Toprak Razgatlioglu won the World Superbike Superpole Race Sunday morning at Magny-Cours, in France. Riding his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR, the Turkish racer won the 10-lap race by 3.712 seconds.
Nicolo Bulega was the runner-up on his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4R, and Alex Lowes was third on his Bimota by Kawasaki KB998 Rimini.
Danilo Petrucci finished his race fourth on his Barni Spark Racing Ducati V4R.
American Garrett Gerloff finished 14th on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Results superpole race wsbk
ChampionshipStandings WSBK
More from a press release issued by Dorna:
ELEVEN IN A ROW: Razgatlioglu extends winning streak ahead of Bulega, back-to-back podiums for Bimota.
The Turkish star dominated the race for his 10h win at Magny-Cours
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is off to the races in France as the chequered flag waves on the first half of Sunday’s race doubleheader. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took the top tier of the rostrum in the Tissot Superpole Race, leading Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) across the line. The podium spells Bulega’s 46th career rostrum finish. Alex Lowes secured his second consecutive podium, marking his 49th career podium and tying him with Carlos Checa for 17th all-time in WorldSBK podiums.
A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN: Razgatlioglu can now call himself the most successful rider at Magny-Cours
Bulega screamed off the line to take the holeshot from Razgatlioglu; however, the defending Champion quickly reinstated himself on top of the field in the opening lap at Turn 5. On Lap 4, Turn 15, Bulega ran very deep into the corner and fell to P4 behind brothers Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), then Alex Lowes. #11 took back his P2 position from the brothers. Unfortunately for #14, Lap 7 saw the end of his race as he slid off into the gravel on Turn 2, the Brit crashing out from fourth place. From there, the gaps widened between the front three riders, and by the final lap, Razgatlioglu saw the chequered flag first, followed by Bulega and Alex Lowes. ‘El Turco’s win brings another pair of records to his name, the #1 is now the first rider ever to have at least 10 wins at three different circuit, and is now the most successful rider at Magny-Cours as he tops Jonathan Rea’s (Pata Maxus Yamaha)’ standing record of nine wins.
VAN DER MARK P5: Best result since his home round six rounds ago
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) couldn’t keep up with Alex Lowes to challenge him for the podium. Still, the future BMW rider ran away from current BMW rider Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to claim P4 for his own. Behind him, the Dutchman defended his P5 starting position well, equalling his best result of the season, first earned in Assen’s Superpole Race. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) had himself a much-improved P6 in the race, his best result since Cremona Race 1 back in the fourth round of the season.
TOUGH LUCK FOR BASSANI AND BAUTISTA: Penalty for the Italian sends Rea up to P7
Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the beneficiary of a one-position penalty applied to Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) by FIM WorldSBK Stewards for exceeding track limits on Turn 10 of the final lap. That decision boosted the Ulsterman to P7 on the session and knocked Bassani down to P8. Behind them, Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) took P9, just 0.151s behind Rea, who crossed the line in front of him. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished P10, missing the points by a single position. The consistency is a step in the right direction for the Swiss rider, who now has three top ten finishes in a row. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) started well, riding in the point-scoring positions until he took the first of his Long Lap Penalties, culminating in a P15 finish for the Turkish rookie. Bautista suffers another DNF at Magny-Cours after ending Saturday’s Race 1 from the gravel as well. His spill took place at Turn 5 in his sixth Lap, retiring shortly after.
The top nine from the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race, full results here!
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +3.712s
3. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +7.674s
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +8.854s
5. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +9.660s
6. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) +10.287s
7. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +11.527s
8. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +11.700s
9. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) +11.851s
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 1’35.500s, new lap record
Tune in this afternoon for the thrilling conclusion of action at Magny-Cours at 15:30! (UTC +2) Tune in with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 50% off!