WorldSBK Aragon FP1: Toprak Razgatlioglu kicks off the season on top

May 21, 2021May 21, 2021 EMR Writer

Toprak Razgatlioglu is the fastest man in the first session of the season.

Turkish Yamaha sensation Toprak Razgatlioglu struck first in FP1 at Aragon leading the way as the only rider under the 1:50 time barrier with a lap time of 1:49.952 as many riders fought in the late stages of the session to lead the timesheets, he finished ahead of Chaz Davies who doesn’t seem to have lost his spark despite being replaced in the Aruba.it ‘factory’ squad, now riding for the customer Go Eleven squad who are boasting a bright blue livery for 2021.

Just behind the duo is the American rider Garrett Gerloff, he ensures that there are two independent teams in the top 3, coming into 2021 he holds much promise after taking three massively impressive podiums as a rookie last year, he now has factory support from Yamaha and is aiming for more than just podium finishes this year just 0.056 ahead of Alex Lowes who put his Kawasaki in fourth.

Chaz Davies’ replacement Michael Ruben Rinaldi capped off the top 5 as the Italian hopes to make his mark this year at the track he took his first victory at last year, Ducati have put their faith in him for 2021 opting for youth over experience in their factory squad, he aims to win more than just one race this year. He leads the 6-time champion Jonathan Rea who faces more pressure than ever to take title number 7 home this year with many riders looking strong enough to contend for the title including Scott Redding who finished in P11 in the session.

The BMW boys of Tom Sykes and Michael van der Mark placed in P7 and P9 with the flying Dutchman making his first appearance in the German BMW colours after a surprise switch from Yamaha, it’ll be interesting to see how he gets on.

Tito Rabat is another rider many people are watching, the 2014 Moto2 World Champion comes into the class after struggling in MotoGP and will be hoping to regain his previous form which took him to wins and titles, he finished in P12.

Full results –