Toprak Razgatlioglu, Misano, BMW Motorrad
ROKiT BMW Motorrad’s Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated the World Superbike field to claim victory in the Superpole Race at Misano.
The Turkish rider aimed to win all three races over the weekend, and his success on Sunday morning brought him within one win of his goal.
Meanwhile, Nicolo Bulega of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati could only manage second place as his teammate Alvaro Bautista crashed during the race.
Points were awarded to the top nine finishers, with the winner receiving 12 points and the ninth-place finisher earning a single point.
The 10-lap race was also crucial as it determined the starting positions for Race 2, with the front three rows of the grid based on the Superpole race results.
Bulega initially made a quick start but ran wide at Turn 1, allowing Razgatlioglu to reclaim the lead and Alex Lowes of Kawasaki Racing Team to move into second.
Remy Gardner had a difficult start from the front row and dropped back to eighth on his GYTR GRT Yamaha.
However, Bulega quickly recovered and overtook Lowes and Razgatlioglu by the start of Lap 2.
Sam Lowes experienced another crash on Lap 2, his second in as many races on the Marc VDS Ducati, and Gardner’s race worsened when he collided with Bonovo Action rider Garrett Gerloff.
Bulega and Razgatlioglu continued to dominate at the front, setting lap records and battling fiercely for victory with seven laps to go.
Razgatlioglu took the lead at Turn 8 on Lap 4, maintaining his advantage over Bulega through the following corners and onto the back straight.
The Turkish rider pushed the pace even further, but Bulega remained close behind.
However, Bautista’s fortunes took a turn for the worse as he crashed at Turn 10 on Lap 5, dropping from fourth to 21st place.
Razgatlioglu consistently lapped in the 1:32 range, showcasing his qualifying-like performance and extending his lead over Bulega to nine-tenths of a second with three laps remaining.
With one and a half seconds between him and Bulega, Razgatlioglu crossed the finish line to secure a stylish victory, increasing his championship lead over Bautista by 15 points and demonstrating his skill on the BMW M 1000 RR.
Bulega finished 1.651 seconds behind in second place, while Alex Lowes completed the podium with an impressive performance on his ZX-10RR.
Andrea Locatelli of Pata Prometeon Yamaha finished fourth for the second consecutive race, followed by Andrea Iannone of Team GoEleven Ducati in fifth.
Alex Lowes’ KRT teammate Axel Bassani claimed sixth place, ahead of Iker Lecuona of Team HRC Honda, who showed improvement with his CBR1000 RR-R.
Jonathan Rea finished eighth as he strives to regain his form on his new Yamaha YZF R1, and Danilo Petrucci of Barni Ducati secured an impressive ninth place as he continues to recover from injury, earning a spot on the outside of the third row for Race 2 on Sunday afternoon.
Dominique Aegerter of GYTR GRT Yamaha finished in 10th place, followed by Michael Ruben Rinaldi of Motocorsa Ducati.
Razgatlioglu’s exceptional pace was highlighted by his teammate Michael van der Mark finishing 19 seconds behind in 12th place, although the Dutchman started from a lowly 17th place on the grid.
Xavi Vierge of Team HRC finished 13th, with Scott Redding of Bonovo BMW and Tito Rabat of Puccetti Kawasaki in 14th and 15th respectively.
Ducati wildcard rider Michele Pirro finished 16th, ahead of Bautista who could only recover to 17th after his crash.
Tarran Mackenzie of Petronas MIE Racing Honda claimed 18th place, leading Philipp Oettl of GMT94 Yamaha and Bradley Ray of Yamaha Motoxracing, who struggled in the race.
Adam Norrodin was the last of the finishers on the second Petronas MIE Racing Honda.