Razgatlioglu led the early stages of the race after getting the holeshot from second on the grid. But he soon came under pressure from polesitter Rea, who had successfully recovered from a poor start that had left him fifth at the end of lap 1.
Having gotten a great exit out of the final corner on lap 5, Rea closed in rapidly on Razgatlioglu, who subsequently went wide at Turn 1 and opened the door for the Kawasaki rider.
