Donington Park World Superbike - Superpole Race Results

Superpole Race results for round six of the 2023 World Superbike championship at Donington Park in Great Britain.

02 Jul 2023

Toprak Razgatlioglu, British WorldSBK, 02 July

2023 World Superbike, Donington Park - Superpole Race Results
POS	RIDER	NAT	TEAM	TIME
1	Toprak Razgatlioglu	TUR	Pata Yamaha Prometeon	10 laps
2	Alvaro Bautista	ESP	Aruba.it - Ducati	+0.315s
3	Jonathan Rea	GBR	Kawasaki Racing Team	+0.537s
4	Andrea Locatelli	ITA	Pata Yamaha Prometeon	+4.247s
5	Danilo Petrucci	ITA	Barni Spark Racing Team	+5.018s
6	Alex Lowes	GBR	Kawasaki Racing Team	+5.33s
7	Garrett Gerloff	USA	Bonovo Action BMW	+5.629s
8	Axel Bassani	ITA	Motocorsa Ducati	+6.884s
9	Scott Redding	GBR	ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team	+9.047s
10	Philipp Oettl	GER	GoEleven Ducati	+11.167s
11	Dominique Aegerter	SUI	GYTR GRT Yamaha Team	+12.125s
12	Bradley Ray	GBR	Yamaha Motoxracing Team	+13.346s
13	Iker Lecuona	ESP	Team HRC	+13.712s
14	Xavi Vierge	ESP	Team HRC	+14.295s
15	Remy Gardner	AUS	GYTR GRT Yamaha Team	+17.793s
16	Lorenzo Baldassarri	ITA	GMT94 Yamaha	+20.959s
17	Michael Rinaldi	ITA	Aruba.it - Ducati	+22.256s
18	Tom Sykes	GBR	ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team	+25.381s
19	Hafizh Syahrin	MAS	PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team	+28.53s
20	Tito Rabat	ESP	Kawasaki Puccetti	+28.954s
21	Isaac Vinales	ESP	Pedercini Racing	+29.146s
22	Oliver Konig	CZE	Orelac Racing MOVISIO	+35.084s
23	Loris Baz	FRA	Bonovo Action BMW	+35.269s
24	Eric Granado	BRA	PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team	+36.476s

Toprak Razgatlioglu breaks Alvaro Bautista’s 11-race win streak and inflicts the first on-track defeat of the Ducati rider this season, during the Donington Park Superpole race.

Just as in Race 1 the big three of Jonathan Rea, Razgatlioglu and Bautista dominated at the front, Rea converting pole into the holeshot after a brief battle with Bautista before leading the trio away from Alex Lowes in fourth.

Nose-to-tail throughout the 10 laps, Rea kept Razgatlioglu at bay until the Turkish rider launched an out-braking move into the Melbourne Hairpin on the penultimate lap, with Bautista lurking menacingly just behind.

Rea wasn’t backing down but his hopes of retaliation ended when Bautista pounced for second into the Foggy Esses, the move also giving Razgatlioglu vital breathing room to secure his second victory of the year.

"Finally, I win again!" said Razgatlioglu. "And especially at Donington Park, which is so special for me after I won three times last year. I had a plan to wait until the last lap. It worked. Now I'm focussed on Race 2. Thanks to all the fans, I hope they enjoyed it."

Bautista, whose only other defeat this year was in the form of a DNF in Mandalika, said: "[The win streak is over but] I'm happy anyway because the pace was incredibly fast, faster than Superpole!"

Home hero Rea was visibly disappointed with repeating Saturday's third place after leading for so long: "I'm pissed off but it's the closest I've been to a win this year, thanks for the support all around the track and we'll try again in Race 2."

Bautista's team-mate Michael Rinaldi had another opening lap to forget, running wide and through the gravel.

Serial Donington Park winner and BMW stand-in Tom Sykes fell but rejoined to finish.

The cool conditions meant none of the frontrunners gambled on fitting the soft SCX.

The top nine places in the Superpole race decide the first three rows on this afternoon’s grid.

Race 2 starts at 16:00.

Donington Park: 2023 World Superbike results

Donington Park has been resurfaced since the 2022 event, where Toprak Razgatlioglu took all three wins and eventual champion Alvaro Bautista suffered a rare retirement and managed just one podium.

Donington Park 2022:
Race 1 winner: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Yamaha
Superpole Race winner: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Yamaha
Race 2 winner: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Yamaha

Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.