The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship racing action resumed on Sunday with the Tissot Superpole Race and it was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) who claimed victory at Donington Park in the Prosecco DOC UK Round. The reigning Champion smashed the race lap record during the 10-lap battle as he used Pirelli’s new SCQ tyre to full effect.

TWO FROM TWO: Razgatlioglu gets the jump at the start

Razgatlioglu, like in Race 1, was able to get the holeshot at the start to move into Turn 1 and, also like in Race 1, went on to lead every lap of the race, finishing ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in second place. The battle for third was also reminiscent of Race 1 as Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) fighting for third place; Redding this time able to come out on top for his first BMW podium. It means the front row of the grid in Race 2 will be made up of Razgatlioglu, Rea and Redding.

THE SECOND ROW: fourth to sixth on the grid for Race 2

Lowes made moves on Redding through the Turn 9-10 chicane, battled with him through Turn 11 and into Turn 12 before Redding responded into Turn 1. After that, he had to fight with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for fourth place, with the Championship leader coming through at Turn 9 on the final lap for fourth; Lowes will start Race 2 from fifth. Bautista was the highest placed rider using the SCX tyre with the front three all using the SCQ, while teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi was sixth also on the SCX tyre.

ROW THREE: looking to jump forward

The third row of the Race 2 grid will feature Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in seventh, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. The battle for the third row in Race 2 did also feature Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), with the pair finishing 10^th and 12^th respectively; Bassani dropping down the order from inside the top nine in the closing tages of the race. Phillip Oettl (Team Goeleven) finished 11^th, just 0.067s behind Gerloff.

TO NOTE: housekeeping from the Superpole Race

Wildcard Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) retired from the race after a crash with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) at Turn 12 on Lap 4, with Vierge able to re-join the race. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards.

The top nine following the Tissot Superpole Race, full results here:

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +1.089s

3. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +3.889s

4. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.970s

5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.244s

6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +6.282s

7. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +8.665s

8. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +10.445s

9. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) +10.802s

Fastest Lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), 1’26.767s, New Lap Record

Race 2 kicks off at 14:00 Local Time (GMT+1) and you can watch it LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED using the WorldSBK VideoPass!