Razgatlioglu comes out on top of a race long battle

Words and images courtesy of WorldSBK Press

With high track temperatures of almost 50°C the Misano World Circuit -Marco Simoncelli was always going to produce a challenging race for the WorldSBK field

Race 1 Highlights

• A post Superpole penalty for slow riding for Nicolo Bulega dropped the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider from pole position to fourth on the grid. The championship leader led the first four laps of the race but eventually had to settle for 20 points in second position. He trailed Toprak Razgatlioglu by 1.045s at the end of 21 laps

• Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) made a mistake on Lap 1 at Turn 8 and ran off track. Having started from pole position he dropped to third position at the end of the lap. Within a lap he took advantage of a crash from Axel Bassani at Turn 6 and then hunted down Bulega. The Ducati rider ran wide into Turn 9 and opened a door for Razgatlioglu to take the lead before quarter distance

• A race long battle saw Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) hold off Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) for the final step on the podium. At one point Lowes attacked into Turn 2 to take the position but within a few corners Petrucci was back through with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) finishing fifth for his best result since his Dutch Round victory

• From the fourth row of the grid Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made progress but a mistake at Turn 8, when he ran wide attacking Sam Lowes, cost him the chance to fight for the podium. Bautista finished the race in seventh but a post race penalty for Lowes, for exceeding track limits, dropped the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team rider to seventh position.

Championship Highlights

• Bulega currently holds a 26 points advantage over Razgatlioglu
• BMW clawed back five points to Ducati in the Manufacturers’ Standings

P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

“This wasn’t an easy race but I pushed hard on every lap. I know Bulega and Ducati were going to be strong at this track and with the hot conditions it wasn’t easy for anyone to ride. During the last few laps I felt a lot of chatter on the bike but I just stayed focused. This race was very important for me and for the championship. We’re still fighting for the title in WorldSBK and I’m happy to win Race 1 but we still have two more races this weekend.”

P2 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“Honestly, I didn’t have a great feeling with the bike. With the hot track temperature I was only at 90%. If you want to try and beat Toprak you need to be at 100%. We’ll try to improve the feeling for tomorrow. I didn’t agree with the penalty. After Turn 10, I looked behind and saw Petrucci coming, so I started to push again to avoid disturbing him. I tried to explain this, and even Danilo told me he wasn’t angry with me, so it’s okay. I’ll just focus on doing my best anyway.”

P3 – Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team)

“This was really, really tough. I started from the third row and at one point I took a big hit to my arm, I don’t even know who it was, but I managed to get up to third position and after that I tried to push. Honestly, I wasn’t even able to push that hard because I was focused on managing rear traction. It was a tough race because you had to keep front grip for the race. Alex did a great job and he tried to overtake me. I thought I might still have a bit of margin. It was tough and I was just waiting for that last lap like it was my birthday!”

Race 1 Results

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.045s
3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +16.684s
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +16.824s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +17.450s
6. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +18.361s
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 1’33.201s

Tissot Superpole Highlights

• First blood went to Bulega during the 15 minute Superpole session. The Italian set a time of 1’31.856 before Razgatlioglu lowered the mark with a new lap record. Within seconds though Bulega went two tenths of a second faster to set the pole time. He was ultimately demoted to fourth on the grid for slowing down on the racing line at the end of the session and bothering Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) on a flying lap

• Axel Bassani delivered a first front row of the season for the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team. Clever strategy saw the Italian rider leave the pits behind Razgatlioglu and this was rewarded with a first front row since 1989 for the manufacturer. His teammate, Alex Lowes, will line-up on the second row of the grid for Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race

• Despite missing Free Practice 2 yesterday Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) set the fourth fastest time. He’ll line-up ahead of Alex Lowes and the impressive Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Having crashed twice on Friday Gardner showed composure to set his fastest time at the end of the session

Superpole Results

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’31.618s*
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.238s
3. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.719s

*Started Race 1 from fourth following a penalty

Home win for Manzi

• Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) came out on top of a race long battle that saw the top five break away in the closing stages. Manzi, starting from the fourth row of the grid, made a fast start and was immediately in podium contention before taking the lead for the first time on Lap 7. On the penultimate lap he retook the lead from Can Oncu before opening a gap of 0.5s at the end of 18 laps

• Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) chased Manzi for much of the race but dropped to third position on the final lap. The Turkish rider enjoyed a race long scrap with Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) with the Ducati rider finishing second and claiming his third podium of the campaign
• Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) missed out on the podium but held of Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) at the flag

• Filipo Farioli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was an early crasher but having pitted for fresh tyres he set the fastest lap and will be rewarded with pole position for Race 2 tomorrow. Manzi and Oncu will join him on the front row of the grid

Championship Highlights

• Manzi extends his lead to 62 points from Bo Bendsneyder with Booth-Amos a further six points adrift

• With another 25 points Yamaha now holds a 91 advantage over Ducati in the Manufacturers’ Standings

P1 | Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)

“This was a crazy race! I had a really good launch off the line but I had contact with another rider at Turn 2 and dropped to fifth position. I told myself to keep calm and see how the race plays out. I tried to recover step by step and after one or two laps I was already up to third. I managed things a bit before fighting for the lead because I knew that my pace was strong. Once I took the lead my focus was on keeping a good rhythm. With Can we had some tough moves but every time he overtook me I got him back at the next corner! I managed to stay in front and on the final lap I was alone which was great. I’m really happy to take the win and I want to enjoy this moment but we already have Race 2 tomorrow to think about and focus on.”

Race 1 Results

1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)
2. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.514s 
3. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) +1.518s 
4. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) +1.573s 
5. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +1.783s 
6. Marcel Schroetter (WRP Racing) +3.229s 
Fastest lap: Filippo Farioli (MV Agusta) – 1’37.536s

Thompson delivers Australia’s
first victory

• As ever the WorldSSP300 grid delivered a thrilling race at Misano. A ten rider group settled the spoils on the final of 12 laps with Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) taking the chequered flag by three tenths of a second. It was the Australian’s first podium of the season but also his nation’s first success in the series

• Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) finished second to take his first podium finish since Portimao 2023. He held off Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) and Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) on the final lap

• Jeffrey Buis, four times a race winner this season, recovered from a double long lap penalty to battle in the lead group. The Dutchman ended up in eighth at the flag and claimed eight championship points

• On the final lap Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300) exceeded track limits and was dropped out of the points scoring positions.

Championship Highlights

P1 – Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki)

“It’s incredible to get my first win of the season. It’s been a difficult season to start the season and this is my first podium of the year but the team have made great steps throughout the season. They’ve helped me a lot and this weekend we’ve made a bit of a breakthrough. I have a lot more feeling on the bike now. I felt like I had good pace today and we had a great setup. I had a little bit extra speed in me in the race and I was just sitting in the group to manage the race. It’s always difficult to try and separate yourself from the group so on the final lap I just pushed as hard as I could and hoped to open a gap.“

Race 1 Results

1. Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki)
2. Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) +0.338s
3. Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) +0.473s
4. Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) +0.494s
5. David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) +0.737s
6. Pepe Osuna (ZAPPAS-DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) +0.914s
Fastest lap: Carter Thompson (Kawasaki) – 1’49.415s