Toprak Razgatlioglu won World Superbike Race One Saturday evening at Algarve International Circuit, in Portimao, Portugal. On board his Pirelli-shod ROKiT BMW Motorrad M 1000 RR, the Turkish star won the 20-lap race by just 0.780 second. It was Razgatlioglu’s 11th straight race win.
Two-time and defending World Champion Alvaro Bautista was the runner-up on his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Italian Danilo Petrucci placed third on his Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati, just 0.670 second behind Bautista.
American Garrett Gerloff finished a season-high fourth on his Bonovo Action BMW.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
History beckons for Toprak after his 11th consecutive win
Tissot Superpole Highlights
- Toprak Razgatlioglu claimed his fourth consecutive Superpole success. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team rider ended the session with an advantage of just over one tenth of a second
- Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was Razgatlioglu’s nearest challenger. The Englishman claimed his second consecutive front row start
- Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) made it three different manufacturers on the front row. He narrowly ousted Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the closing moments of the 15 minute sessions
Race 1 Highlights
- Razgatlioglu became the third rider in WorldSBK history to win 11 races in a row. His run of success stretches back to the Dutch Round at Assen. The Turkish star will try to make history during tomorrow’s Tissot Superpole Race. Razgatlioglu now leads the championship by 80 points from Bulega
- The 20 lap race saw a gaggle of riders fighting it out at the front throughout. Lowes led in the early stages having taken the holeshot before Petrucci led until the final third of the race. Razgatlioglu led eight laps and would eventually win by just eight tenths of a second after a race long battle at the front
- From the second row of the grid Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) endured a difficult start to the 20 lap race and dropped to 13th position during the opening laps. The Spaniard recovered to come through the pack to finish second. This was his best result since Round 3 at Assen. The double World Champion is now 29 points behind his teammate Bulega in the standings
- Petrucci led a WorldSBK for the first time and ultimately he converted a front row into his third podium of the season
- Fourth position marked the best result of the season for Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) after the American rider came out on top of a four rider battle with Lowes, van der Mark and Bulega
Key Points:
Pole position: Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
Race 1 winner: Toprak Razgatlioglu
Race fastest lap: Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’40.612More on worldsbk.com
P1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“I’m really happy about this race. At the beginning we were fighting with Petrucci. In the last ten laps I just tried to push as hard as I could for a good lap time. We won again today and I’m really happy. It hasn’t been an easy weekend because everyone was pushing harder and the hot conditions also made it tough. We did a very good job. I need one more win for the new consecutive wins record and we’ll see tomorrow if I can do it!”
P2 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“We’ve struggled a lot this year in the Superpole but today we weren’t bad. I made my worst start of the season and lost a lot of positions on lap one so I had to push throughout the entire race. I couldn’t relax at any point during the race so I’m happy because, in the end, I managed to keep a good pace and catch up with the leading riders. I still need to do more to be at 100% but this is my 100th podium and I’m really happy about that. It’s always nice to celebrate these milestones with a win but this year has been difficult. The good thing is that we’re making progress, and I’m starting to feel much better on the bike. So I hope that tomorrow I can fight again for the podium and maybe even for the victory!”
P3 | Danilo Petrucci | Barni Spark Racing Team
“This was a really nice race! I’ve led a WorldSBK race for the first time and it’s something I’ve been trying to do for a while! During the race I was pushing at 90% because I knew it would be impossible to follow Toprak. I had a bit left at the end but Alvaro was a bit faster in the corners. It’s a podium though and that’s always nice. I want to say thanks to my crew because I really had a good bike today.”
