Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) obliterated his own lap record to claim his fourth pole position of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Autodrom Most. ‘El Turco’ narrowly missed out on a stunning 1’29s lap at the Autodrom Most, but he was still able to take pole position ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) by two-thirds of a second for the Czech Round.

THE FIRST RUN: Razgatlioglu smashes the lap record as Rea, van der Mark crash

Razgatlioglu was immediately breaking his own lap record as he posted a 1’30.340s, going four tenths quicker than he did in FP3 this morning. It was drama for teammate Michael van der Mark, who came down at Turn 20 while Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed at Turn 16. Iannone was second after his first lap ahead of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati due of Alvaro Bautista and Nicolo Bulega, who both set a 1’31.221s before the #11 improved to a 1’30.951s to move into P2.

LOWERING THE BENCHMARK: closing in on the 1’29s

2021 Champion Razgatlioglu was one of the first riders to head out for the second stint as he looked to extend his lead at the top, although he had a big moment at the Turn 1-2 chicane on his first flying lap. He went even faster with a 1’30.064s. He tried to improve further on his final flying lap but was unable to, but his time was still good enough for a third consecutive pole position, 0.665s clear of Iannone in second. The front row will be completed by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) with three manufacturers in the top three positions. Razgatlioglu’s pole now means he holds the record for most BMW poles, beating Tom Sykes’ three, while it’s the first time the German manufacturer have claimed three poles in a row.

SECOND ROW START: Gardner fastest Yamaha rider

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) improved his time on his final lap but was unable to move into the top three, claiming fourth on the grid and lapping just under eight tenths slower than the #54. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the lead Yamaha rider as he took fifth with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) completing the second row. He posted a 1’30.997s for P6, around a tenth slower than Gardner ahead.

INSIDE THE TOP TEN: Bautista seventh in Superpole but penalised, Gerloff records a top-ten result

Reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) claimed seventh, 0.020s behind Petrucci and just under a tenth ahead of Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), with the American taking his best Superpole result of the season and his first inside the top ten. However, the #1 was given a three-place grid penalty for slow riding on line and disturbing Petrucci so will start from tenth on the Race 1 grid. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) claimed ninth in the timings with a 1’31.110s, just a few hundredths behind Gerloff, while Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) bounced back from a difficult Friday to claim tenth. Bautista’s penalty means Gerloff will start P7, Locatelli P8 and Rinaldi P9 for Race 1.

REA, VAN DER MARK OUT OF THE TOP TEN: bouncing back from crashes

Both Rea and van der Mark were able to get back out following their crashes in the final few minutes. Rea claimed 15^th on the grid after he set a 1’31.467s while van der Mark was one place and around two hundredths back in 16^th.

The top six from WorldSBK Tissot Superpole, full results here:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’30.064s

2. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +0.665s

3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.694s

4. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.793s

5. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.825s

6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.933s

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