Razgatlioglu Dominates Czech WorldSBK Race 2 as Bautista and Petrucci Crash

Toprak Razgatlioglu completed a totally dominant Czech WorldSBK weekend, taking victory in Race 2 after Alvaro Bautista and Danilo Petrucco crashed.

Razgatlioglu leaves the Czech WorldSBK round with an enormous lead on the World Championship as title rival Alvaro Bautista retired from the Superpole Race and Race 2.

Nicolo Bulega would take the lead from Toprak Razgatlioglu off the start, as Danilo Petrucci and Alvaro Bautista both collided and crashed out of the race at the first corner, putting Bautista even further behind in the World Championship. Andrea Iannone would be involved as well, forced to go down the escape road and cut the chicane.

Michaeal van der Mark would overtake Remy Gardner at Turn 1 on Lap 2 for third place, van der Mark hadn’t finished on the podium in three years and was maintaining his gap to the leaders early on.

Alex Lowes would be given a double long lap penalty for jumping the start, initially running in fifth place, the penalty would drop him outside the Top 10.

At Turn 16 on Lap 5, Razgatlioglu would manage to overtake Bulega in the long left-hander that follows on from the tight right of Turn 15. Bulega’s Ducati had seemingly been struggling with tyre grip as we got further into the race, as Razgatlioglu managed to pull a short lead over the Italian.

Remy Gardner and Andrea Locatelli would duel for fourth and fifth, both teammates being careful not to run into one another, as Iker Lecuona and Scott Redding battled for seventh, with Lecuona managing to get past the BMW of Redding on the exit of Turn 2. Redding struggled with tyre wear, being overtaken by Axel Bassani, Xavi Vierge, Jonathan Rea and Andrea Iannone in quick succession.

Iannone would move past Bassani for tenth as we settled into half race distance, with Razgatlioglu leading by just over one second. Domi Aegerter would run wide at Turn 21, continuing a difficult weekend for the Swiss.

Andrea Locatelli would dive down the inside of van der Mark into Turn 2 after drawing alongside the BMW at the exit of Turn 1, seizing the final podium position as van der Mark began hunting Locatelli back down.

Alex Lowes took his double long lap penalty, eventually managing to re-overtake his teammate Axel Bassani, later closing on Andrea Iannone for a Top 10 position. Redding would be given a long lap penalty for cutting the chicane without losing one second, dropping the Brit to 14th place in the final third of the race.

Michaeal Ruben Rinaldi had one of his best rides of the season, climbing six places and running in sixth position on his Ducati. Just behind the Italian, Jonathan Rea and Iker Lecuona would duel for seventh,

With just 5 laps remaining, Iannone would pass Vierge for ninth place, the pair of them being caught hand over fist by Alex Lowes aboard his Kawasaki with just a handful of laps remaining.

Further out in front, van der Mark would be caught by Remy Gardner in the twistier section of the circuit, eventually Gardner would manage to get past van der Mark with only a few laps remaining, van der Mark attempting to make his way back past at Turn 1 the following lap, but being squeezed on the outside of the corner and unable to pass Gardner, who took fourth.

In the dying stages of the race, Rea would move his Yamaha past Rinaldi’s Ducati for sixth place, as Axel Bassani went down and crashed at Turn 17 on the final lap. Iker Lecuona would move down three places after being given a penalty for cutting the chicane without losing a second.

Toprak Razgatlioglu would ride to a comfortable victory, concluding his total domination of the Czech World Superbike round, winning every race  and getting pole position as well. Nicolo Bulega would finish in second place, joined by Andrea Locatelli for the final spot on the podium.

Featured Image: BMW Motorrad on Social Media