News

Rapid Razgatlioglu storms to Balaton Park pole ahead of Sam Lowes, title rival Bulega fourth

Saturday, 26 July 2025 09:47 GMT

    • Reigning Champion Razgatlioglu was uncatchable during Superpole as he claimed his 22nd WorldSBK pole position

    Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed the first MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship pole position at the Balaton Park Circuit by almost half-a-second during the Tissot Superpole session. ‘El Turco’ has been quick all weekend and backed that up with pole position with a 0.477s margin over Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) at the Hungarian Round, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) on the front row for the first time in 664 days.

    THE FIRST RUN: Razgatlioglu goes quicker than FP3 on his first lap

    It didn’t take long for Razgatlioglu to beat his time from FP3 as he set a blistering 1’38.459s, 0.459s quicker than his closest challenger, Locatelli. On his second run, he went a tenth quicker to set a new benchmark of 1’38.369s to extend his lead at the head of the field. Sam Lowes, the pacesetter in two of the three practice sessions, was third after the first runs.

    RED FLAG INTERRUPT PROCEEDINGS: Razgatlioglu almost half-a-second clear

    A big crash for Tito Rabat (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) at Turn 9 brought out the red flags, with the #53 able to walk away from the crash but he was taken to the medical centre for a check-up. He was declared fit follow his check and was 18th in Superpole. There was a separate crash at Turn 16 for Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) before the red flags were shown, interrupting the second runs. The session was resumed with 2’43 on the clock. When the session restarted, the #22 crashed again at Turn 1, ending his hopes of improving his times. The Brit was classified in 12th place.

    Razgatlioglu was ahead of the Bimota rider’s second spill and was able to improve his time to a 1’38.357s as he secured pole position at a 14th different venue and his 22nd in WorldSBK, while it’s also the ninth venue BMW have recorded a pole position at. Sam Lowes also improved his time to usurp Locatelli, lining up alongside ‘El Turco’ and Locatelli falling to third. It’s Locatelli’s first front row start since Portimao 2023, a wait of almost two years for the Italian.

    BULEGA ON THE SECOND ROW: three places behind the Championship leader…

    Title contender Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) will lead away the second row after claiming P4 in Superpole, his 1’38.969s coming after the red flag as he moved up a few positions but unable to put himself on the front row, two tenths away from Locatelli. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) is alongside ‘Bulegas’ in fifth with Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) the lead Honda rider in sixth, completing the second row.

    STARTING FROM THE THIRD ROW: Bautista leads Iannone and Vierge

    Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) was nine tenths away from Razgatlioglu’s time as he claimed seventh with a 1’39.266s, with Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) in eighth. Two Honda machines were in the top nine with Lecuona’s teammate, Xavi Vierge, taking ninth with a 1’39.350s. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) completed the top ten after posting a 1’39.375s, finishing half-a-tenth clear of Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 11th.

    The top six from WorldSBK Superpole, full results here:

    1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’38.357s
    2. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.477s
    3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.486s
    4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.612s
    5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.723s
    6. Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) +0.773s

    Don’t miss the first race at Balaton Park! Race 1 takes place from 14:00 Local Time (UTC+2) and watch it LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED on the WorldSBK VideoPass – now only €24.99!