Michael van der Mark this morning took BMW’s first WorldSBK win since 2013 as he splashed to victory in the ten-lap Superpole race.
The Dutchman passed Scott Redding for the lead before half-distance and then cleared off while six-time world champion Jonathan Rea crashed out for the second successive race.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) got the better start of the championship’s lead trio but soon found himself under pressure from Kawasaki's Rea and Scott Redding with Rea taking the lead on the opening lap.
As the leaders approached Turn 13, Rea lost the front and went off the track, the crash forcing him out of the race for the second consecutive race, meaning he will start from tenth for Race 2 later this afternoon. Razgatlioglu and Redding were the lead duo, but things soon changed in the 10-lap race as Razgatlioglu dropped down through the order while Redding remained clear at the front.
With all the drama out in front, van der Mark was working his way through the field and moved into the lead of the race on lap four at Turn 5 after taking advantage of Redding running wide at the left-hander hairpin; BMW leading a race for the first time since Phillip Island 2020, in Race 1. He will therefore start Race 2 from first on the grid, ahead of Redding in second.
Loris Baz (Team GoEleven) claimed third place after withstanding the challenge from Leon Haslam (Team HRC), although Haslam did briefly pass Baz before crashing out at Turn 13 on Lap 8. A second crash for Haslam at Turn 3 on Lap 9 meant he brought his machine back to the pits, promoting Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) into fourth place.
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) was another beneficiary from his teammate’s misfortune to move into fifth place, ahead of Championship leader Razgatlioglu in sixth; the Turkish star able limit his damage in the race after dropping down the order rapidly in the early stages, with Bautista and Razgatlioglu completing the second row alongside Locatelli.
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continued his streak of top-ten finishes since his podium finish in Catalunya with seventh place, withstanding a charge from Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with the American star just 0.068s behind Bassani. Irish rider Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was almost two seconds back from Gerloff with ninth as he starts from the third row.
Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) claimed the first top ten of his WorldSBK career as he finished in tenth place, as the top Kawasaki rider, two seconds clear of Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) in 11th; although both riders will start from their Superpole result as they missed out on a top-nine spot.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was an early retirement in the race after a crash at Turn 8, with the Italian rider taken to the medical centre for a check-up. Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was forced to start from the back of the grid but the Belgian rookie retired from the lead of the race. Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was a late retirement after the Japanese rookie crashed on Lap 6 at turn 13.
