Razgatlioğlu takes pole victory and sets the new race lap record in Most

· Toprak Razgatlioğlu (BMW) was the undisputed star of the first two days of the WorldSBK Czech Round in Most, Czech Republic. The Turkish rider was the fastest in all sessions, taking pole and winning Race1, ahead of Ducati riders Nicolò Bulega, second, and Danilo Petrucci, third. Razgatlioğlu also set a new best race lap on his 10^th lap in 1’31.109

· In qualifying, Razgatlioğlu, lapping in 1’29.799 on his last lap, would also have set a new all-time lap record if the time had not been cancelled due to a yellow flag. Nevertheless, the BMW rider still managed to secure pole with a time of 1’30.397, stopping the clock just 3 tenths from the record lap he set last year.

· In qualifying, all riders used the rear SC0 to set their best times, while in Race 1 the choice fell unanimously on the SC1 D0922 development tyre. Indeed, everyone chose the SC1 in all the race sessions, as it was best suited to the characteristics of the Czech circuit.

· Jaume Masiá (Ducati) won the first WorldSSP race of the weekend using standard compound tyres,  SC1 front and SC0 rear, like almost all the riders on the grid, with the exception of MV Agusta riders Bo Bendsneyder and Andy Verdoia, who preferred the SC1 on the rear as well. The winner also set a new race lap record in 1’34.403 on lap six, improving the lap record set by Stefano Manzi last year by more than 4 tenths of a second.

· Both races took place with air temperatures around 15°C and asphalt temperatures around 30°C. The coldest session was the free practice on Friday morning, with 11 degrees of air and 16 of asphalt.

Very high pace and new race lap records
 
“On Friday, teams and riders struggled to find the right setup and a good grip level, because the track was still not very clean and not rubberised, track temperatures were quite low and the surface was damp due to some rain showers and significant gusts of wind. Today, however, the evolution of the track combined with more stable weather and milder temperatures, we were able to see the true values on the field and the riders were very fast, as evidenced by the new race lap records for both classes. The soft SC0 rear was the protagonist in qualifying and would have allowed Razgatlioğlu to also set the new all-time lap record, if his last attempt had not been cancelled due to a yellow flag, while the SC1 D0922 development stole the show in Race1, where it was used by all the riders. At the front, the SC1 confirmed itself as the ideal option for this circuit, in both classes, and for Supersport, paired with the soft SC0 rear. Without any exceptional changes in conditions, we do not expect any upheaval in tomorrow’s long-distance races, while it will be interesting to see the choice of the rear tyre for the Superpole Race. With lower temperatures, the D0922 option is favoured because, even if on the flying lap it is a few tenths slower than the SC0, in the cold it is subject to lower wear and has a lower performance degradation, and this can make the difference over a 10-lap distance. If, on the other hand, the asphalt temperatures are going to be higher, then the SC0 could come back into play”.