Toprak Razgatlioglu won an exciting two-rider duel to take Superpole and set a new all-time WorldSBK lap record at Misano after Nicolo Bulega’s fastest time was deleted.
Bulega’s 1:32.221s best effort on his Ducati Panigale V4R bettered ROKiT BMW Motorrad’s Razgatlioglu by a narrow margin of just 0.099s as the two riders traded blows throughout the 15-minute session.
However, after the Italian rider’s time was struck off, Razgatlioglu inherited Superpole.
The two Aruba.it Racing – Ducati riders were on hot form heading into Superpole with Bulega fastest in FP2 and FP3 and Alvaro Bautista second fastest in each of the final two practice sessions.
In addition, Razgatlioglu was looking threatening after posting the fastest time across Friday’s sessions.
Still, it wasn’t just the title favourites looking fast ahead of the 15-minute Superpole session with GYTR GRT Yamaha’s Remy Gardner in impressive form after finishing third quickest in FP2 and FP3.
Moreover, Team GoEeleven Ducati’s Andrea Iannone was a consistent top-five presence throughout practice.
With several candidates to take Superpole, there was a flurry of activity as soon as the pit lane opened with a full swarm of riders launching out onto the Misano circuit under sparkling sunny Italian skies.
Razgatlioglu became the first driver to break into the 1:32 barrier, setting an all-time lap record on his first flying lap with a 1:32.786s laptime.
But the Turkish rider had margin in hand having been held up by his ROKiT BMW Motorrad team-mate Michael van der Mark in the final sector.
The #54 rider pushed the pace further with his second lap, a 1:32.709s effort only for Bulega to take the top spot with a 1:32.566.
That placed the Italian a tenth and a half ahead of the rest of the field, staking his claim for pole.
After the first batch of flying laps, Bulega and Razgatlioglu looked like the class of the field with Gardner 0.435s back from the provisional pole time and fourth-placed Bautista 0.621s back.
With five minutes remaining the top runners set out to improve their times even further.
Iannone and van der Mark were two riders who wouldn’t improve however after both crashed out.
Razgatlioglu then improved to set a 1:32.320 and Bulega quickly responded with an incredible 1:32.221 time.
The home hero’s time couldn’t be bettered, but the yellow flags brought out by Iannone and van der Mark’s crashes meant a selection of laps were deleted.
Bulega was one of the unlucky ones meaning Razgatlioglu’s 1:32.320s time took top honours.
The #11 Ducati rider Bulega was relegated to a 1:32.556s time with Gardner continuing to show he has the pace to fight for victory after completing the front row with a 1:32.906s time.
Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes took fourth with a 1:33.075s laptime ahead of fifth-placed Bautista, who set a 1:33.111s lap around the Misano circuit.
Andrea Locatelli led the line for the Pata Prometeon Yamaha squad in sixth, courtesy of a 1:33.129s laptime ahead of seventh-placed Iannone, who managed to hold onto a top-10 slot having clocked a 1:33.188s lap before his crash.
Sam Lowes continued to show his top-10 credentials aboard his Marc VDS Ducati, setting a 1:33.196s laptime.
Dominique Aegerter joined team-mate Gardner in the top-10, setting a 1:33.234s time to complete the third row and Puccetti Racing’s Tito Rabat was a surprise 10th on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR thanks to his best time of 1:33.544s.
Race 1 at Misano kicks off at 14:00 local time.
Superpole – Full Results
- 1 – T. RAZGATLIOGLU – ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team – 1:32.320
- 2 – N. BULEGA – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati – 1:32.556
- 3 – R. GARDNER – GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team – 1:32.906
- 4 – A. LOWES – Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK – 1:33.075
- 5 – A. BAUTISTA – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati – 1:33.111
- 6 – A. LOCATELLI – Pata Prometeon Yamaha – 1:33.129
- 7 – A. IANNONE – Team GoEleven Ducati – 1:33.188
- 8 – S. LOWES – ELF Marc VDS Racing Team – 1:33.196
- 9 – D. AEGERTER – GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team – 1:33.234
- 10 – T. RABAT – Kawasaki Puccetti Racing – 1:33.544
- 11 – A. BASSANI – Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK – 1:33.608
- 12 – D. PETRUCCI – Barni Spark Racing Team – 1:33.632
- 13 – G. GERLOFF – Bonovo Action BMW – 1:33.634
- 14 – I. LECUONA – Team HRC – 1:33.644
- 15 – J. REA – Pata Prometeon Yamaha – 1:33.682
- 16 – M. VAN DER MARK – ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team – 1:33.774
- 17 – X. VIERGE – Team HRC – 1:33.834
- 18 – M. RINALDI – Team Motocorsa Racing – 1:33.935
- 19 – M. PIRRO – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati – 1:33.942
- 20 – S. REDDING – Bonovo Action BMW – 1:34.104
- 21 – T. MACKENZIE – PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda – 1:34.733
- 22 – P. OETTL – GMT94 Yamaha – 1:35.032
- 23 – B. RAY – Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team – 1:35.538
- 24 – A. NORRODIN – PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda – 1:36.082
