Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) was able to end his win drought in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship by claiming victory in the Tissot Superpole Race at Donington Park. He took the win after a race-long fight with his rivals and ended Alvaro Bautista’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) winning run when the Spaniard was on the verge of writing more WorldSBK history.

Razgatlioglu started from the second row but he was soon into the lead group as soon as the lights went out as he fought with Bautista and six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). The fight for victory went down to the wire with just half-a-second separating the last three WorldSBK Champions at the end of the 10-lap race. Rea was the long-time race leader but Razgatlioglu got the better of him at Turn 11 on Lap 9, before Bautista overtook the Ulsterman on the final lap at Turn 9.

On his Superpole Race win, Razgatlioglu said: “It wasn’t a bad weekend. I tried more than 100% to win. The Superpole Race was a good race for me. We got first place. Race 2 was important, I tried my best, and I got second place. I’m already looking ahead to Imola. I hope we are winning again but in Race 1 and Race 2, because I miss winning the in the feature length races. I’m not thinking about the Championship points. I’m just focused on winning races because it’s important for me. The Championship is long, but Bautista is very strong this year. I’m just looking at winning a long race and maybe this changes everything.”

A win in the Superpole Race would have put Bautista on 12 consecutive wins, an outright record in WorldSBK. The current record is 11 with Bautista reaching the milestone twice and Rea once. It also would have meant Bautista could have had a shot at racking up the most wins in a season at Donington, but he leaves the UK on 16, tying his best, but the record for victories in a single campaign will have to wait until at least Imola.

Razgatlioglu also claimed two second place finishes during the UK Round but, with Bautista claiming Race 1 and Race 2 wins, lost ground in the Championship race. The reigning Champion now leads Razgatlioglu by 93 points at the halfway stage of the season with the paddock heading to Imola in two weeks for the Prometeon Italian Round. Will Razgatlioglu be able to fight back as Imola returns for more incredible WorldSBK action?

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