Race 1 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was fireworks on Saturday, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) extending his Championship lead to 33 points after setting an unbelievable pace to charge to victory at the Prosecco DOC UK Round by 11.384 seconds.

UNSTOPPABLE: Razgatlioglu secures his 46^th win

After an impressive Friday and Superpole, Razgatlioglu proved he was able to replicate his incredible pace in Race 1, dominating proceedings and storming to BMW’s 20^th victory ahead of home hero, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who took an impressive second – claiming a 39^th career podium. Reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed third as the chequered flag flew to secure his 99^th career podium in the closing stages after superb race pace.

LIGHTS OUT: Toprak claims the holeshot

Once the lights went out it was Razgatlioglu who converted his pole position into a race lead on the run down to Redgate. The #54 put together a fantastic opening lap, leading ahead of Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW), who leapt to second on Lap 1. Meanwhile, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) dropped to P4 at the start, losing out to Redding and the impressive Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha). Bautista would soon show a strong pace early on and began to carve through the field after starting P11 on the grid.

As the race progressed, Razgatlioglu continued to extend a comfortable advantage to over four seconds, constantly running inside the 1’26 bracket. The #54 led from Bulega and Redding, with the latter being chased by compatriot Alex Lowes for the final spot on the podium. The #22 was carving through the field, entering P3 at the final corner before catching and passing Bulega for second position two laps later. Meanwhile, Redding would have let drama on the exit of Turn 11, retiring from Race 1 with an issue.

ACTION PACKED: Rea holds off Locatelli for P5

Bulega consolidated a fourth place finish, crossing the line 1.746s behind his teammate after the Italian lost third place with four laps to go. Meanwhile, Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) would have a confidence-boosting Race 1, battling to fifth at the line – finishing as the top Yamaha. The #65 was ahead of teammate Locatelli, who took sixth ahead of compatriot Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), who will have to wait another day to fight for a dream podium.

The final spots inside the top 10 went the way of GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Dominique Aegerter, who took P8 at the line and was chased to the line by Michael van der Mark, who capped off a successful day for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) would take 10^th place, ending a strong day for the Aussie who also started P10 on the grid.

FURTHER DRAMA: Disappointment for Mackenzie

Meanwhile, not every rider would complete the opening lap including Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda), who would crash out of his home round. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) soon became the next rider to go down with 21 laps to go at Turn 12. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) would drop down to 19^th at the line after the #14 had a trip through the gravel after some close racing with Gardner with 17 laps to go.

The top six from Race 1 at Donington Park, full results here:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

2. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +11.384s

3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +13.167s

4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +14.913s

5. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +16.349s

6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +16.611s

Fastest Lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW)– 1’25.786s (new race lap record)

Next up from Donington Park is the Superpole Race on Sunday at 11:00 Local Time (UTC+1), so make sure you keep up to date with the action using the WorldSBK VideoPass!