
Takumi Takahashi, Tetsuta Nagashima and Iker Lecuona were virtually unchallenged for majority of the race aboard the #33 HRC Fireblade, with a combination of Honda’s pace advantage and a fortuitous safety car helping the trio finish a lap clear of Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam and Alex Lowes aboard the factory Kawasaki.
It marked the fourth-career win for Takahashi following his previous three successes with Honda in 2010, ‘13 and ‘14, and the first for his rookie teammates Nagashima and Lecuona, who both showed rapid pace throughout the race.