Hungarian WorldSBK Superpole Race win “very special” - Toprak Razgatlioglu

Victory for Toprak Ragzatlioglu in the WorldSBK Superpole Race at Balaton Park was “very special”, which he admitted was unusual for him after the 10-lap Sunday morning race.

Adding to the significance of the Superpole Race in Hungary was that it was the 1,000th World Superbike race to take place since the series was inaugurated in 1988.

Razgatlioglu’s win came after he won also in the 800th and 900th WorldSBK races, further enhancing the uniqueness of his achievement.

“For me it’s a very special day, because before I did wins in [race] 800 and 900,” Toprak Razgatlioglu said in his post-race TV interview.

“This one is a very special day for me.

“Normally I’m not crazy happy after Superpole Race, but this time for me it’s very special. I’m really happy for that.

“In general, we worked very hard, we did again a win.

“Now I’m looking at Race 2 because, if I win again, I will make a hattrick – this is my target. We will see this afternoon.”

Lowes: “Toprak had a lot more speed”

Sam Lowes was leading for a few laps in the middle of the race after Razgatlioglu’s turn one mistake.

He was able to make a decent lead of around two seconds, but Razgatlioglu ultimately overcame that and, after he was passed, Lowes decided to use the BMW rider’s pace to improve his security in second rather than attempting to reclaim the lead.

“It was difficult,” Lowes said in parc ferme after the race.

“I made the call after the sighting lap to go with slicks. I felt like the track was quite dry and, luckily, starting near the front you can pick your line a little bit more.

“It was difficult, nice to get through the first laps, make a bit of pace.

“I was trying to not push too hard after yesterday’s crash.

“Then Toprak [Razgatlioglu] passed me, he had a lot more speed, so I just hung there for a couple of laps; then he got a gap and I had a gap behind, so it was nice to bring it home in second.

“I thought it was going to be a wet day, so to get that race in is nice and I’m really happy with my pace. I’m showing it in a few different conditions, and let’s see what we can do later on.”

Bautista: “The only choice was all wet or all dry”

Alvaro Bautista’s result was notable because it was the first time he finished a race this year ahead of Nicolo Bulega when both Aruba.it racing Ducati riders made it to the end.

For Bautista, this was a product of tyre choice. Where Bulega, who finished 13th, chose an intermediate rear tyre, Bautista went with full dry.

“For sure, the conditions were very tricky because the track was not for wet tyres but was not perfect for slicks,” said Bautista in his post-race TV interview.

“At the end, I didn’t choose intermediates because I never used before, so the only choice was all wet or all dry.

“We decided complete dry. The choice was right.

“In any case, I made some risks at the beginning because in the short race everyone is pushing too hard.

“So, I took some risks at the beginning, then, when I saw that I was third, Toprak [Razgatlioglu] and Sam [Lowes] had a bit– not risking more than me, but I saw that behind me was a bit far.

“So, I just finished the race and to do it in the podium of the 1,000th race for Superbike is always good.”