Toprak Razgatlioglu takes three wins in three races at Donington Park adding that particular diamond to an already glittering WorldSBK career.
WORLDSBK – Donington 2022
WORLDSBK // FRIDAY
Rea Fastest At Home On Day One
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) put in a strong performance on the opening day of action at Donington Park to take a half second advantage over second fastest rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
A big boost for the local fans saw Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) take third place in the early running.
The third British rider in the Friday top four was Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team), as championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed fifth in the early combined qualifying times, albeit over 0.7 seconds behind Rea.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was sixth and the top independent rider was former BSB rider, Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW).
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) had on off-track excursion in FP1 but still ended up eighth.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) was ninth and the top ten was rounded out by local man Leon Haslam (TPR Kawasaki).
Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) was the top Fireblade rider, in 12th place.
Wildcard riders Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) and Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) were 15th and 16th respectively.
WORLDSBK // SUPERPOLE – SATURDAY
All Time High For Superpole Man Rea
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) stretched the limits of WorldSBK racing again by taking almost 0.6 of a second off the track best pace in Superpole qualifying, securing his second pole position of the season as a result.
His 1’26.080 – tantalisingly close to the 1’25s – was 0.273 seconds faster than his KRT team-mate Alex Lowes, who secured second spot for a perfect pre-race Kawasaki finish.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was third, but 0.426 seconds distant from Rea.
The improvement from Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) this weekend saw him fourth on the grid, with the two factory Ducatis of Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi fifth and sixth, completing the front two rows of the grid.
Donington new boy Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) was seventh, FP3 fastest rider Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) eighth, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) ninth and top Ducati privateer Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) tenth.
Top local wildcard Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) was 13th.
WORLDSBK // RACE ONE – SATURDAY
Razgatlioglu Wins As Bautista Bins
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) pulled a clear race win out of the hat at his favourite circuit after he had managed to avoid the often dramatic happenings going on behind him in the early stages of the 23-lap Race One. It was his second race win of the season, but the first in a full-distance race.
He survived an early attack on both sides from KRT riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes into the Foggy Esses but it dropped Rea back to sixth place on that opening lap. Razgatlioglu made a clean break from that point on.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Rea ended up in a street-fight behind the incredibly consistent and fast Razgatlioglu, with Rea riding on the ragged edge to stay with Bautista and then make several attempted overtakes, as they swapped second and third places.
After Rea ran wide towards the end of the race it looked all over as Bautista had a small gap and a little clear track.
The Spanish rider was to fall entering the Goddards Hairpin, with a third of the race left to run, and eventually retire.
This would ensure Rea would finish second, albeit over six seconds behind Razgatlioglu – who celebrated with a trademark stoppie over the finish line.
Alex Lowes started from second but dropped down the order, only to pass the recently improved BMW of Scott Redding with three laps to go, and then take his first podium finish of the year in third place.
With Redding fourth, Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) was top Independent Rider in fifth, one up on Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) outpaced the fast early starter Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) to take seventh position.
The top ten was rounded out by Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
Local wildcards Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) and Leon Haslam (TPR Kawasaki) scored points for 14th and 15th places, respectively.
In the overnight points standings, Bautista’s crash has seen his championship lead cut to 16 over Rea, with Razgatlioglu now 54 points from the top spot.
WORLDSBK // SUPERPOLE RACE – SUNDAY
Toprak Doubles Up
The triple crown race weekend that Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) dreams of came a step closer when the Saturday race winner put in another front-running victory parade in the ten-lap Superpole race on Sunday.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was a second behind at the flag, but the locals and the BMW Motorrad team in general also had a first Scott Redding race podium to celebrate. With no leading rider crashes it was a ‘true’ podium.
It was all the sweeter because Redding beat his old employers – Ducati – and the rider who replaced him – Alvaro Bautista.
With Alex Lowes only losing fourth place in the final sector of the lap into the chicane Bautista made up for this Saturday no-score with fourth.
Lowes was fifth, and a second behind him, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) rounded out the top six places.
Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) placed seventh, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) eighth, Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) ninth and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) tenth.
Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) and Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) collided into Turn 12, with Mackenzie falling and unable to make a restart.
WORLDSBK // RACE TWO – SUNDAY
Razgatlioglu Takes His First Triple Crown
He said he had a dream still to realise in WorldSBK, and in taking three wins in three races at Donington Park Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) added that particular diamond to an already glittering WorldSBK career.
He did not get it all his own way in Race Two, as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) hung onto him and harried him until half race distance, when the first inkling of a gap opened up.
It would expand and long-time third place rider Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) came through to second with much greater pace than Rea, and even initially Razgatlioglu.
Razgatlioglu did enough to hang on and win by just over a second to jump right back into the championship fight itself.
Bautista was duly second, Rea third.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed fourth; his threat to Rea eventually abating.
