MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

The weather, a regular character in British racing, was promising to try and visit once again, and with an air temperature of just 18ºC, the ten lap sprint would be keeping its eye on the sky.

Nicolo Bulega led into turn one with Toprak Razgatlioglu, Sam Lowes and Jonathan Rea behind him. Rea slipped past Lowest take third place out of the corners Domi Aegerter, Scott Redding and Andrea Locatelli swapped back and forth contesting fifth place. Axel Bassani crashed out on lap two as Alvaro Bautista carved his way up to eighth place behind Alex Lowes.

Bulega and Razgatlioglu escaped at the front with Rea holding on. Sam Lowes led the fight for fourth place a second further back. Razgatlioglu took the lead from Bulega in the Melbourne Loop at the end of lap three as Rea dropped off from the leading pair.

On lap five, Razgatlioglu, having set the fastest lap of 1'25.773, a new lap record, started breaking away from Bulega and started lap six almost a second clear of him. Jonathan Rea sat in a lonely third place almost two seconds back with Sam Lowes almost two seconds behind him. Sam Lowes had Scott Redding, Alex Lowes and Alvaro Bautista keeping him honest.

On lap seven of ten, Razgatlioglu led Bulega by over a second with Rea over two seconds further back. The podium, and front row for race two, seemed set as Scott Redding, Alex Lowes and Alvaro Bautista were over two seconds off Rea, swapping places back and forth and showing no signs of being able to close the gap.

As Sam Lowes dropped off the fight for fourth, Andrea Locatelli joined in behind Redding, Lowes and Bautista.

Toprak Razgatlioglu started the last lap with a comfortable three second gap over Nicolo Bulega and almost six seconds clear of third placed Jonathan Rea. The only fight left was Redding, Alex Lowes, Bautista and Locatelli contesting fourth place with Redding and Lowes taking the fight away from Bautista and, as Razgatlioglu crossed the line, followed by Bulega and Rea, Redding held off attempts from Lowes in the last two slow corners to hold on to fourth place.

Toprak Razgatlioglu extends his championship lead over Nicolo Bulega to thirty six points with Alvaro Bautista five points further back. Alex Lowes continues to close on Bautista twenty six points further back.

The rain? The rain started after the parc fermé celebration.

Results: