Round 5: Donington - A Hat-trick at home for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
Pole position, three more wins, and new records: Toprak Razgatlioglu is the benchmark with the BMW M 1000 RR at Donington Park.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) from the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team continued his impressive performance on the BMW M 1000 RR at the fifth round of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK). Following a perfect weekend at Misano (ITA), ‘El Turco’ was again the benchmark at Donington Park (GBR). Starting from pole position, he won all three races in Great Britain, each with a significant lead, and set several new lap records. With nine wins to his name this season now, including seven consecutive victories, Razgatlioglu extended his lead in the rider’s championship to 41 points. In the Manufacturer’s Championship, BMW reduced the gap to leader Ducati to just six points.
After setting the fastest times in Friday’s practice sessions, Razgatlioglu set a new all-time lap record in Saturday morning’s Superpole qualification. He was over half a second faster than the rest of the field, securing his third pole position of the season. The first race turned into a showcase performance. Razgatlioglu pulled away from the field right from the start, extending his lead with each lap, setting a new lap record, and finishing more than eleven seconds ahead after 23 laps. The next win followed in the Superpole race on Sunday morning. Although Razgatlioglu fell to second place at the start, he regained the lead by the third lap. He pulled away from the field again, beat his previous day’s lap record, and won with a near five-second lead after ten laps. The second main race on Sunday afternoon was the final challenge. Razgatlioglu again pulled away from the start, set another new lap record, and finished eight seconds ahead as the winner.
Michael van der Mark (NED) from the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team secured a place on the second row with sixth place in Superpole. In the first race, he lost positions at the start and finished ninth. In the Superpole race and the second main race, van der Mark finished twelfth.
The WorldSBK continues without a break. The sixth event of the season is scheduled for next weekend (19th to 21st July) at Most, Czech Republic.
Quotes following the Donington Park round.
Shaun Muir, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal:
“It’s been a sensational weekend. We’re on such a roll at the moment on Toprak’s side, with seven wins on the bounce. I’ve got no words for what he actually produces, he digs so deep – it’s proof of a rider full of confidence, full of self-belief, and he’s doing his talking on the track. It’s probably the highlight of my entire racing career to do it in front of my family and friends, at my home round with all the team members here, it’s just spectacular.
It’s been difficult for Michael this weekend. We hoped he could build on the test we had in Cremona, however it hasn’t worked out for him. We’ve found little gains and I think he’s just just lacking some self-belief for the moment. We’re going to work with him on that and in Most we can reset from there and keep pushing towards the podium. Last word of the day. I’m really pleased for Scott Redding, I think that his results here prove what a talent he is, and I’m really pleased for the Bonovo Team.”
Marc Bongers, Sporting Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport:
“It was an amazing weekend. The second consecutive triple, with pole position and lap records, is just fantastic. I‘m still a bit lost for words. I think I need to sleep on it before I can truly grasp it. It was unfortunate for Mickey, he didn’t get into the rhythm we had expected but we’ll keep working on it so that he can also fight for the top spots. Overall, it’s wonderful to be heading home with a case full of trophies. Before the weekend, I told the guys in the office to make some extra space in our cabinet just in case we brought back more trophies. That it turned out to be so many is a dream come true. At the start of the season, we couldn’t have imagined this. The goal back then was to win multiple times but now, leaving with over a 40-point lead in the championship changes the target of course. The new goal is clearly the world championship. We just need to stay focused, keep everything stable, and make sure we don’t make any mistakes but I’m optimistic, things can continue like this, and I’m already looking forward to Most. Our package now works on every track, so we don’t need to make many adjustments. I expect that we can be at the front at Most right away, especially since this is a special track for our package and our rider.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu:
“I am feeling incredible now because before I came here, I had the target to get three wins, as this is my favourite track, and finally we did that here. This is team work and the team is working really hard. We improved the bike every session. I am strong but my BMW M 1000 RR was also working incredibly on this circuit. With my BMW I am really stronger here. The bike is working, easy stopping, easy turning. The grip is not 100 percent but the bike is helping me to show my potential. We are happy, because at Misano we had three wins and we repeated that here. Now I hope that we will also win at Most because I love the track there. Thanks to everyone, I am really happy today. Now we will see how the next round will go but we are coming closer to the world championship title step by step. Let’s wait, there are many more races to go.”
Michael van der Mark:
“For today, we changed quite a lot on the bike compared to yesterday and this morning, I was feeling alright so we were ready for the race. In the Superpole race, I had an okay start but I just did not have the right pace to fight with the other guys. It was a shame to lose the sixth position on the grid for race two, but anyway, starting from 11th, I had a good start but on the first laps I was a bit in trouble with the other riders. Then I had an okay pace but I wasn’t fast enough. It was hard to fight with other riders, I could not really catch the group in front of me. In the end, I had a nice battle but fighting for P11 is not where we want to be. We need to find out why I don’t have the right speed at the moment. Let’s analyse and be ready for the next weekend at Most.”
