Winning and bold as ever, Toprak Razgatlioglu confirmed all the predictions of the eve, affixing his ninth seal at Donington Park. A difficult test for Ducati, clinging to Nicolò Bulega in an uphill weekend for Alvaro Bautista, who also tested the reflexes of his mechanics with a slip on the reconnaissance lap.
But if the English countryside brought a breath of fresh air into the pits of Jonathan Rea and Scott Redding, the one who didn’t appreciate the green of Great Britain was Yari Montella, frozen in the parc fermé by a penalty given to him by the Stewards.
THE GOOD – A podium in the Superpole Race doesn’t make a summer, but it does help to give confidence and morale. Exactly what Jonathan Rea needed after the troubled start of his adventure with Yamaha. A sigh of relief, to start again with more energy in the next appointment in Most, where it will be necessary to straighten out once and for all the fate of a season that began under the wrong star.
THE UGLY – What happened to Iker Lecuona and Honda? The light that came on in Misano with a triple Top 10 finish went out again across the Channel, where the Valencian-Japanese duo struggled to get into the points zone.
THE BAD – It took the magnifying glass used in Toprak’s celebrations to see Yari Montella’s pass on the green on the final lap of Race 2. A millimetric touch, to say the least, but it was enough to bring down the axe of the Donington Stewards on the Campanian, who relegated him to second place without showing any mercy.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT – Two points. This was the paltry loot collected by Sam Lowes in his home race. The one in the United Kingdom was supposed to be the Round in which to capitalize on the flashes shown here and there since the beginning of the season. Instead, between crashes and contacts, the standard-bearer of the Marc VDS team was unable to capitalize on the fourth place on the grid, shattering the dream of his twin brother Alex to emulate the Marquez brothers on the podium at the Sachsenring.
CONFIRMATION – Nicolò Bulega is always there in front. Even on a track that is traditionally difficult for Ducati, the rookie from Emilia managed to keep the colors of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer flying high, confirming himself as the first of Razgatlioglu’s pursuers, in the championship and in the two Sunday races.
THE MISTAKE – Alvaro Bautista made the mechanics of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team work overtime, with a slip in Turn 12 while he was lining up on the starting grid for Race 2. Nothing more than a thrill for the Spaniard, who was regularly back on the starting grid with a lightning repair
THE SURPRISE – It is known that the home air has always done Scott Redding good, but no one would have ever expected to see the Englishman so competitive after the disastrous Rounds at the beginning of the season. Was it just the track factor that made the difference? Redding is expected at the crossroads next weekend in Most.
THE PASS – Bulega’s dreams of glory in the Superpole race lasted less than three laps, when the Ducati rider saw the lead snatched away from him by Razgatlioglu with an inside pass at the entrance to the Melbourne hairpin.
FUN FACT – No one has won more at Donington than Razgatlioglu. With his Race 2 win, Toprak equalled Tom Sykes’ record of nine wins.
I TOLD YOU SO – Toprak on Friday: “If I had the SCX on I could easily lap in the 1’25” range”. He wasn’t kidding.
