Perfect Saturday at Barcelona: Pole position and first win for Toprak Razgatlioglu and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team.
| Published date | 25 March 2024 |
M2 PRESSWIRE-March 25, 2024-: Perfect Saturday at Barcelona: Pole position and first win for Toprak Razgatlioglu and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team.
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RDATE:24032024
Barcelona. Winning at Barcelona (ESP) was Toprak Razgatlioglu's (TUR) declared goal for this second race weekend of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). He achieved it in the first main race. With his first pole position and his first win aboard the BMW M 1000 RR, Razgatlioglu secured a perfect Saturday for himself, BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. On only his second race weekend as a BMW Motorrad factory rider, he stood on the top step of the podium for the first time. It was also the first win in a main race for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. Previously, Michael van der Mark (NED) secured a win in a Superpole Race.
In the Superpole qualifying on Saturday morning, Razgatlioglu had already made the team jubilant. Setting a new all-time track record, he placed his BMW M 1000 RR on pole position. In the race, he initially held onto the lead, but then slipped back to third place temporarily in the tight battle for the front positions. However, the Turkish rider kept his cool. First, he reclaimed second position and then set out to catch up to Nicolò Bulega (ITA / Ducati), who led with a several-second gap. In an extremely exciting finish, Razgatlioglu eventually took the lead again on the final lap and defended the win to the finish line. Among the first to congratulate him was Markus Flasch, Head of BMW Motorrad, who witnessed this successful race Saturday at Barcelona on-site.
Team-mate Michael van der Mark (NED) also secured a very good starting position with fourth place in the Superpole. He was also in the mix for podium finishes for a long time but then lost positions and finished ninth.
It was a challenging Saturday for the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team. Garrett Gerloff (USA) finished the first race in twelfth place. Team-mate Scott Redding (GBR) crossed the finish line in 17th position.
Reactions after race one at Barcelona.
Markus Flasch, Head of BMW Motorrad: "Congratulations to everyone on this fantastic win! It was great to cheer with the team in the pit box. Toprak has shown that he is a very special rider and person. We knew he had a bike capable of winning with the BMW M 1000 RR, and it's fantastic that we could prove it already on the second race weekend. Thanks to everyone for the hard...
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