No one could stop Toprak Razgatlioglu in the first race of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park. The rider led from start to finish, setting the fastest lap and completing a perfect Saturday.
At the start, the Turkish rider from ROKiT BMW used his pole position to stay ahead, quickly beginning to pull away. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) took second place by overtaking Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Ducati). Further back, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) gradually started his recovery from 11th place.
With 19 laps remaining, Redding made a mistake in his battle with Bulega and went off track at the end of Starkey’s Straight, having to give up his position. The Briton then came under pressure from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki), who successfully overtook him 11 laps from the end. At the same time, Bautista moved up to fifth, and a lap later, Lowes overtook Bulega to take second place.
Run off for Scott Redding!😮
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) July 13, 2024
He's lost one position!#UKWorldSBK 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/wVRvVhdjq6
On lap 17, Redding made another mistake at the end of Starkey’s Straight, this time in a battle with Bautista, allowing the latter to move into fourth. Redding would eventually retire two laps later with problems on his M 1000 RR. Bautista reached third place on the same lap, forcing Bulega into a mistake at the same spot where Redding had previously gone off.
🏹The hunt continues!@19Bautista moves into a podium position🔥#UKWorldSBK 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/FuNCu1TAVT
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) July 13, 2024
Until the end, the podium positions did not change. Razgatlioglu won with an overwhelming advantage of 11.384s, with Lowes in second and Bautista in third. Bulega finished in fourth, and Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) made an impressive recovery to fifth place, ahead of his teammate Andrea Locatelli.
Results:
#Tissot Superpole full results🏁
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) July 13, 2024
It's @toprak_tr54 once again! @nbulega and Scott Redding will join him in the front row later on💥#UKWorldSBK 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/8ch8awgQQE
