Rea tops rain-affected FP1 at Donington Park ahead of Razgatlioglu

Light rain moments before FP1 resulted in a damp start to the British WorldSBK round at Donington Park, as Alex Lowes, fresh off a new deal with Kawasaki was the early pacesetter.

Although lap times weren’t that far off the expected race pace in dry conditions, more drops began to fall in sectors one and four, as Remy Gardner suffered an early fall at the final corner.

• Bautista has requested changes to MotoGP bike should he “re-test” 
• Kawasaki retain Alex Lowes for 2024 WorldSBK season

Lowes’ time at the top of the timingsheets was ended after ten minutes when Razgatlioglu, despite a wobble at the final corner, managed to overhaul the Kawasaki rider by -0.149s. 

Razgatlioglu and Lowes were the only riders under the 1m 28s barrier, while reigning world champion Alvaro Bautista was the only other rider within a second of Razgatlioglu. 

After sitting out the opening stages, Rea took to the track with just under the session gone. 

Sixth after his first flying lap, Rea then began to challenge Razgatlioglu after a strong opening sector.

However, the six-time champion lost time as the lap went on before slotting into fourth behind Bautista. 

Following a brief dry spell, more rain fell with 20 minutes remaining which led to the entire grid returning to pit lane.

After confirming he wants to stay with BMW in the lead up to his home round, Scott Redding was one of the first riders to head back out on circuit, alongside Razgatlioglu and Bautista. 

As conditions changed once again, the end of FP1 resulted in Razgatlioglu bettering his top time.

Rea was next to set a personal best as he joined Razgatlioglu and Lowes by dipping underneath the 1m 28s barrier. 

The factory Kawasaki rider then produced a brilliant final sector on his next lap around in order to narrowly jump ahead of Razgatlioglu.

Despite the tricky conditions, no other rider aside from Gardner suffered a crash during FP1.