Pole position, three more wins, and new records: Toprak Razgatlioglu is the benchmark with the BMW M 1000 RR at Donington Park.

Donington Park.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) from the ROKiT BMW Motorrad
WorldSBK Team continued his impressive performance on the BMW M 1000
RR at the fifth round of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship
(WorldSBK). Following a perfect weekend at Misano (ITA), ‘El Turco’
was again the benchmark at Donington Park (GBR). Starting from pole
position, he won all three races in Great Britain, each with a
significant lead, and set several new lap records. With nine wins to
his name this season now, including seven consecutive victories,
Razgatlioglu extended his lead in the rider’s championship to 41
points. In the Manufacturer’s Championship, BMW reduced the gap to
leader Ducati to just six points. Scott Redding (GBR) from the
Bonovo action BMW Racing Team also had a strong weekend, starting
from third place and finishing fourth in two races at his home round.

After setting the fastest times in Friday’s practice sessions,
Razgatlioglu set a new all-time lap record in Saturday morning’s
Superpole qualification. He was over half a second faster than the
rest of the field, securing his third pole position of the season. The
first race turned into a showcase performance. Razgatlioglu pulled
away from the field right from the start, extending his lead with each
lap, setting a new lap record, and finishing more than eleven seconds
ahead after 23 laps. The next win followed in the Superpole race on
Sunday morning. Although Razgatlioglu fell to second place at the
start, he regained the lead by the third lap. He pulled away from the
field again, beat his previous day’s lap record, and won with a near
five-second lead after ten laps. The second main race on Sunday
afternoon was the final challenge. Razgatlioglu again pulled away from
the start, set another new lap record, and finished eight seconds
ahead as the winner.

Local hero Redding also shone at his home race. Already strong in
practice, he secured the third start position in Superpole. In the
first race, he held second place for a long time and fought for the
podium before a technical issue forced him to retire a few laps before
the end. In the Superpole Race, Redding seized his next opportunity.
After a hectic start, he was in sixth place, and with determined
manoeuvres, he fought his way forward. With a fourth-place finish, he
and his team had cause to celebrate. In the second main race, he
confirmed his strong performance and again finished in an excellent
fourth place.

Michael van der Mark (NED) from the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
secured a place on the second row with sixth place in Superpole. In
the first race, he lost positions at the start and finished ninth. In
the Superpole race and the second main race, van der Mark finished
twelfth. Garrett Gerloff (USA) from the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team
started the weekend from 12th place. He finished the first race in
14th place, the same position he achieved in the Superpole race. In
the second main race, he finished 13th.

Also present at Donington Park were other members of the BMW Motorrad
Motorsport family, including BMW Motorrad factory rider Sylvain
Guintoli (FRA), the 2014 Superbike World Champion, who presented
Razgatlioglu with the winner’s trophy after the Superpole race, and
Davey Todd (GBR), who won the Superstock race and the prestigious
Senior TT on the Isle of Man with the BMW M 1000 RR in June.

The WorldSBK continues without a break. The sixth event of the season
is scheduled for next weekend (19th to 21st July) at Most, Czech Republic.

Reactions after the Donington Park round.

Marc Bongers, Sporting Director BMW Motorrad
Motorsport: “It was an amazing weekend. The second
consecutive triple, with pole position and lap records, is just
fantastic. I‘m still a bit lost for words. I think I need to sleep on
it before I can truly grasp it. It was also great to see Scott up
there, proving that not just one BMW M 1000 RR can compete at the
front. This shows that the whole package is good. It was unfortunate
for Mickey and Garrett. They didn’t get into the rhythm we had
expected but we’ll keep working on it so that they can also fight for
the top spots. Overall, it’s wonderful to be heading home with a case
full of trophies. Before the weekend, I told the guys in the office to
make some extra space in our cabinet just in case we brought back more
trophies. That it turned out to be so many is a dream come true. At
the start of the season, we couldn’t have imagined this. The goal back
then was to win multiple times but now, leaving with over a 40-point
lead in the championship changes the target of course. The new goal is
clearly the world championship. We just need to stay focused, keep
everything stable, and make sure we don’t make any mistakes but I’m
optimistic, things can continue like this, and I’m already looking
forward to Most. Our package now works on every track, so we don’t
need to make many adjustments. I expect that we can be at the front at
Most right away, especially since this is a special track for our
package and our rider.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 1 /
R01: 1 / SP Race: 1 / R02: 1): “I am feeling incredible now
because before I came here, I had the target to get three wins, as
this is my favourite track, and finally we did that here. This is team
work and the team is working really hard. We improved the bike every
session. I am strong but my BMW M 1000 RR was also working incredibly
on this circuit. With my BMW I am really stronger here. The bike is
working, easy stopping, easy turning. The grip is not 100 percent but
the bike is helping me to show my potential. We are happy, because at
Misano we had three wins and we repeated that here. Now I hope that we
will also win at Most because I love the track there. Thanks to
everyone, I am really happy today. Now we will see how the next round
will go but we are coming closer to the world championship title step
by step. Let’s wait, there are many more races to go.”

Scott Redding, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team (SP: 3 / R01: DNF
/ SP Race: 4 / R02: 4): “It has been good. I am a little
bit upset with my start in the Superpole race because I cost myself a
podium. I had the pace to be there but the Superpole race is quick and
the start is important but it was like it was and I managed to come
through which was good. Then in race two I knew it was going to be
hard, I was also using the SC-0 tyre that didn’t feel so good
yesterday. I felt better with the tyre so I was able to ride in a
better way and this was good for me mentally to gain confidence with
the package and to feel comfortable and relaxed on the bike more. This
weekend has been good for me and for the team. Everyone has been
working really hard, from the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, from BMW
Motorrad Motorsport, and it’s nice when you can put something together
and give back a little bit. I wanted it too hard to have the podium
but a step at the time and I hope next time we can make two steps
more. For Most, if I have the feeling like this weekend as a start, I
would like to be fighting again in the top five there. It’s a track
that I like and a track I go well so a podium, without being greedy,
is something I want to achieve. We just need to perfect the bike a
little bit and it will allow me to do that.”

Michael van der Mark, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 6
/ R01: 9 / SP Race: 12 / R02: 12): “For today, we changed
quite a lot on the bike compared to yesterday and this morning, I was
feeling alright so we were ready for the race. In the Superpole race,
I had an okay start but I just did not have the right pace to fight
with the other guys. It was a shame to lose the sixth position on the
grid for race two, but anyway, starting from 11th, I had a good start
but on the first laps I was a bit in trouble with the other riders.
Then I had an okay pace but I wasn’t fast enough. It was hard to fight
with other riders, I could not really catch the group in front of me.
In the end, I had a nice battle but fighting for P11 is not where we
want to be. We need to find out why I don’t have the right speed at
the moment. Let’s analyse and be ready for the next weekend at Most.”

Garrett Gerloff, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team (SP: 11 / R01:
14 / SP Race: 14 / R02: 13): “For sure, this weekend has
been a tough one. I came here with high expectations and the results
we have seen here have shown what the bike is capable of. Congrats to
Toprak to his wins and to Scott on his strong results, but for
whatever reason we could not bring it together for me. We worked hard
and tried a lot but the field is so close that even with a really
strong pace and good feeling in qualifying I had to settle with 12th
on the grid. From there, it is not easy to get strong race results. I
am disappointed because more would have been possible. But we keep our
heads down, regroup and get ready for Most, where the goal is to turn
the page.”