ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, with the BMW M 1000 RR motorcycle, saw Toprak Razgatlıoğlu from Turkey take the lead in the initial practice session for the Emilia Romagna round of the 2024 World Superbike Championship in Misano. Razgatlıoğlu’s lap time of 1:33.448s surpassed the rest of the competitors by over half a second, with KRT’s Alex Lowes finishing 0.560s behind in second place.
After a break of nearly two months since the 3rd round in Assen, the 2024 World Superbike Championship campaign resumed at the Misano circuit in Italy for the first practice of the Emilia Romagna round. The 45-minute session took place in sunny Italian weather, although there was a setback when Philipp Oettl’s Yamaha YZF R1 from GMT94 had an engine blowout at Turn 6, resulting in a red flag.
After a brief interruption, the session restarted with 34 minutes remaining, allowing the other riders enough time to familiarize themselves with the Misano circuit. One rider who encountered a minor setback was ROKiT BMW Motorrad’s Michael van der Mark, who lost control of his M 1000 RR at Turn 4. He managed to pick up his bike from the ground and return to the pits to regroup.
Michele Pirro, a guest rider from Ducati, also had a setback at the tight Turn 14, with 10 minutes remaining in the session. He lost control of his Panigale V4R, but like van der Mark, escaped unharmed and was able to return to the pits with minimal damage to his bike.
However, Razgatlıoğlu did not have these concerns, as he consistently topped the timing charts throughout the session, maintaining his impressive performance from the Misano tests in May. The BMW M 1000 RR rider was approximately three tenths of a second ahead before a final effort saw him extend his lead by another two tenths.
After Razgatlıoğlu and Lowes, Nicolo Bulega from Italy, on the Aruba.it – Racing Ducati, secured third position with a lap time of 1:34.029s. Axel Bassani, Lowes’ teammate on the Kawasaki, finished in fourth place with a time of 1:34.245s. The top five was completed by Andrea Iannone from Team GoEleven Ducati, who finished 0.872s behind Razgatlıoğlu, with a lap time of 1:34.320s.
Alvara Bautista, the current championship leader, finished in sixth place aboard the Ducati #1, recording a best effort of 1:34.323s. Despite his previous setback, van der Mark managed to set the seventh fastest time, completing a lap of the Misano circuit in 1:34.436s.
Jonathan Rea from Pata Prometeon Yamaha (1:34.462s), Remy Gardner from GRT Yamaha (1:34.462s), and Ducati guest rider Pirro (1:34.515s) completed the top-10.
The action of Misano WorldSBK will continue with Free Practice 2 at 15:00 local time.
