Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) claimed top spot in Free Practice 1 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as the Donington Park action kicked off under sunny skies and with temperatures rising. Just 0.001s separated the Brit and title race leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) in second after the #11 left it late to move into second, while Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was third in the opening session of the Prosecco DOC UK Round – with less than half a tenth between the top three.

Times rapidly fell in the first half of the 45-minute session as riders adjusted to the Donington circuit as the sun beat down on the UK. FP1 was topped by home hero Alex Lowes on the KB998 Rimini, with the #22 stating he felt hot conditions helped the bike and very warm conditions were expected in the UK this weekend. The Bimota rider set a 1’26.544s to top the opening session of the weekend ahead of Bulega, who left it late to move into P2 and ‘Bulegas’ was only 0.001s slower than the pacesetter. The Championship leader usurped Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in the final 10 minutes of the session to demote his title rival into P3, but only 0.048s separated ‘El Turco’ from top spot.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) claimed fourth spot with a 1’26.948s, finishing four tenths away from P1 but finishing as the second-fastest Ducati rider. He was ahead of fellow Independent star Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) as ‘The Maniac’ gradually built up his pace to claim P5, ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). The #14 posted a 1’27.132s, missing out on P4 by less than two tenths.

Two rookies finished in the top eight. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), who raced here in WorldSSP last year, set a 1’27.129s as he claimed an impressive P7. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) is making his first WorldSBK paddock appearance at Donington Park but it’s a circuit he knows well from the British Superbike championship and that showed as he finished in eighth place, 0.006s clear of Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Action) in ninth. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten with Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) finished as the lead Yamaha rider in P11; he was 0.847s away from P1.

The top six from WorldSBK FP1, full results here:

1. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 1’26.544s
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.001s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.048s
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.404s
5. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) +0.477s
6. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.588s

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