2025 UK WorldSBK: Race 1 As It Happened

Alex Lowes has crashed from the lead at Craner.

Lowes pulling away at the front. He's 0.5s clear at the end of lap 3. Bulega passed Rea for fourth at the chicane that time.

Lowes leads the second lap and has a 0.3s gap to Razgatlioglu. Rea still third from Locatelli and Bulega.

Lowes to the lead past Razgatlioglu at Old Hairpin.

Razgatlioglu leads lap one from Alex Lowes, Rea, Locatelli, and Bulega. Small gap then to Petrucci in sixth.

Alex Lowes up to second past Rea.Bulega back to fifth early on.

It's lights out at Donington and it's Razgalioglu with the holeshot from Rea.

Further back, a crash involving Sam Lowes, Alvaro Bautista, and Yari Montella at turn one.

Riders are off on their warm-up lap ahead of Race 1 at Donington. 

Those riders could include Sam Lowes from the second row, who has shown strong pace all weekend.

Danilo Petrucci, too, who starts from ninth, has a good record at Donington with three top-sixes in 2023,  including a podium in Race 2. He wasn't in the top-five once in 2024, though.

Alvaro Bautista, from 10th on the grid, will surely move forwards, especially in the second half of the race. One-lap issues typical of Bautista in 2025 were again present this morning and it will be important for him to avoid the kind of incidents that took him out of the race in Portimao when starting further back, or which cost him time in Most.

Qualifying has been Jonathan Rea's most difficult part of a WorldSBK weekend this year so far, but he put together a lap good enough for fourth place this morning.

From the second row, it will be interesting to see if Rea can make a play for the podium, or if riders starting further back will push him down the order.

Toprak Razgatlioglu starts from pole position for today's Race 1.

Nicolo Bulega and Alex Lowes start alongside him on the front row.

Neither Lowes nor Bulega have won in WorldSBK at Donington, but Razgatlioglu is chasing his 10th win here. 

The Turkish rider also won all three races at last year's UK Round.

2025 UK WorldSBK - Superpole Result

Jonathan Rea takes fourth place ahead of Sam Lowes and Locatelli.

Vickers continues his impressive weekend with P7, ahead of Montella and Petrucci on row three.

Bautista rounds out the top-10 ahead of Aegerter and Gerloff on the fourth row.

Toprak Razgatlioglu takes pole position in Donington.

Bulega second, Alex Lowes completes the front row.

Sam Lowes had moved up to fourth but he's been bumped to fifth by Rea who goes fourth with his latest attempt.

Bulega cruising in the final sector of his second lap but he has time for one more.

Now it's Razgatlioglu's turn. A 1:24.827 gives him provisional pole by 0.119s over Bulega.

Bulega flying on the first lap of his second run, and he goes into the 1:24s. 

1:24.946 puts him on provisional pole by 0.239s with 2 minutes to go.

Sam Lowes was on course for proivsional pole but he ran wide at the final corner and no improvement therefore.

Riders heading back out now for their second runs.

Behind the front three, it's Petrucci, Montella, and Rea on row two.

Sam Lowes, Bautista, and Locatelli on row three at the moment.

Iannone currently rounding out the top-10 - good to see the Italian got out after a mechanical issue in FP3. 

Gardner and Lecuona completing row four with eight minutes on the clock.

No improvement from Razgatlioglu on his second lap. In fact, no one is threatening Lowes on their second lap.

Petrucci makes an improvement, though, and jumps up to fourth.

Everyone on their way back to the pits now and it's A. Lowes from Razgatlioglu and Bulega on the front row.

Initial benchmark from Razgatlioglu at a 1:25.193, the fastest lap of the weekend so far,  but he's beaten by Alex Lowes by 0.008s on the British riders' first lap.