Toprak Razgatlioglu made it a clean sweep of the weekend by winning FIM Superbike World Championship Race Two Sunday afternoon at Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, in San Marino.
After taking pole position and then winning Race One and the Superpole Race, the Turkish star rode his ROKiT BMW Motorrad M 1000 RR to a 2.980-second margin of victory in 21-lap Race Two, extending his Championship point lead.
Rookie sensation Nicolo Bulega was once again the best of the rest, finishing second on his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Bulega’s teammate, two-time and defending World Champion Alvaro Bautista, bounced back from a crash in the Superpole Race Sunday morning to finish third in Race Two.
American Garrett Gerloff crashed, picked his Bonovo Action BMW up, and continued to finish 18th.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Perfect weekend for unbeatable Razgatlioglu at Misano
Tissot Superpole Race Highlights
- It was an action packed opening lap for Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). He lost positions at the start of the race but was able to recover to lead the opening lap of the 10 lap Superpole Race
- On the third lap Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was able to overtake Bulega for the lead and the Turkish star would open a lead of 1.651s at the chequered flag
- Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed his third Superpole Race podium of the season. Having started from fourth position he was able to convert that into second on the opening lap before battling with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for third
- Bautista crashed at Turn 10 on lap 5 and ended the race outside the points
- In seventh position Iker Lecuano (Team HRC) claimed his best result of the season
Race 2 Highlights
- Razgatlioglu started from pole position but dropped to fifth on the opening lap of the race with Bulega claiming the holeshot and leading into Turn 1
- From the fourth row of the grid Bautista was into the top five after the opening lap before embarking on a race-long battle with Alex Lowes. On the 11th lap this would be settled in the Spaniard’s favour for third position
- Razgatlioglu’s approach to the race was to build his speed and maintain his consistency. After three laps he was 1.5s behind Bulega but took the lead at one third distance. His pace allowed him to open a commanding lead before celebrating on the final lap
- While Lowes kept pressure on Bautista for the podium his teammate, Axel Bassani, enjoyed his strongest weekend since joining the Kawasaki Racing Team. The Italian finished seventh after a race long duel with the returning Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) that was eventually separated by one tenth of a second
Championship Standings
- Razgatlioglu leaves Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli leading the championship by 21 points
- Bulega and Bautista trade places in the championship standings with Bulega having outscored his teammate by 17 points at Misano
P1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“Before the race, I said that my target was to win all three races this weekend. We did it and I want to say thanks to my team because they did an amazing job! We improved the bike today and I enjoyed the last race. It wasn’t easy with the hot conditions and everyone was sliding more today but I did a great job. This is a dream weekend and everyone has worked very hard for these three wins!”
P2 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I’m very happy. I finished second but I was on the podium in all three races this weekend. Toprak was very fast, but we will try again next time. My goal is to stay on the podium in every race. I’m very happy and want to say thank you to all the fans here in Misano!”
P3 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I made a good start and I could take a good line in the first few corners and recover some positions. After that, I tried to get to my best pace but the feeling from the bike wasn’t the best. We have to keep building my confidence and improving the setup. Obviously, I would have liked to win here in front of the Ducati fans but it was difficult. Toprak had an incredible level all weekend and he was untouchable. We did our best and we’ll try to keep improving for the next races.”
