In near perfect conditions, Toprak Razgatlioglu won a tenth victory in World SBK Superbike at Donington Park. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team rider started from pole position and led all but two of the 23 laps.
Highlights of Race 1
Toprak Razgatlioglu took the lead from the start, but was immediately attacked by Alex LowesThe Kawasaki Racing Team rider took the lead on the second lap, but crashed heavily at the Craner corners early in the race. The Englishman was also penalized for a jump start.
After a bad start, Nicholas Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) dropped to fifth place on the first lap. The Italian rider, using the harder SC0 rear tire, made progress and by lap four was back in second place. He was already more than two seconds behind the race leader, so he focused on the rest of the race trying to earn 20 points.
At the start of the race, both Pata Maxus Yamaha riders occupied the podium positions. Finally, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) took third place at the halfway point. Andrea Locatelli et Jonathan Rhea followed him after a long battle with Scott Redding.
The local race Scott Redding, its best performance since the first round of the season, allowed MGM BONOVO Racing to finish sixth.
The first lap was marked by an incident in Turn 1, where Yari Montella came into contact with Sam Lowes, also involving Álvaro BautistaThe trio was immediately forced to abandon.
Championship Highlights
Razgatlioglu closes to within four points of Bulega, while Petrucci extends his lead over Bautista to 23 points.
BMW has closed five points on Ducati in the constructors' standings.
They said…
P1 - Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “The weekend didn’t start very well, but we continued to improve the bike with each session. The feeling with the bike isn’t the same as last year, but we’re still doing our best. During the race, I didn’t know which tire would be more effective. I had two options and I chose the SCX. At the end of the race, it wasn’t easy to manage the tires and I decided not to push at the beginning of the race. I pushed in the middle of the race and opened up a gap, then rode calmly to manage the tire. It was a good race for me, but we still have two more tomorrow.”
P2 - Nicholas Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “We're still struggling to find the perfect feeling here at Donington. This circuit is difficult because it has both fast and slow corners. It's difficult to find the right compromise with the bike. Honestly, we haven't found the ideal setting yet. I chose the harder SC0 tire. It might not have been the best decision, but tomorrow it might be cooler, so the SC0 might work better in those conditions.”
P3 - Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “It was really tough and physical. In the end, our goal was the podium and we managed to achieve it. I'm really happy because I suffered all weekend with my right arm, but my team did a great job. The bike worked well, even with the high temperatures and low grip, and I managed to manage the rear tire until the end. We got another podium and I'm very happy for myself and my team.”
Superbike Donington Park J2
