Dean Berta Viñales († September 26, 2011) was only 16 years old when he fell in a tragic accident at the beginning of the eleventh lap of the WSSP 300 race and was fatally injured by subsequent riders. The Sunday should be held after consultation with his family, so that the first race instead of the Superpole Race can be rescheduled.

Despite hair-raising action, Razgatlioglu wins ahead of Rea

After a few corners, the reigning world champion had taken the lead from Toprak, while Alex Lowes lost his third place early. A key scene of the race was the moment when, 14 laps before the end, Razgatlioglu attacked the world champion while braking on Turn 6, after which they both touched and almost fell. Rea couldn’t see the Turk at all and only prevented a crash with a sensationally good reaction when Toprak drove right into his bike. As a result, the two following Locatelli and Redding were almost able to catch up with the leading duo. Shortly before that, Michael Ruben Rinaldi had already retired from the race. The Italian had flown into the gravel trap at Turn 3 at Doohan and Marquez. Fortunately, the headless action by Razgaglioglu had no consequences, and the two were able to extend their lead over the pursuers again afterwards.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi in the gravel trap of Turn 3 – the young Italian threw his race away early on, when he was still in 3rd position at the beginning.

Decision about the victory, not by fight – Redding takes P3 in the last lap
In the end, the tires decided and the Yamaha rider had the better cards, while Rea had to try before Locatelli and Redding to manage his lead up to the chequered flag. His team-mate Alex Lowes had lost positions early on and after that managed to cross the checkered flag in ninth place, ahead of Garrett Gerloff. Scott Redding, on the other hand, made it past the Yamaha works driver on the very last lap and took a podium. The best of the rest were behind the two HRC Honda men Alvaro Bautista in front of Davies substitute Loris Baz (GoEleven Ducati), Michael van der Mark (BMW) and Axel Bassani in eighth place. Honda’s Leon Haslam was initially in the top five ahead of his Spanish team-mate, but at the finish he was only eleventh ahead of Eugene Laverty (BMW), Kohta Nozane (Yamaha), Jonas Folger (BMW) and Christophe Ponsson (Yamaha). While Leandro Mercado retired due to a technical defect, the German wildcard driver Marvin Fritz just missed the points on P16.

The paddock on Friday – this weather would have been much more pleasant for Rea and Kawasaki, because the Greens usually stumble in the heat and have problems getting the tires over the distance. Seen in this way, P2 was the optimum for the reigning world champion.

The first race in numbers

The interviews after the first race in Jerez
Scott Redding thought it was very difficult to drive in these conditions. In addition to the tragic incident on Saturday, he also struggled with the sun, and he was happy for his place, but he once again condoled the Vinales family with all my heart for their loss. Jonathan Rea felt very good at the beginning, but it wasn’t easy to concentrate. He wishes the family all the best, and it is still his job to concentrate and keep the focus on what is going on in the race. Toprak also said it was not an easy day, and it was a sad day, so he could not be happy. Nevertheless, he and his team try to always win and that is what he wants to try again in the afternoon.

A podium without cheers after the tragic event the day before – from left Jonathan Rea (P2, Kawasaki), winner Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and the third-placed Ducati rider Scott Redding.

Stand in the WorldSBK world championships

P, Rider, Points, Bike
1. TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU 424 YAMAHA
2. JONATHAN REA 418 KAWASAKI
3. SCOTT REDDING 355 DUCATI
4. MICHAEL RUBEN RINALDI 218 DUCATI
5. ANDREA LOCATELLI 214 YAMAHA
6. ALEX LOWES 199 KAWASAKI
7. MICHAEL VAN DER MARK 181 BMW
8. TOM SYKES 167 BMW
9. GARRETT GERLOFF 164 YAMAHA
10. ALVARO BAUTISTA 153 HONDA
11. AXEL BASSANI 140 DUCATI
12. CHAZ DAVIES 120 DUCATI
13. LEON HASLAM 100 HONDA
14. KOHTA NOZANE 46 YAMAHA
15. LUCAS MAHIAS 44 KAWASAKI
16. TITO RABAT 38 DUCATI
17. CHRISTOPHE PONSSON 23 YAMAHA
18. ISAAC VINALES 23 KAWASAKI
19. EUGENE LAVERTY 18 BMW
20. JONAS FOLGER 16 BMW
21. LEANDRO MERCADO 11 HONDA
22. LORIS BAZ 10 DUCATI
23. MARVIN FRITZ 6 YAMAHA
24. SAMUELE CAVALIERI 4 DUCATI
25. LORIS CRESSON 3 KAWASAKI
26. ANDREA MANTOVANI 2 KAWASAKI
27. LUKE MOSSEY 2 KAWASAKI

WorldSBK Jerez schedule

Instead of the Superpole Race, the first race was held on Sunday morning.

Unless otherwise mentioned, applies to all images (© WorldSBK).