Toprak Razgatlioglu secured a timely first WorldSBK pole position of the season for Round 10 of the season in Jerez, ahead of what could prove a pivotal event in the fight for the 2021 WorldSBK title.
The Turk got the better of title rival Jonathan Rea in Superpole for the first time this season with a swift final effort in the closing stages of the session, spoiling what looked like ending with a Kawasaki 1-2.
Indeed, Alex Lowes appeared to be heading towards his first Superpole since 2018 - and first for ‘Team Green’ - with an impressive time that out-paced Jonathan Rea, despite riding with the injured wrist and hand he sustained in Barcelona last weekend.
However, he’d fall a mere 0.027s shy of the top spot as Razgatlioglu’s last gasp effort earned himself a small but welcome boost over Rea ahead of this afternoon’s opening race.
Reflecting the small margins in the overall standings with just a single point splitting the pair in Razgatlioglu’s favour, third for Rea marks only the second time this season the Ulsterman has not started from pole position.
Outside title contender Scott Redding - who comes into the weekend facing down a 62 point deficit - gets underway from fourth position as the best of the Ducati riders, with team-mate Michael Ruben Rinaldi alongside him in fifth and Andrea Locatelli rounding out the second row.
Loris Baz did a fine job of reminding the paddock of his WorldSBK credentials by placing the Chaz Davies-vacated Go Eleven Ducati seventh on the grid for his first race back in the series after almost a year, followed by Honda pair Leon Haslam and Alvaro Bautista, while Garrett Gerloff rounded out the top ten.
Leandro Mercado was a standout of the session with his best qualifying result of the season in 11th on the satellite MIE Honda, but there was disappointment for BMW with Michael van der Mark and Eugene Laverty - deputising for the injured Tom Sykes this weekend - left with work to do from 13th and 15th on the grid.
2021 WorldSBK Jerez | Superpole Qualifying RESULTS | Round 10 / 13
| 2021 WorldSBK Jerez | Superpole Qualifying RESULTS | Round 10 / 13 | |||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | WorldSBK Team | Superbike | Timing |
| 1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | Pata Yamaha by BRIXX | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 38.512 |
| 2 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | KawasakI ZX-10RR | 1m 38.539 |
| 3 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | KawasakI ZX-10RR | 1m 38.614 |
| 4 | Scott Redding | GBR | Aruba Racing Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 38.661 |
| 5 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | ESP | Aruba Racing Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 38.860 |
| 6 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | Pata Yamaha by BRIXX | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 39.056 |
| 7 | Loris Baz | FRA | Team GoEleven | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 39.322 |
| 8 | Leon Haslam | GBR | Team HRC Honda | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1m 39.423 |
| 9 | Alvaro Bautista | ESP | Team HRC Honda | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1m 39.609 |
| 10 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 39.747 |
| 11 | Leandro Mercado | ESP | MIE Racing | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1m 40.023 |
| 12 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 40.061 |
| 13 | Michael van der Mark | NED | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK | BMW M1000RR | 1m 40.092 |
| 14 | Jonas Folger | GER | Bonovo MGM Action | BMW M1000RR | 1m 40.121 |
| 15 | Eugene Laverty | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK | BMW M1000RR | 1m 40.206 |
| 16 | Isaac Vinales | ESP | Orelac VerdNatura Racing | KawasakI ZX-10RR | 1m 40.273 |
| 17 | Kohta Nozane | JPN | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 40.367 |
| 18 | Samuele Cavalieri | ESP | Barni Racing Team | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 40.433 |
| 19 | Marvin Fritz | GER | iXS-YART Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 40.490 |
| 20 | Andrea Mantovani | ITA | Vince64 Racing | KawasakI ZX-10RR | 1m, 40.795 |
| 21 | Christophe Ponsson | FRA | Gil Motorsport | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m 41.030 |
| 22 | Loris Cresson | BEL | TPR Team Pedercini Racing | KawasakI ZX-10RR | 1m 41.255 |
| 23 | Lachlan Epis | AUS | TPR Team Pedercini Racing | KawasakI ZX-10RR | 1m 42.626 |
