Toprak Razgatlioglu ended Alvaro Bautista's WSBK dominance with a win in the Superpole race at Mandalika, Indonesia, on Sunday.
Bautista had won the opening four races of the season, but his rein came to an end after two red flags in the ten-lap race.
A crash involving Alex Lowes, Loris Baz and Danilo Petrucci resulted in the first red flag on Lap 2. Baz was unable to rejoin, while Petrucci would recover to finish in 11th and Lowes impressed to earn a podium.
VICTORY FOR @toprak_tr54 in the Tissot Superpole Race ????#IDNWorldSBK ???? pic.twitter.com/5AiBtlVAfb
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) March 5, 2023
Former world champion Jonathan Rea, who had endured a poor weekend so far, then slipped off the track the following lap, leading to another red flag. The Kawasaki rider managed to get to the pits, rejoin the race, and fight to challenge Bautista in second.
The indomitable Spaniard lost control of his Ducati during the battle, crashing out. Rea had a podium finish in sight, but Andrea and Locatelli and Lowes passed him at the death.
Tissot Superpole Race result at Mandalika:
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) March 5, 2023
1?? @toprak_tr54
2?? Andrea Locatelli
3?? Alex Lowes#IDNWorldSBK ???? pic.twitter.com/tZhPQJG67z
SUPERPOLE RESULTS
1 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK 10 Laps
2 Andrea Locatelli ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +1.110s
3 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +1.372s
4 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +3.073s
5 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +3.234s
6 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +4.251s
7 Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +4.617s
8 Michael Van Der Mark NED ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +4.792s
9 Scott Redding GBR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +5.797s
10 Dominique Aegerter SWI GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +8.068s
11 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Racing Team +8.347s
12 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +8.442s
13 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +10.592s
14 Remy Gardner AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +13.534s
15 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +16.839s
16 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +17.365s
17 Hafizh Syahrin MAL PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +18.881s
18 Oliver Konig CZE Orelac Racing Kawasaki +33.614s
19 Eric Granado BRA PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +42.022s
20 Tom Sykes GBR Puccetti Kawasaki DNF
21 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati DNF
22 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW DNF