Razgatlioglu ends Bautista's win streak

Toprak Razgatlioglu clinched his second victory of the season in the WorldSBK race at Donington Park, outperforming Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea in the Superpole Race.

Similar to Race 1, Bautista overtook Rea at the start, but Rea swiftly responded with a stronger exit from the turn, relegating Bautista to third as Razgatlioglu swiftly made his way through to second at turn four.

Unfortunately for Loris Baz, who retired from Race 1 due to issues with his M 1000 RR, his weekend worsened as he crashed at the final corner.

Meanwhile, Alex Lowes settled into a solid fourth position, able to keep up with the leading trio, while Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Locatelli struggled to match the pace set by Rea.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who made a mistake in Race 1, repeated the error by going into the gravel at the Melbourne Loop on the second lap.

Razgatlioglu continued to exchange fastest laps with Rea and eventually set a new all-time lap record of 1:26.127s.

Despite Rea's consistent lap times, Razgatlioglu and Bautista began to pose a threat. Bautista then set a new lap record, becoming the first rider to break into the 1-minute 25-second barrier.

While Razgatlioglu received a track limits warning, he made a remarkable move under braking, overtaking Bautista at the Melbourne Loop, and Bautista responded with a similar maneuver approaching turn nine.

Despite intense pressure in the final moments, Razgatlioglu managed to hold on to secure his second win of the season. This marked only the second race in 2023 where Bautista did not emerge as the victor.

RESULTS

POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon 10 laps

2 Alvaro Bautista ESP Aruba.it - Ducati +0.315s

3 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team +0.537s

4 Andrea Locatelli ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon +4.247s

5 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Racing Team +5.018s

6 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team +5.33s

7 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +5.629s

8 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +6.884s

9 Scott Redding GBR ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team +9.047s

10 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +11.167s

11 Dominique Aegerter SUI GYTR GRT Yamaha Team +12.125s

12 Bradley Ray GBR Yamaha Motoxracing Team +13.346s

13 Iker Lecuona ESP Team HRC +13.712s

14 Xavi Vierge ESP Team HRC +14.295s

15 Remy Gardner AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha Team +17.793s

16 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +20.959s

17 Michael Rinaldi ITA Aruba.it - Ducati +22.256s

18 Tom Sykes GBR ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team +25.381s

19 Hafizh Syahrin MAS PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team +28.53s

20 Tito Rabat ESP Kawasaki Puccetti +28.954s

21 Isaac Vinales ESP Pedercini Racing +29.146s

22 Oliver Konig CZE Orelac Racing MOVISIO +35.084s

23 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +35.269s

24 Eric Granado BRA PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team +36.476s