Record-breaking pace was the name of the game in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) destroyed the Tissot Superpole lap record to claim his 14th pole position, putting him one behind Colin Edwards. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was his main challenger at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, but the #11 was unable to overhaul ‘El Turco’ during the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round.
THE FIRST RUNS: lap record obliterated straight away
Everyone except Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) headed out on track as soon as pit lane opened. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was immediately under lap record pace with a 1’32.786s despite being as close as he could be to teammate Michael van der Mark, as was Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in second with a 1’32.991s; but still two tenths behind Razgatlioglu. The #54 then went even quicker with a 1’32.709s on his second lap. That time didn’t last long though, with Bulega posting a 1’32.556s on his second flying lap to provisionally claim pole position.
BMW RECORDS FOR RAZGATLIOGLU: pole for the Turkish star, Bulega and Gardner under lap record
The pace continued to tumble in the second runs as Razgatlioglu set a 1’32.320s to re-claim top spot, but Bulega went 0.099s quicker to move back into P1 although this time was later deleted due to yellow flags showing at Turn 14 for Andrea Iannone’s (Team GoEleven) crash in the final minutes of the session, which meant Razgatlioglu claimed pole position at Misano for his second pole of the season and 14th in WorldSBK. Bulega will line up from second place ahead of Gardner, with the Australian also under the existing lap record and the final rider in the 1’32s bracket. Razgatlioglu’s pole means he now holds the record for consecutive front row starts for a BMW rider at three, beating the previous record jointly held by Marco Melandri and Tom Sykes of two.
FOUR MANUFACTURERS IN THE TOP FOUR: Lowes, Bautista, Locatelli on row two
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) made it four manufacturers in the top four by claiming P4, equalling his best Superpole result at Misano for the fourth time after 2016, 2019 and 2022. He’s joined on the second row by reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in fifth, with the #1 moving up the order in the closing stages. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) posted a 1’33.188s to claim sixth spot.
THIRD ROW AFTER A CRASH: Iannone P7, season-best for Rabat
Iannone will lead away the third row despite his crash as he claimed seventh spot with a 1’33.188s, finishing less than half a tenth ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in P8. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) will start from ninth while Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) completes the top ten, his best Superpole result of 2024.
TO NOTE: Bassani finds a step, Rea down in P15
Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) narrowly missed out on a top ten spot after he set a 1’33.608s, finishing half-a-tenth behind Rabat, while Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was 12th on his comeback from injury. For Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha), the eight-time winner here will line up from a lowly 15th, his worst Superpole result here since he was P16 back in 2010. Van der Mark was 16th after he had a Turn 13 crash around the same time as Iannone, but in different incidents.
CRASH!@mickeyvdmark was down! Thankfully he is up on his feet!#EmiliaRomagnaWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/RTQUMxAfXv
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) June 15, 2024
The top six from WorldSBK Tissot Superpole, full results here:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’32.320s
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.236s
3. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.586s
4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.755s
5. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.791s
6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +0.809s
Watch WorldSBK Race 1 from Misano at 14:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
Source: WorldSBK.com