Toprak Razgatlioglu tops opening day of WorldSBK testing in Misano

It was a good first day of testing for Yamaha and Toprak Razgatlioglu as he topped day one in Misano, as preparations for the 2021 World Superbike season continue. 

Rounding out the top three were the Aruba.it Ducati duo of Scott Redding and Michael Ruben-Rinaldi. 

After going fastest in the morning session, the Turkish star continued his impressive pace to eventually topple the Ducati pair who moved ahead of him during the afternoon running.

Razgatlioglu finished with a lap time of 1m 34.265s, which is nearly five tenths quicker than the lap record set by Jonathan Rea in 2015. 

Redding was second with a lap time of 1m 34.478s, and for much of the day was lapping close to the lap record on race runs. 

The race pace was one of the biggest strengths for Redding last season, and early indications suggest this will be the case once again. 

Redding's team-mate Rinaldi was also impressive in his new colours as he finished third less than two tenths back. 

However, the standout performer on day one, was the youngest rider in the WorldSBK field and also rookie in 2021 Axel Bassani. 

The 21 year-old finished fourth less than a second down on the top time for the Motocorsa Ducati Racing team. 

Garrett Gerloff was fifth for GRT Yamaha ahead of Andrea Locatelli who had a good afternoon aboard the Yamaha, as he worked on the setup of his R1. 

Rounding out the top ten were Tito Rabat for the Barni Racing Team in seventh, followed by Lucas Mahias, Kohta Nozane and Christophe Ponsson.

Standing in for Chaz Davies was Michele Pirro who finished 11th and last of the WorldSBK runners. Action continues tomorrow from 9am-6pm local time for the final day.