Razgatlioğlu wins WorldSBK debut race at Balaton with Pirelli SC0

· Starting from pole position, Toprak Razgatlioğlu (BMW) was victorious in the first ever WorldSBK race at the new Balaton Park Circuit, crossing the line almost 4 seconds ahead of the two Ducati riders Nicolò Bulega, second, and Alvaro Bautista, third. The Turkish rider used the medium SC1 front and the soft SC0 rear, both standard. His two pursuers, on the other hand, preferred the development soft in E0125 specification on the rear.
 
· Before the race was interrupted due to an accident, the front SC1 was the choice of 19 out of 23 riders. Only Lecuona (Honda), Alex Lowes (Bimota), Gerloff (Kawasaki) and Van der Mark (BMW) preferred the hard SC2. As for the rear, however, in addition to the winner Razgatlioğlu, Petrucci and Vickers (both on Ducati), Gerloff and Van der Mark also started with the standard SC0, while all the others opted for the development soft in E0125 specification. For the second start, only Zaidi (Honda) changed specification from the development soft to the standard soft.
 
· In WorldSSP Race1, the win went to Stefano Manzi (Yamaha), who took advantage of the SC1 front – SCX rear combination to win alone. Like him, all the other riders also adopted the same choices, with the only exception of Ana Carrasco (Honda) who preferred to start with the rear SC0. On the podium, together with Manzi, also came Can Oncu (Yamaha) and Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta), in second and third places respectively.

The standard soft solution an excellent choice for Balaton's unknowns
 
"In these first two days we have had confirmation of some characteristics of the new Balaton circuit. The layout is the classic stop&go layout, with strong braking and acceleration, but without the fast corners that normally generate high temperatures on the tyres. Despite the high temperatures of the asphalt – with peaks above 50 °C – the design of the track does not put excessive stress on the tyres, which have offered very constant and long-lasting performance. The asphalt is still new and not fully rubberized, so the grip is not yet optimal, but as we had guessed from the private tests carried out here a few weeks ago, the abrasiveness is moderate, and we are finding limited wear and excellent consistency of performance. The two rear soft options we made available for this debut both performed very well. We also saw the extrasoft E0479 in action, tested this morning in FP3 and later used in qualifying: compared to the standard SCQ, having no previous chronometric references, we cannot make a comparison on the times, but the riders reported very positive sensations, appreciating the behavior offered by the new casing. The front choices were also interesting: if normally in similar conditions the SC1 is clearly the most used compound, in the practice sessions some opted for the SC2 which, offering greater stability and support in braking, with the fairly hot asphalt can be effective on a circuit of this type, satisfying certain riders. In the race, however, with slightly lower temperatures, most preferred to go for the SC1."