WSBK Superbike, Most J2: They said...

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed its fifth victory of the season WorldSBK Superbike on a windy day at Autodrom Most. The Turkish rider took five points in the title race from Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) after leading the Superpole.

Race 1 Highlights
Starting from the middle of the front row, Bulega took the lead on the first lap and kept Razgatlioglu at bay for the first four laps. After attacking at Turn 1, the BMW driver led for the remainder of the race.
Razgatlioglu had to wait until the halfway point, on lap 11 of 22, to open up a gap of more than a second and from then on he controlled the gap to Bulega.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) started in third position and rode a strong and consistent race to finish in the same place with a comfortable margin over the riders behind.
alex lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) finished in fourth position after a long battle with Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). He was beaten on the line by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who overtook in Turn 1 of the last lap to take fifth position.

Bautista started from the fourth row of the grid. He fell to 16th position following a first-lap collision that put him out of the race. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Michael van der Mark. (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). The two-time world champion made steady progress throughout the race to salvage his fifth place.
Iker Lecuona continued his good form with a seventh place for Honda HRC.

P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “It’s a very important victory because we started the weekend very strong. I really missed that feeling. The wind was very strong today, so at the beginning of the race I tried to adapt my riding style, but once I found my rhythm, I was able to ride fast. This victory means a lot. We improved the bike a lot, but we still have to improve. We have two more races tomorrow and I hope we can win again.”

P2 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): "I tried to fight at the beginning. But when Toprak overtook me, I understood after a few corners that he had something extra today. I'm happy because second place is a very good result, especially after yesterday's crash. It wasn't easy to finish the race, so I have to be happy and proud of what we achieved, me and the team."

P3 – Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “I tried to stick to my strategy and keep third because Nicolo and Toprak were a little faster. They weren't much faster, but I was taking risks to stay with them. When I saw the gap behind me increasing, I decided to manage my pace. It wasn't easy because this track has a lot of changes of direction, and my back and arms were really suffering. It's a nice podium for my team. I'm very happy; we're working really well together, and this result is deserved. Let's see what we can do tomorrow.”

P4 – Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team: “I’m happy with the race result, fourth place, and to be in a group of Ducatis is good. I was able to keep the pace. In Cremona last time, even though we finished 11th, my pace was strong. I was able to fight there and we made some changes to the front-end setup on Sunday. We know that if you’re not on the fastest bike on the grid, qualifying is very important to put yourself in the right position from the start of the race. Sectors 2 and 3 at Most were incredible on the KB998 bimota. I feel like it can compete with any other machine, except that it has some advantages in sector three in terms of cornering. By putting yourself in a good position from the start of the race, focusing on yourself, and putting in some good laps, you can stay at the front.” I'm happy that I was able to keep the pace so consistently and strongly today. We weren't exactly close to the podium in terms of race time, but it's better than what we've done before, so we have to be happy with fourth place."

P5 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “It’s a shame about Superpole. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake in the last sector that cost me the two tenths that would have allowed me to start from the second row. We know that starting from the back means facing Turn 1 in the middle of the pack, and I was lucky to stay straight. During the race, the feeling was excellent. I can say that I had fun.”

Superbike Race 1 standings at Most: