WorldSBK: Toprak Razgatlioglu takes his first win of the season

Toprak Razgatlioglu has won an incredibly dramatic Superpole Race at Mandalika.

Toprak Razgatlioglu led the way into turn one, ahead of Alvaro Bautista, with Locatelli slotting into third place. Danilo Petrucci, Loris Baz and Alex Lowes would be involved in a collision at turn two, causing both Baz and Lowes to crash.

One lap later, Rea would tuck the front at turn two, causing the race to get red-flagged. The six-time World Champion would return to the pitlane and make the restart to the Superpole Race.

A new race distance of eight laps would be announced, with starting positions based on the Superpole results. It would be a long delay, as the marshals/officials cleaned the track from any oil that was on the circuit.

The race would be restarted with Bautista leading the way into turn one, with Razgatlioglu reigning the lead at turn one. Locatelli struggled on the restart dropping down to fifth position.

Jonathan Rea looked incredibly aggressive on the opening laps of the restart, climbing his way to third position. He quickly started to lose the gap on the leading duo of Bautista and Razgatlioglu.

Alex Lowes would battle with Baz and Bassani, making contact for the second time with Loris Baz. He would hit the right side of Baz, forcing him to retire from the Superpole race, after Lowes made contact to his ankle.

Remy Gardner would race in Sunday’s action, having to start from the back of the grid due to not competing in Superpole. Gardner missed Saturday’s race action due to suffering from acute gastroenteritis.

The championship leader crashes out

Rea would find a way past Bautista, with the Championship leader losing the rear and high siding. Bautista crashed out of the race and walked away with zero Championship points and work to do for Race Two.

Locatelli would jump into second position with Alex Lowes pilling on the pressure, on the young Italian. With Razgatlioglu leading the race, it would be a Yamaha 1-2 for the first time since 2021.

Scott Redding was having a far better race, sitting in ninth position on the factory Motorrad BMW. Ahead of Redding was his teammate, van der Mark who was enjoying the Mandalika circuit this weekend.

Tom Sykes’ bad start to the season got worse, with the 2013 WorldSBK Champion retiring from the race. It was Sykes’ fifth race in a row where he has had to pull into the pitlane on the Puccetti Kawasaki.

After an unpredictable result, Toprak Razgatlioglu took the chequered flag to win the Superpole Race. Andrea Locatelli followed home in second position, with Alex Lowes in third position.

Axel Bassani finished in fifth place, behind Jonathan Rea who finished in fourth position. Xavi Vierge finished as the top Honda in sixth position, ahead of his teammate, Lecuona who finished in 16^th.

After a tough race, Rinaldi dropped down to seventh position, dropping down the order as the race progresses. Petrucci also dropped down the order, finishing the race in 11^th position, after the original collision with Lowes at the start of the race.

After an unpredictable result in the Superpole race, riders will have to do it all again in the final race of the weekend. WorldSBK is beginning to heat up, as the Championship has closed with Bautista just 28 points ahead.

Image credit: WorldSBK.com