2021 Catalunya World Superbike Superpole Race Result: Five Lap Sprint After Red Flag

World Superbike's Superpole race would be split by a red flag, making the sprint race a sprint version of a sprint race, five laps long.

Scott Redding led into the first turn as Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea bashed elbows, but Razgatlioglu led on the brakes. A few turns later, Rea snuck under Redding's Ducati to take second place. Andrea Locatelli and Michael Ruben Rinaldi held the next to spots as the BMWs crashed out at turn seven, Michael van der Mark losing the front and wiping out Tom Sykes.

Jonathan Rea kept up with Toprak Razgatlioglu and the pair set fastest laps as Rea took the lead into turn one, but was too fast to hold a tight line and Razgatlioglu maintained his speed through the outside of the next turn to regain the lead into turn three. The pair carried on fighting throughout the lap until Chaz Davies and Lucas Mahias came together at turn eleven, bringing out red flags. Chaz Davies was taken to the medical centre. 

A five lap restart would have riders starting based on their positions at the red flag. Lucas Mahias would start from the pit lane and Jonathan Rea would use the SCX tyre.

Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu bashed elbows once more and the pair rode side by side for most of the first lap and three riders came together, Kohta Nozane and Andrea Locatelli crashing out while Scott Redding ended in sixteenth place. Locatelli clipped Alex Lowes to start the event.

Alvaro Bautista took an advantage of Rea and Razgatlioglu's gloves-off fight to sneak into second place, but the two championship leaders got back on to their fight a few turns later. Rea set a 1'41.609 ahead of Razgatlioglu    and Lowes as Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi kept in touch. Axel Bassani in sixth was over a second off the riders in front. 

On lap four of five, Toprak Razgatlioglu set the fastest lap, a 1'41.545 to start a last lap fight over the win between the two championship leaders. Alvaro Bautista was in third place, over a second behind the fight for the win, fending off Alex Lowes. 

Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu rode in formation at lap record pace to finish the race, Rea missing apexes and Razgatlioglu skirting outside kerbs at the absolute limit, but while Razgatlioglu could close the gap, setting the lap record in the process with a 1'41.493, he couldn't pass Rea.

Jonathan Rea won ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu with third-placed Alvaro Bautista two and a half seconds behind, beating Alex Lowes and Michael Ruben Rinaldi to the last step of the podium. Rea extends his championship lead to nine points over Toprak Razgatlioglu who extended his lead over Scott Redding to fifty six points, with Redding finishing in fifteenth, outside the points in a sprint race. 

Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Alex Lowes and Andrea Locatelli maintain their fight for fourth place, covered by only four points. 

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