San Juan WorldSBK Superpole Results: Razgatlioglu obliterates lap record
Toprak Razgatlioglu claims a stunning pole at San Juan after getting the better of title rivals Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista.
First out of pit lane as he looked to secure a good starting position for race one, Bautista set the time to beat with a 1:37.459s. However, fellow Ducati rider Axel Bassani immediately bettered the championship leader to move onto provisional pole.
On course to obliterate the all-time lap record which he set in FP3, Razgatlioglu did just that as he laid down a stunning time of 1:36.687s, which was the first-ever sub 1m 37s lap around San Juan.
Razgatlioglu’s opening lap was over four tenths quicker than Rea, while seven tenths clear of Bautista before the series leader squeezed an extra tenth of a second out of his tyres on time attack #2.
Traditionally a struggle compared to the races, Superpole was again proving to be tough for Bautista as Alex Lowes and Loris Baz also jumped ahead of the Ducati man.
Baz, who was following Razgatlioglu on his best effort, matched Rea with an identical time although the Kawasaki rider remained ahead of the Frenchman due to setting the time first.
| 2022 World Superbike San Juan, Argentina - Superpole Results | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK | 1:36.216s |
| 2 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | +0.233s |
| 3 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | +0.455s |
| 4 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | +0.737s |
| 5 | Scott Redding | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | +0.758s |
| 6 | Loris Baz | FRA | Bonovo Action BMW | +0.811s |
| 7 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Ducati | +0.815s |
| 8 | Michael Rinaldi | ITA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | +0.850s |
| 9 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | +0.906s |
| 10 | Xavi Vierge | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | +0.943s |
| 11 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK | +1.131s |
| 12 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | +1.183s |
| 13 | Lucas Mahias | FRA | Puccetti Kawasaki | +1.418s |
| 14 | Michael Van Der Mark | SPA | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | +1.554s |
| 15 | Xavi Fores | SPA | Barni Spark Ducati Team | +1.692s |
| 16 | Kohta Nozane | JPN | GRT Yamaha | +1.892s |
| 17 | Philipp Oettl | GER | GoEleven Ducati | +1.933s |
| 18 | Eugene Laverty | IRL | Bonovo Action BMW | +1.937s |
| 19 | Leandro Mercado | ARG | MIE Honda Racing | +1.968s |
| 20 | Oliver Konig | CZE | Orelac Racing Kawasaki | +2.467s |
| 21 | Maximilian Scheib | GER | MIE Honda Racing | +3.009s |
| 22 | Marco Solorza | ARG | Pedercini Kawasaki | +4.534s |
Losing pace in sector four throughout much of the weekend, Bautista instead held onto his narrow advantage through sectors two and three in order to go fastest overall.
But Bautista’s time at the top was short-lived as Rea went quicker by two tenths after setting a time of 1:36.449s.
Baz suffered a fast crash at turn two as Razgatlioglu began his final time attack. And what a lap it turned out to be as Razgatlioglu beat Rea’s time by another two tenths, making him the fastest rider ever around San Juan on Superbike machinery.
San Juan WorldSBK Records:
Lap record: Scott Redding GBR Aruba.it Ducati 1:37.345s
2021 San Juan Winners
Race 1: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha
Superpole Race: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha
Race 2: Scott Redding GBR Aruba.it Ducati
Marco Solorza is replacing Leon Haslam at Pedercini Kawasaki this weekend, while Maximilian Scheib is stepping in for Hafizh Syahrin who was ruled out due to injury and illness.
Xavi Fores is also returning to WorldSBK as he replaces Luca Bernardi at Barni Spark Racing Ducati, after the Italian was demoted to WorldSSP with CM Ducati.
Prior to FP1 getting underway it was confirmed that Leandro Mercado won’t be continuing with MIE Honda in 2023.
San Juan Weekend schedule (UK time)
Friday
Free Practice 1: 14:30-15:15
Free Practice 2: 19:00-19:45
Saturday
Free Practice 3: 14:00-14:30
Superpole: 16:10-16:25
Race 1: 19:00
Sunday
Warm-up: 14:00-14:10
Superpole Race: 16:00
Race 2: 19:00
