Misano WorldSBK: Triple Toprak
T
he powers-that-be in World-
SBK declared a three-day
weekend attendance of 75,688
at a broiling but passion-filled
Misano WorldSBK round, June
14-16. It was certainly busier
than some previous years, but
the only people who left dissatis-
fied were the die-hard Ducatisti,
who only ever want the Desmo
riders to win.
But neither their proven hero
nor their new proven race winner
could truly dent the transcenden-
tal pace of Toprak when he is
in this kind of mood and with a
bike that has a Ducati-matching
level of power.
After the locals assured all the
WorldSBK paddock visitors that
this had been the worst, most
grey and rainy summer in this
part of the usually sunny Italian
Adriatic coast, Misano brought
forth a positively hot Saturday and
a slightly less melting Sunday.
Superpole on Saturday for the
top WorldSBK contenders ended
up being a record-smashing
festival, with Toprak Razgatlioglu
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team) setting a 1'32.320 new
track best to lead a front row of
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing
– Ducati) and the ever-improving
Remy Gardner (GRT Yamaha).
Gardner, pushing hard from a
good start, took an early lead in
race one on Saturday and stayed
out front for three laps, mak
-
ing Toprak push to catch and
then pass him. When he did, the
result was a fast formality.
Bulega would push hard after
passing his own teammate,
Alvaro Bautista, but finish 1.7
seconds adrift of the phenom
Razgatlioglu. The latter has
transformed, single-handedly,
BMW's championship prospects
in a just a few months.
With Bautista third, Andrea
Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prome
-
teon WorldSBK Team) was a
WIND
IN THE
P44
Toprak Razgatlioglu
was in a class all his
own at the Misano
round of the WorldSBK
Championship. The
BMW rider won
everything.
PHOTOS:
GOLD & GOOSE
