In perfect conditions Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) has started the French Round in style. Starting from pole position the reigning Superbike World Champion dominated the opening race of the weekend to claim his tenth win in a row.
Race 1 Highlights
Starting from pole position Razgatlioglu claimed the holeshot. While he led the opening lap by four tenths of a second Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) pressured Razgatlioglu for the opening three laps before Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) moved into second position on Lap 5. The Italian already trailed the leader by over two seconds. The margin would stretch to over eight seconds at the flag.The Lowes brothers fought throughout the 21 lap race for the final step of the podium with the bimota rider defending strongly throughout the opening half of the race. As the race progressed Alex started to open a small margin and would go on to claim his second podium of the season. A crash in the final laps for Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) dropped him to ninth position at the flag.Starting from the back of the grid Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) battled through the field to claim a top five finish behind his rival for third in the standings, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team).
The opening lap saw a five rider crash at Turn 13 that set the stage for a race of attrition. Jonathan Rea, Andrea Iannone, Yari Montella, Xavi Vierge and Alvaro Bautista were all involved. Montella has been handed a double Long Lap Penalty for Sundayâs Tissot Superpole Race. Having started from eighth position Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ran inside the top five before crashing at Turn 8 on Lap 7. The Dutchman rejoined but crashed again later in the race. Van der Mark and Iannone will have their fitness assessed tomorrow before deciding if they will race.
Championship Highlights
- Razgatlioglu now holds a 31 point advantage over Bulega
- Just 29 points separate Petrucci, Locatelli and Bautista (Aruba.it Racing â Ducati) in their fight for third in the standings
- Ducati continues to lead the Manufacturersâ Standings but with their tenth win a row BMW are now 11 points adrift
P1 â Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
âAfter last yearâs big crash here my target was to come back here and win. We did it and Iâm really happy to be back on the top step and I want to thank my team because everyone worked really hard. We have two more races tomorrow and Iâm fully focused on those. The target is three wins again in France because I love this circuit. This is my favourite track and weâll see what happens tomorrow.â
P2 â Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing â Ducati)
âMy start wasnât very good. I managed to recover a little bit but Toprak was very fast, as always, so I just tried to keep my pace. After around 10 laps I started to feel some issues with the bike, especially at the front , which made it difficult to maintain a strong rhythm. Weâll work to improve for tomorrow.â
P3 â Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team)
âIt was a good afternoonâs work. Sam helped me in qualifying and I managed to get the bike on the first two rows. I knew my pace from mid to the end of the race would be quite good, but I had nothing for Toprak. I tried to stay with Nicolo but I was on the limit. Then I managed the gap to Sam. I saw the pit board going up and down so I kept pushing. Iâm really happy to be on the podium. The guys are working so hard. This is a new project with so much to learn and Iâm really thankful to the whole team. Now letâs see what we can do tomorrow.â
Race 1 Results
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1â35.642
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing â Ducati) +8.597s
3. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +10.979s
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +17.793s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +20.648s
6. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +26.031s
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) â 1â35.642s new lap record
