Razgatlioglu’s successor in the Pata Prometeon Yamaha factory team, Jonathan Rea, is having his worst year since entering the WorldSBK 15 years ago for Ten Kate Honda. It now seems very unlikely that the Northern Irishman will be able to repeat his glorious time on the Kawasaki on the Yamaha R1. But at least he is now showing a slight upward trend.

BMW celebration day to kick off in England

While last year the current reigning world champion Alvaro Bautista was able to mercilessly exploit the advantages in acceleration and top speed on his Aruba.it Ducati to dominate the competition at will, a new pecking order is emerging after Toprak’s move to BMW. After the two most monotonous years in WorldSBK history, it finally looks as if the pilot can make the difference again. Nothing better could have happened for the sport and the true fans of the near-production world championship. The Bavarian brand has made a strong impression on one of the most beautiful courses in the world in recent years and last year Scott Redding missed the podium by just one place in the last race, finishing fourth. It was also the Englishman who was one of the most positive surprises, especially on Saturday, after a disappointing first third of the season with just 23 points from 12 races. In the afternoon, the 2020 vice world champion (back then with Ducati) was unfortunately let down by the technology of his BMW M-1000RR. Without this unspeakable bad luck, the local hero, who had been on course for a podium finish for a long time, would have at least finished in the top five.

Scott Redding ahead of “Magic” Michael van der Mark (both BMW M-1000RR) – the man with the number 45 was one of the most positive protagonists on the first day of racing at Donington Park. We really hope that his machine doesn’t let him down again on Sunday and that he can confirm his upward trend with a top result in front of his home crowd.

Incredible Razgatlioglu pulverizes lap record in Superpole

Even though the three-time pole sitter before 2024 with Jonathan Rea on the Yamaha R1 was more than four tenths faster this time than last year on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR, a look at the results must have shocked the 6-time record world champion. Over a second behind BMW newcomer Toprak Razgatlioglu and only 8th place, making him only the third-best Yamaha rider, this is the sobering conclusion of Saturday morning in Donington Park. The fact that his former teammate Alex Lowes on the best Kawasaki was even placed behind Jonathan Rea for once due to his best lap being deleted is unlikely to be any consolation for him. Nor is the poor result of Alvaro Bautista, who only finished eleventh behind Australian Remy Gardner on the Yamaha, which was for once the slowest. More than half a second ahead of everyone else, however, was once again the Turkish sensation Toprak, who literally pulverized both the record lap and the previous Superpole best time set by Rea from last year. With Scott Redding on the second-best BMW behind the new Ducati hope Bulega and Sam Lowes right behind him in P4, at least two of the four Brits from the top ten are very far up the starting grid.

Our photo of one of the undisputed most beautiful and also most fascinating tracks for the riders on the WorldSBK calendar. The first races of the Superbike World Championship were held here in 1988. For more information, see our History page, which has probably the most detailed and richly illustrated coverage of the earlier decades of the WSBK in the world.
In addition to Kawasaki ace Alex Lowes and Bautista, Danilo “Petrux” Petrucci was one of the unlucky ones in the Superpole because his best time was also deleted. Otherwise, the Italian, who is still suffering from the injury he sustained in motocross, would have also finished well up front in third place. The three must try to improve their starting position and thus their starting position for the third race on Sunday by placing in the top 9 in the Tissot Sprint Race on Sunday morning.

Race 1 – Toprak humiliates the factory Ducatis again after Misano

The successful team from Aruba.it Ducati could hardly believe their eyes during the first race as the gap between their two factory riders and the leading man on his BMW grew ever larger. After the defeat at their home race in Misano, the successful Italians could hardly have imagined being so devastatingly dominated and left behind by Toprak. Last year, Bautista had only just missed the maximum number of points thanks to his defeat in the sprint race against the Turk and two indisputable victories. But this time, although the Spaniard was able to catch his team-mate Bulega shortly before the end, he was also clearly beaten by Kawasaki hopeful Alex Lowes. He had started in P9, just two positions ahead of Alvaro, and once again drove a sensational race, which could also be said of his compatriot Scott Redding until his tragic retirement after 18 of 23 laps.

Toprak “El Turco” Razgatlioglu (BMW M-1000RR) here in training in front of the two Italians Danilo “Petrux” Petrucci and Andrea “The Maniac” Iannone (both Ducati). The man with the number 54 rode his own race in the first run on Saturday, just as he did in his triple triumph in Misano.
Toprak’s favourite track in Donington Park is a real challenge for the riders, with several very tight but also many flowing corners. It also offers WorldSBK fans and spectators a number of spectacular spots, such as the Melbourne Hairpin, where visitors can admire the different lines of the drivers up close, just a few metres from the action.

