Toprak Razgatlioglu led World Superbike Free Practice Two (FP2) Friday afternoon at Donington Park, in England. Riding his ROKiT BMW Motorrad M 1000 RR on spec Pirelli slicks, the Turkish racer covered the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) track in 1:26.013, topping the field of 23 riders.
As he was in Free Practice One (FP1), Danilo Petrucci was the best of the rest again with a 1:26.235 on his Barni Spark Racing Ducati in FP2.
Rookie sensation Nicolo Bulega was third-fastest with a time of 1:26.238 on his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
After posting the third-quickest time in FP1, American Garrett Gerloff slipped to 16th in FP2 with a 1:27.154 on his Bonovo Action BMW.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Toprak tops the times on the opening day at Donington Park
Superbike Free Practice
After rain overnight the day started with damp patches around the 4.023km Donington Park started. Rain stayed away for the rest of the day and conditions improved throughout with lots of track action across multiple classes
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) led the way in both sessions. His fastest time was 1’26.013 and the championship leader put little doubt on his status as the favourite for this weekend. An early save at the final corner in FP2 was the only time he seemed flustered throughout the course of 34 laps
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was second fastest in both sessions. The Italian continues to recover injuries sustained in a training crash in April but looked very comfortable today. Petrucci completed 32 laps today despite staying in his pit garage for the first 15 minutes of FP2
It was a difficult day for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati pair of Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista who finished the day third and sixth fastest. Bautista crashed at Redgate while his teammate ran off the track on two occasions
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was the leading British rider at his home round. The Kawasaki rider ended the day 0.283s slower than Razgatlioglu
More on worldsbk.com
P1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“I was feeling very positive coming here because I remember last year I was losing time in some corners and sectors due to the bike setup. I love the engine braking with the BMW and it’s working well. The bike stops easily and turns efficiently. We are very strong, especially in the last sector, but I’m not feeling 100% confident in the last two corners. We are trying to improve there. In all sectors, we are strong, but I feel like I am losing in some areas. I need to improve in those areas and I think tomorrow we can ride better than today.”
P2 | Danilo Petrucci | Barni Spark Racing Team
“Today was good. It’s always good fun to ride on this track. It’s one of my favourite circuits. I especially like the first part of the lap because it’s so fast and exciting every time. After Misano, I spent two weeks resting and not using my right arm and shoulder because after the race the inflammation was very difficult. During the last two weeks we have worked on the shoulder but I couldn’t train properly. The situation is a little bit better compared to Misano, but I still lack a lot of power. It’s good to be here and to be fast.”
P4 | Alex Lowes | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
“It’s been quite a good day honestly. Last year when we came to Donington it was a brand new surface and the track was quite abrasive. I was pretty fast on both compounds of tyres. Donington Park is a great circuit and everybody loves it and the lap times are always really close. It’s not the longest lap so you’ve got to be on it and be consistent. The bike was working well and I enjoyed it, it’s great to see a good crowd here already on Friday and I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
