Toprak Razgatlioglu won FIM Superbike World Championship Race One Saturday at Balaton Park Circuit, in Hungary. The 2024 WorldSuperbike Champion, started from pole position, rode his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR to a 3.738- seconds margin of victory in the 20-lap race.
Nicolo Bulega was the runner-up on his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4R and his teammate Alvaro Bautista finished third.
Andrea Locatelli, riding his Pata Maxus Yamaha YZF R1, took fourth.
Danilo Petrucci crossed the finish line fifth on his Barni Spark Racing Ducati Panigale V4R.
American Garrett Gerloff went from 14th on the grid to 9th at the finish on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Toprak Razgatlioglu leads the championship with 370 points, 9 ahead of Nicolo Bulega who has 361 points. Danilo Petrucci is third with 220 points.
Results race 1 WSBKChampionshipStandings WSBK
More from a press release issued by Dorna:
LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN: Seven wins in a row for Razgatlioglu as he wins red-flagged maiden race at Balaton. ‘El Turco’ led ‘Bulegas’ and Bautista across the line for his 160th WorldSBK podium.
MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s 999th race got off to a bumpy start with an early red flag restart. Once the Race resumed, the defending Champion was off like a shot for his 13th win of the season. His win marks his 31st win with BMW, tying Colin Edwards’ career win tally with Honda. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) stemmed the #1’s point gain with his sixth-consecutive P2, marking his 43rd WorldSBK podium. In P3, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) earned his 119thcareer rostrum finish, now only 10 points behind Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), who sits in front of him in third place in the Riders’ Championship.
Chaos at lights out: Seven riders came to grief seconds after lights out
As the pack funnelled into Lap 1’s first chicane, seven riders took a spill in a chain reaction of crashes that took place, involving: Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven), Danilo Petrucci, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing), Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC), Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team). Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) was applied a Double Long Lap Penalty for Irresponsible Riding by FIM WorldSBK stewards to start the restarted race. While they were uninjured, Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) and Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) didn’t make the start of the race, ending their Saturday early. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC), who were taken to the medical centre they remained as the race began again. Later, Lecuona was diagnosed with a left wrist fracture, and Gardner was transported to the hospital with a back contusion and suspected concussion.
Beachead at Balaton: Razgatlioglu carves out a larger Championship points margin for himself with Race 1 win
At the second lights out, Razgatlioglu took the holeshot into the first chicane ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). Pulling away lap after lap by Lap 6, ‘El Turco’ was already 3.166s ahead of the rest of the grid, steaming ahead for his 70th career win. After his crash, Bulega inherited P2 to mitigate ‘El Turco’s point gain. After a clinical overtake on Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha), Alvaro Bautista earned his second consecutive podium after tasting the prosecco at Donington’s Race 2.
Petrucci’s recovery ride: From the back of the grid to P5 for the Italian
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) started the race well, but to his misfortune, Bulega and later Bautista shuffled him aside to relegate the #55 to P4. Danilo Petrucci’s (Barni Spark Racing Team) bike was still undergoing repairs on the sighting lap, obligating him to start the race from the exit of pit lane for a back-of-grid start. Undeterred, Petrucci cut his way up the timesheet, finishing the contest in P5. After Petrucci overtook him for P5, Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) gave chase but was unable to recover the position. His P6 still comes as a welcome result, landing four manufacturers in the top six.
Battle for P8: Rea, Montella, Vierge and Gerloff lock horns
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) wrestled for P8 throughout the race before Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) crashed out with six laps to go. Montella ended up coming out on top, followed by Vierge in P8 and Gerloff in P9. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) rounded out the top 10, recovering from several lost positions after he ran wide early in the race. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took home P11 and P12, Aegerter finishing just over half a second behind the Dutchman.
Mackenzie scores with new team: P14 for the Scotsman
Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) was hampered by his double long lap penalty but rode well to salvage points from the race and finish in P13. Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) finished in P14 in his first WorldSBK race on Ducati machinery, leading Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) in the final point-scoring positions. Michael Rinaldi (GMT94-YAMAHA), Tito Rabat (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team), and Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team rounded out the last three finishers in P16, P17 and P18, respectively.
Letdown for Lowes: Crashes out after running in P2.
After the restart, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) was the first rider to crash, a disappointing Race 1 for the English rider after his P2 finish in the Tissot Superpole. Riding well in the top eight, with six laps to go, Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) crashed twice in two laps to finish with a DNF.
The top six from the WorldSBK Race 1: Full results here!
1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +3.738s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +6.002s
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +13.993s
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +16.174s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +16.590s
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu – 1’39.732s
Tune in tomorrow at 11:00 local time (UTC +2) for the 1000th WorldSBK Race! Watch live or on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 65% off!