Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ran away with P1 as he put distance between himself and rival Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), who finished P2 for his 18^th WorldSBK podium. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) held off Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) for P3 in a nail-biting battle for his 19^th career podium in the category after Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team)’s strong start was spoiled by his Lap 2 crash.

154 FOR 54: 154th WorldSBK podium for the usual #54

Razgatlioglu held onto his P1 grid start as he claimed the holeshot, followed into T1 by Bassani and Bulega; however, the pair of Italians strode past the #1 as he ran wide—Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). After Bassani crashed out of the race, ‘El Turco’ thundered back towards Bulega in P1, overtaking him on Lap 4. The pair from there locked horns as the #1 doggedly defended his P1 to try to win back Championship points. Behind them, Alex Lowes and Petrucci had a protracted duel of their own as they each wanted to claim the final rostrum spot for their own.

SAM LOWES VS ALVARO BAUTISTA: The Ducati pair crossed swords in the final laps of the race, ultimately decided by a Track Limits Penalty

In the late running, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) closed the gap to Alex Lowes in P4 in front of him, nipping at the British rider’s heels as they battled in front of him. In the end, he lacked the pace to fight for P3 as well, finishing top Yamaha in P5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) held P6, duelling with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing) as the Spaniard made a desperate attack to try to claim P6 for his own. In the end, Sam Lowes held on for sixth place, relegating the #19 to P7. However, after being penalised with a three-second penalty in lieu of a Long Lap Penalty by the FIM WorldSBK stewards for violating track limits, Bautista was bumped up to P6, and Sam Lowes was down to P7.

MONTELLA CONTINUES TO SHINE: fifth top-eight finish of his rookie year

Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) chalked up another strong result in his rookie season, finishing P8 as top rookie once again. Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) was the faster of the Honda pair as he finished P9, just two positions ahead of teammate Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC), who earned P11 despite still dealing with his recently fractured foot. In P10 between the factory Honda pair, Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) landed his first top 10 finish since Cremona Race 1.

RINALDI SCORES IN YAMAHA DEBUT: P15 for the Italian in his first WorldSBK Yamaha race

Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the second-fastest Yamaha on the day, his P12 his second-best result of the season after his pair of P10’s from Most. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) finished in P13 ahead of American rider Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) in P14 and Michael Rinaldi (GMT94-YAMAHA) in P15, scoring points in his first WorldSBK race in Yamaha blue. Rounding out the riders who saw the chequered flag, Tarran Mackenzie led the Petronas MIE Honda Racing Team pair across the finish line, Malaysian Zaqhwan Zaidi following him home to finish P16 and P17.

EARLY CHAOS AT MISANO: five retirements in the first half of the race

Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was the first to fall in Race 1, his low-side crash wiping out Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in the early stages of the race at Turn 8. Aegerter was taken to the medical centre shortly after and was later ruled unfit with an anterior neck wound and a left knee contusion. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) shortly after crashed out of the race in Lap 2 Turn 6, in Lap 3 Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) carried too much speed into Turn 13 and crashed out of the race. On Lap 6, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the next to tumble as he slid off with a lowside on Turn 10. Gardner was the last to fall on Turn 8 of Lap 11.

The top six from the WorldSBK Race 1: Full results here!

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +1.045s
3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +16.684s
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +16.824s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +17.450s
6. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +18.361s
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 1’33.201s

Tune in tomorrow as the WorldSBK riders return for their Tissot Superpole Race at 11:00 and Race 2 at 14:00 (local time UTC +2)  WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!