panigale V4R interfaced with Razgatlioglu’s ZX-10R and he came off worse, tumbling through the gravel.
Rea cleared off at the re-start, not using the special 10-lap SCX rear, and Davies had nothing for him, coming home in second place with BMW’s Tom Sykes bagging the final podium spot.
The result gives Rea a 61-point championship lead and Bautista will have to start this afternoon’s second feature race from tenth. He suffered a left shoulder acromioclavicular separation and will be assessed before taking to the grid.
Razgatlioglu passed Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) for fifth and Alex Lowes (Yamaha) finished off the top six and moved closer to team-mate Michael van der Mark’s third in the championship chase.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha) got past the impressive Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) for seventh, as Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) was ninth and van der Mark tenth.
Sandro Cortese, who is suffering with shoulder tendonitis, ended in 11th ahead of BMW’s Markus Reiterberger. Michael Rinaldi managed some points ahead of Eugene Laverty with Ryuichi Kiyonaro in 15th. Marco Melandri was stone last after a trip into the gravel at Andretti.
