WSBK Donington J1: Gerloff impresses and Razgatliogu scares himself

This weekend, Her Grace Majesty's subjects will be able to enjoy the WSBK show at Donington Park. The first day took place and it was the two riders who currently liven up the conversations in MotoGP who stood out. So Garlett Gerloff took the lead even though he was just discovering the route, while Razgatlioglu had a big scare at 200 km/h…

One wouldn't say no to a MotoGP handlebar on a Yamaha petronas, an opportunity that the other refused in signing a two-year contract with Yamaha in WSBK… The first is American is called gerloff and returns from a freelance Grand Prix near Assen where he replaced a Morbidely recovering from knee surgery. Visibly galvanized by the stage, he dominated the first day of the WSBK with his Yamaha R1 on a circuit that he was nevertheless discovering.

A great performance further embellished by the fact that he completely dethroned Jonathan Rhea from the top of the standings during the second practice session at Donington Park. The Kawasaki official, in the lead in the morning during FP1, follows, while Toprak Razgatlioglu is third, after saving himself from a delicate situation…

WSBK: Yamaha riders in good spirits, Ducati a tone below

At Ducati, we hoped for more. Scott Redding made his WorldSBK debut in front of a home crowd on a circuit where he won his very first 125cc race in 2008. He finished in fifth position behind the Kawasaki ofalex lowes while Michael Ruben Rinaldi had to settle for seventh fastest time in the combined standings.

Between the two, we find the BMW of Tom Sykes after a busy day at Donington Park. Having made a mistake in FP1 at turn 11, the Briton also fell at the start of FP2 at turn 7. He was able to return to the track a little later, but he had to rely on his time from the morning to stay in sixth position. On the circuit of his first WorldSBK victory, Michael van der Mark had to complete the Top 10.

At Honda, it's Leon Haslam who was the fastest by lifting the Honda CBR1000RR-R to eighth place. Alvaro Bautista for his part was more discreet since he concluded the day in 15th place. On the independent team side, Lucas Mahias on his Puccetti Racing Kawasaki took the ninth time while Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) could not do better than 12th in front Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team). Isaac Vinales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) was 16th in front Luke Mosey (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing).

Affected by technical problems, Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse) only completed 21 laps. He was 19th in front Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) and Loris cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing). Hostilities will continue tomorrow, Saturday, with the Superpole and the first race.

WSBK Donington J1: times

Credit classification wsbk.com