Toprak Had An Outstanding Start To Race One In Very Sketchy Condidtions.

Race one was declared a dry race, so all the riders were on slick tyres. The track was still covered in damp patches especially off-line. The atmosphere on the grid was a little tense as the riders didn’t really know what to expect once the lights went out.

Jonathan Rea got the holeshot into Redgate as all the riders were a bit cautious into the famous first corner of Donington Park. Toprak got an amazing start from 13th place to fifth, then into third place and unbelievably into second place all in the first lap! As Rea turned into Coppice on the second lap Toprak got the inside line and took first position from the Northern Irish rider.

Aruba.IT Racing Ducati’s Scott Reddings seasons woes continued as he crashed out of the race during the second lap at Craner Curves, Scott was straight on his feet but did appear to be limping, lets hope the Brit can re-group for tomorrows races! Rea had a big moment as he nearly ran into the back of Toprak, as a result Rea then went off track at Craner Curves but fortunately managed to keep the bike up right and got back on track and still maintained second place.

Lower down the order Honda’s Leon Haslam and Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes were having a battle for fifth place. Andrea Locatelli crashed out on lap six putting an end to the Italians race. As the race hit the half way mark the track was drying all the time, as a result the lap times were going up. BMW’s Tom Sykes and team-mate Michael Van Der Mark were having a battle for third place, of which Tom won. Lowes and Van Der Mark touched elbows at the Melbourne Loop forcing Van der Mark back to sixth place.

Tito Rabat had a mechanical issue with ten laps to go so had to retire from the race. Lowes had his sights on third place so he squeezed his Kawasaki ZX-10RR underneath Sykes to take the podium place off his fellow Brit. Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff crashed at Goddards with eight laps to go, he was just asking too much off his YZF R1 as he tipped into Goddards carrying too much speed, luckily the American rider managed to pick the bike up and get back on track in ninth position.

Toprak pulled a five second lead on Rea on the last lap until towards the end of the last lap it went down to 2.4 seconds as Toprak looked to be running out of fuel! Amazingly he managed to cross the finish line in first place, Alex Lowes who held on to finish in third place gave Toprak a tow back to Parc Ferme.

Sykes finished in front of his team-mate Van Der Mark in fourth place, Leon Haslam finished in sixth with team-mate Bautista in eighth place. Britain’s Chaz Davies still seemed to be off the pace as he finished in 11th place. Wild card rider Luke Mossey had a good ride for Pedercini Racing finishing in 14th place.

There is just 15 points between Rea and Toprak, has the Turkish rider got what it takes to steal the championship lead? We will have to see what surprises tomorrow brings for the World Superbike Championship! The Sprint Race is tomorrow at 11:00 followed by Race Two at 14:00.

Prosecco DOC UK Round, 2-4 July 2021
102/05
Laps 23 = 92,529 Km – Time of Race 34’36.377 – Avg. 160,426 km/h 1 / 2
Pos Grid No. Rider Nat Team Bike Class LL Gap Rel. Fastest Lap Speed Qualifying Speed
1 13 54 T. RAZGATLIOGLU TUR Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha YZF R1 23 1’28.571 267,5 1’42.840 254,3
2 1 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10RR 23 2.419 2.419 1’28.670 268,9 1’40.101 256,7
3 4 22 A. LOWES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10RR 23 12.261 9.842 1’28.623 269,6 1’41.351 259,2
4 3 66 T. SYKES GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW M 1000 RR 23 14.625 2.364 1’29.038 269,6 1’40.763 257,3
5 2 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW M 1000 RR 23 16.447 1.822 1’29.215 270,2 1’40.626 254,9
6 7 91 L. HASLAM GBR Team HRC Honda CBR1000 RR-R 23 17.028 0.581 1’29.158 271,6 1’42.206 253,7
7 5 31 G. GERLOFF USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 IND 23 33.345 16.317 1’28.950 268,9 1’41.393 256,1
8 16 19 A. BAUTISTA ESP Team HRC Honda CBR1000 RR-R 23 37.385 4.040 1’29.929 270,9 1’43.625 244,5
9 10 44 L. MAHIAS FRA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 23 43.566 6.181 1’30.154 259,8 1’42.658 247,9
10 12 47 A. BASSANI ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 23 43.836 0.270 1’30.210 271,6 1’42.801 253,1
11 9 7 C. DAVIES GBR Team GoEleven Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 23 48.102 4.266 1’29.796 272,3 1’42.630 259,8
12 8 21 M. RINALDI ITA Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale V4 R 23 56.538 8.436 1’29.665 273,7 1’42.587 258,6
13 15 50 E. LAVERTY IRL RC Squadra Corse BMW M 1000 RR IND 23 59.392 2.854 1’30.231 270,2 1’43.345 253,7
14 14 12 L. MOSSEY GBR OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 23 1’01.922 2.530 1’30.472 263,6 1’43.212 249,0
15 17 32 I. VINALES ESP Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 23 1’22.275 20.353 1’30.991 267,5 1’44.630 249,0
16 21 84 L. CRESSON BEL OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR IND 22 1 Lap 1 Lap 1’31.422 260,4 1’46.775 247,3
————————————————–Not Classified————————————————–
RET 20 94 J. FOLGER GER Bonovo MGM Racing BMW M 1000 RR IND 21 2 Laps 1’31.787 257,9 1’46.660 245,0
RET 18 53 T. RABAT ESP Barni Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4 R IND 13 10 Laps 1’32.061 267,5 1’44.703 256,7
RET 11 55 A. LOCATELLI ITA Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha YZF R1 6 17 Laps 1’32.810 266,2 1’42.683 255,5
RET 6 45 S. REDDING GBR Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Ducati Panigale V4 R 1 22 Laps 263,6 1’42.067 251,9
RET 19 23 C. PONSSON FRA Alstare Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 IND 1 22 Laps 253,7 1’46.568 250,7

Featured Images: WorldSBK.com.