Scott Redding was again on good form, although he had to give best to Rinaldi’s superior pace in the second half. Fifth was still a strong ride, especially as he finished ahead of his Saturday race podium nemesis, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team), who was sixth today.
Top Independent rider was, again, Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) in seventh place. He was just over two seconds clear of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team), with Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) ninth and finally beating the leading official Honda of Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda).
Local wildcard Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) was 15th, and TT star Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 19th.
After Bautista fell and no scored in Race One, we leave Donington with a closer championship battle than when we arrived. 43 points cover the top three.
Bautista has 246 points, Rea 229, Razgatlioglu 203, Locatelli 124 and Rinaldi 119.
WORLDSSP – Donington 2022
WORLDSSP // DAY ONE
Aegerter Heads Up Busy Friday
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) once again showed his pure pace and quality by setting the fastest WorldSSP time of the opening day in the new-look WorldSSP class, ending up 0.224 seconds ahead of Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Yamaha).
Official Ducati rider Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati) was just 1/1000th of a second behind van Strallen in third place, with the perennial WorldSSP force that is Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) fourth fastest.
Multiple riders lost their ‘best’ times for yellow flag infringements, as well as a few for track limits penalties.
Early fast rider Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was fifth after the combined times were taken into account, with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) and another Italian rider, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha), seventh.
The top Kawasaki rider, on his first visit to Donington, was Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in eighth place.
The two official Triumph riders. Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) and Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) were ninth and tenth.
Local rider and 2022 rookie, Tom Booth-Amos (Prodina Racing Kawasaki), was 11th fastest, despite a fall without injury in FP2.
Oliver Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) fell early on in FP2 and qualified 24th. Benjamin Currie (Motozoo Racing By Puccetti Kawasaki) was 21st.
WORLDSSP // RACE ONE
Aegerter Wins Restarted WorldSSP Race
An early incident at the Old Hairpin caused a red flag, a track cleanup operation and then a 12-lap restart of WorldSSP Race One.
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) held off the close attentions of Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) to take another win in 2022, having taken pole position earlier in the day.
The final podium place went to Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura), after an early fall and no-score from potential top three rider Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati).
Team-mates Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Can Öncü – an early leader – finished fourth and fifth respectively.
On home asphalt for their machines, Triumph duo Stefano Manzi
(Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) and Hannes Soomer were sixth and seventh, with the top ten rounded out by Andy Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha), Simon Jespersen (Ducati Panigale V2 CM Racing) and Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing Yamaha). Oliver Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) was 11th.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) crashed out hard after a highside, breaking bones in both feet and dislocating his left shoulder.
One more WorldSSP race will take place at Donington, on Sunday 17th July.
WORLDSSP // RACE TWO
Aegerter Times Nine
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) looked like he may have been beatable in the second and final WorldSSP race at Donington Park, even with three laps to go, but some late passes saw him record his ninth WorldSSP Race in the ten races held this year so far.
He set the fastest lap of the race on lap 17…
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was the runner-up, just over a second behind Aegerter, with long time leader Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati) having to give best to his two pursuers just four laps from the end.
Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) was in the early leading mix but dropped back once Aegerter got past him and he finished fourth, over six seconds behind the winning pace.]
Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) had a strong ride to fifth place at his team’s home round.
Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was sixth.
A fight between two Kawasaki riders saw rookie Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) beat official rider and early podium contender Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Huertas was seventh and Öncü eighth.
The top ten was rounded out by Andy Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha) and Simon Jespersen (Ducati Panigale V2 CM Racing).
In the championship points, Aegerter has 245, with Baldassarri 64 points adrift on a total of 181. Bulega is third on 120 and Öncü remains fourth on 99 points.
Next Round is at Most, in the Czech Republic, between 29-21 July.
Benjamin Currie (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti Kawasaki) qualified 26th at a circuit he knows, had big pre-race crashes and had to pull out of the shortened Race 1. He also had stamina issues in Race 2, in which he finished in 19th. “I came here pretty confident that I could get some good results, knowing the pace I can do around here from my previous experience. It didn’t materialise. Friday I was just forcing it around, looking better than it probably was, but I knew I was struggling. I had some nasty crashes trying to push for that next step. Saturday’s race was good, but physically I couldn’t survive the 12 laps. In Race 2 it was tough again, the crashes had taken their toll, so I was struggling from the middle of the race onwards. I dug in and finished, so I am happy.”
Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) qualified 20th, partly due to a tech issue in FP2. He rode to an improved 11th in Race 1, then finished 13th. “It has been a weird one. We started off strong in FP1, getting used to the bike and the track. We had a good feeling going into FP2 but mechanically, on the out lap, something went wrong with the front suspension. I had a crash which sat me out of FP2, so we kind of went into qualifying with just one session under our belts. But the team did a good job and we improved our lap time a lot. We started 20th and in Race 1 I had a good feeling. Warm-up on Sunday was good on an old tyre. A decent weekend for us here at Donington.”