The top spots of the first race at Donington Park

In addition to Kawasaki hopeful Alex Lowes and his former long-time teammate Jonathan Rea in fifth place on the Yamaha R1, Toprak also shone, especially Niccolo Bulega, who was only narrowly beaten by his Ducati factory teammate Bautista, as well as his Italian compatriots Locatelli in sixth place and the brave “Petrux” in seventh. Dominique Aegerter in particular was able to keep the damage somewhat limited, starting from fifth place in eighth place, followed by Mickey van der Mark and Remy Gardner. The Australian completed the top ten, but probably had much higher ambitions after his best time in free practice on Saturday morning. With seventh place in the world championship, however, he is still doing well and only Locatelli in fourth place is currently ahead of Gardner as a Yamaha rider, although Gardner had a lot of bad luck several times in the first lap. In this respect, he and the 6-time record world champion Rea in particular can be expected to improve in the next races.

Our recording from July 2019, with a courageous attack on the approach to the Melbourne Hairpin by Toprak on Jonathan Rea, followed by Leon Haslam (all Kawasaki). At that time, it was already clear that the Turk would be one of the upcoming men in the Superbike World Championship, something that his then brand colleague Johnny Rea had also emphasized several times in interviews this season.

The flops of the first race of the England round

For the surprise man of the first round, however, things look much less positive after P11, as Andrea Iannone missed the top ten by just over 1.7 seconds. Apart from Sam Lowes, who rode into the gravel trap in turn 4 after just over 9 minutes, only Michael Ruben Rinaldi on a Ducati was worse than “The Maniac” in the first run. Philipp Oettl also had a disappointing start in Donington, coming third from last. It seems as if the German has had no chance of getting a top position on the GMT94 Yamaha since he had to make way for Iannone at GoEleven Ducati, which was completely normal for him at the time. Kawasaki newcomer Axel Bassani, on the other hand, was still reasonably satisfied with P12 after a difficult start to the season, while Garrett Gerloff must definitely be disappointed with 14th place after strong performances on Friday. After his team announced that they would be leaving the WSBK at the end of the season, the Texas playboy is under a lot of pressure to ensure that he remains in the Superbike World Championship. The Bonovo Action team caused a lot of confusion in the media with comments made by their team boss upon arrival in Donington. Apparently, only the separation from BMW seems to be a reality and hopefully there is now still a possibility of remaining in the paddock as a partner of another manufacturer.

At his home race on the track, close to where his twin brother Sam lives, Alex Lowes once again exceeded his own expectations and gave Kawasaki its fifth podium of the season, including two wins in Australia. The fact that he also beat all the Ducati riders underlines the outstanding performance of the fast man from Lincoln.
The devastating result for Toprak’s opponents on the first day of the Donington weekend, with a particularly conciliatory result for record world champion Johnny Rea. Being the best Yamaha rider for once with fifth place should hopefully give the WSBK icon from Northern Ireland the long-awaited boost and form the basis for a successful continuation.

Dramatic end for Marcel Schrötter in run 1 of the WorldSSP

After his poor result in the Superpole the day before and the disappointing sixteenth place on the grid, the German struggled to make some progress during the race. The Ducatis of eventual winner Adrian Huertas, Yari Montella and Jorge Navarro, who had pulled away early on as usual with Yamaha rider Stefano Manzi, were already well ahead when Schrötter had made it to P11 when Federico Caricasulo unfairly pushed him on the inside and catapulted Marcel off the track. Of course, the Italian was penalized for this by moving back 5 positions on the grid and in the race, meaning he missed out on the points. But none of this helps Schrötter, he lost valuable points on the riders ahead of him and thus possibly finally lost his chance of fighting for the 2024 title. However, those responsible for the technical regulations failed to ensure a balanced field and so he and his MV, like the Yamaha riders, are in a losing position against the mostly vastly superior Ducati Panigale V2 machines and their riders. Similar to the WorldSBK in recent years, Dorna and FIM seem to be very keen that Ducati always has a lead over the competition, according to the prevailing opinion in the paddock.

Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) took home important points with second place behind Huertas (Ducati) and is probably the only one on his Yamaha R6 who can seriously threaten the Ducati, which has the advantage of the FIM and the WSBK, in the battle for the World Championship. The Italian competes for the most successful team in recent years in the Supersport World Championship, but is mostly fighting with blunt weapons against the high-torque V2 Ducati with more than twice the displacement.
The result of the WorldSSP competition, which in fact is increasingly becoming the Ducati Cup, in which, in addition to the Yamaha R6 machines, which will be difficult to beat until 2022, Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph and MV Agusta usually have no chance at all in the fight for victory, at least in dry conditions.

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