Toprak Razgatlioglu secured his 46th win today at Donington Park in dominant fashion for race 1 of the weekend. Toprak dominated the race winning by over 11 seconds after leading from the pole. However, today’s story surrounds Alex Lowes who secured a podium for Kawasaki Racing. Lowes has had glimpses of success this season with 2 wins in Australia and two other podiums at the Dutch and Italian rounds. Lowes made his return tot he podium finish P2 behind Razgatlioglu.
“I felt quite confident on Friday as the bike was working well, and in FP3 this morning we tried some race settings and my pace was strong right until the end of the session. In Superpole I was fast enough to be on the front row but I touched the track limits green paint into T9, with a qualifying tire on the back. That was my mistake, but with that small difference it moved us from third on the grid to ninth. I thought that was maybe my chance of a good result gone but I tried to make a good start and stick in there near the front. It was not easy to pass so I was waiting for the guys in front to sort of make a mistake. Scott made one, I could pass, Bulega ran a bit wide and I went inside him. When I had clear track my lap times were fast, I was quite consistent but I was a bit concerned when Bautista was coming closer at the end, because we know how fast he at the end of races. I felt good, the bike felt good. The front end was moving a bit, so maybe we can improve on that for tomorrow. But I have to be happy with second today because Toprak was in a different race.”
Bulega Moves Backward
Unfortunately for Nicolo Bulega his P2 starting position didn’t grant him any favors in Race 1. Despite a bad start Bulega was able to squeeze a P4 finish behind teammate Alvaro Bautista who finished in third. The pair shared their comments after the race.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1) P3 Race 1
“At the end, I can say I had fun starting from a position that was not easy. The choice of rear tire gave me an advantage even though in the first laps it was necessary not to force the pace so as not to ruin the tire. We did what we could even if it is clear that we are far from the last year’s levels. It will be important tomorrow to recover positions also in SPR to start further ahead.”
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11) P4 Race 1
“I am quite satisfied even if this weekend the feeling with the bike is not at the level of the previous rounds. I had some problems on the front but that didn’t prevent me from having a good race even because this was my first time at Donington with the Panigale V4R.”
Full Race 1 Results from Donington Park