Danilo Petrucci was left furious with Andrea Iannone for triggering a multi-rider crash at the start of Race 1 at Balaton Park’s first WorldSBK race.

Petrucci was one of the seven riders to go down, but had to start at the back on the race restart while suffering with pain in his shoulder.

Although the Italian delivered an impressive performance to finish fifth at the inaugural WorldSBK meeting at Balaton Park, he noted that Iker Lecuona and Remy Gardner sustained injuries in the crash. Iannone himself and Garrett Gerloff later withdrew after Saturday’s action.

Petrucci suggested that Iannone’s two long-lap penalty punishment wasn’t enough and stated that it was “unacceptable” that he was allowed to restart.

“In Turn 2, Iannone hit me in the middle,” he stated to GPOne.

“For me, it is unacceptable that they let him restart after he took out six, sending two to the hospital.

“I have some pain in my shoulder and I hope it will be resolved by tomorrow. It looks like he was playing a video game, but this is not a game.

“I’m really pissed off because I lost a lot of points, although my team did a great job to get me going again and they were amazing. I could have been on the podium, but that’s okay.”

The Barni Spark Racing rider stated that there was no communication between himself and Iannone after the accident.

“No, he better stay away from me! I don’t want to talk to him, also because I have nothing to say to him and I don’t even want his apology,” he declared.

“At the end of the day, we know him, since then he comes to reporters and says things like, ‘I closed the line.’

“The fact that they gave him a double long lap penalty says it all and I think there is nothing more to add. I still don’t understand a manoeuvre like that.”

Petrucci later finished tenth in the Superpole Race, before ending the weekend in fourth place to keep himself third in the championship.

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Toprak Razgatlioglu proudly stated that winning the 1,000th WorldSBK race was a “very special” achievement for him.

The BMW rider stormed to a third consecutive treble in 2025 at the inaugural Hungarian WorldSBK round at Balaton Park.

His success meant the championship leader extended his lead to 26 points over Nicolo Bulega, capitalising on the Italian’s failed tyre gamble in the Superpole Race.

“It was an amazing weekend,” he told WorldSBK.

“We started very strong because this is a new track for everyone. I adapted quickly. We did a good job with my team. I’m happy with this.

“The Superpole Race was very difficult due to many wet patches on track. We just had a dry line but some parts were still wet. We didn’t make a mistake, just riding and focused on pace.

“This race was very important because I won races 800 and 900, and I needed to win 1000! I’m really happy. This is a very special race for me.”

Razgatlioglu won the 800th WorldSBK race on a Kawasaki, the 900th race on a Yamaha, and the 1,000th on a BMW.

Despite extending title advantage, Toprak Razgatlioglu searches for another treble

Heading into the summer break, Razgatlioglu has momentum on his side after claiming his 15th race win of the season in Race 2.

The Turkish rider is only looking one race weekend ahead, although he has previously stated that he wants to end his WorldSBK chapter as a three-time champion.

“I’m not on focused on the Championship, I’m looking race by race; this is very important for me,” he shared.

“The next race is at Magny-Cours and last year I didn’t race there. I’ll try to get a hat-trick there. I hope we win again because I’m on consecutive nine wins.

“Magny-Cours is one of my favourite tracks and I need to win there because Aragon and Jerez, I think all Ducatis will be very strong.

“We’re the Championship leader and we’ve got a bigger gap, but this is racing and everything is possible.”

READ MORE – Toprak Razgatlioglu prevails in 1,000th WorldSBK race at Balaton Park

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Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated Race 2 to complete a terrific treble at the inaugural Balaton Park WorldSBK round.

The BMW rider capped off the weekend with another dominant performance as he continued the momentum in Hungary.

Nicolo Bulega and Sam Lowes joined the Turkish rider on the rostrum as the Ducati duo took second and third place.

Razgatlioglu got off to the best possible start from pole to take the lead, but Bautista lunged up the inside to take the lead.

The Turkish rider retook the lead into Turn 3 which prompted Yamaha’s Locatelli and Marc VDS rider Lowes to catch up behind.

Nicolo Bulega muscled his way up to sixth by the end of Lap 1 after starting the race in 10th position, before slotting himself up to fifth after Lap 2.

The Italian needed to start well to try and prevent leader Razgatlioglu extending his championship advantage.

Marc VDS rider Lowes produced an impressive switch back move to overtake Locatelli at Turn 4, before the Brit made another incredible move on Bautista to take second.

The mini-battle between Lowes and Bautista held the pack up which led to Bulega overtaking factory Yamaha rider Locatelli.

The Italian established himself into the podium spots by divebombing his team-mate Bautista into Turn 1 on Lap 4.

Four riders contested for second place which benefitted leader Razgatlioglu as he grew a 5.1s lead over the rest of the field.

Lap 6 saw upmost chaos as Bautista had a fast-paced crash at Turn 8 after going onto the curve, while the right side of Lowes’ fairing is slightly loose which could be a cause for concern.

The Marc VDS rider was since overtaken by Bulega, but in the midst of all the drama Barni Spark Racing’s Danilo Petrucci found himself in fourth place.

Ryan Vickers cut the chicane at Turn 9, but he didn’t lose a second meaning he was imposed a long lap penalty. He attempted it the next lap, but ran wide meaning he dropped down to 14th and had to take the loop the following lap.

Razgatlioglu extended his advantage over the rest of the field to 7.4s by Lap 12, before extending further to 8.9s at the end of Lap 16.

The championship leader crossed the line to claim his 15th win of the season, including his ninth consecutive victory.

The final gap between himself and Bulega was 10.3s in what was one of the most dominant races in his career.

Bulega recovered from a difficult Superpole Race to finish second, salvaging valuable points in a damage-limitation weekend.

Three seconds behind was Lowes who took his first main race podium in the series after multiple near misses.

Petrucci completed an important fourth, who pipped Yamaha’s Locatelli by half a second.

Ten seconds adrift was Bimota’s Alex Lowes, finishing ahead of Honda’s Xavi Vierge and the second Bimota rider of Axel Bassani.

Dominique Aegerter secured ninth and Yari Montella outbattled Tarran Mackenzie to the line to round off the top 10.

Jonathan Rea posted 12th place, defeating Bahattin Sofuoglu who finished ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Tito Rabat secured the final point as Ryan Vickers crashed out after his long lap penalty mistake.

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Championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu prevailed in WorldSBK’s 1,000th race at Balaton Park.

The Superpole Race provided drama considering the damp track providing multiple tyre choices from riders, but the BMW rider won once again.

He took the holeshot into Turn 1 and lead the way right at the start, whereas title rival Nicolo Bulega dropped back.

Barni Spark Racing’s Danilo Petrucci placed himself up to second by the end of Lap 1, while championhip contender Bulega dropped further to 10th. Despite both opting for intermediate tyres, the disparity in grip showed in the early stages.

The Ducati rider took the lead after a mistake from Turkish rider made a mistake at Turn 1 on Lap 3, resulting in Petrucci and Sam Lowes to storm ahead.

Lowes secured the lead a few corners later and formed an impressive 1.7s advantage in one lap.

Alvaro Bautista overtook Razgatlioglu and Petrucci, but the three riders were all separated by two bike lengths through the slow corners.

Due to the multi-rider crash at Turn 2 in Race 1, Andrea Iannone, Remy Gardner, Iker Lecuona, and Garrett Gerloff were ruled out of Sunday’s races with serious injuries.

The two-time WorldSBK champions, Bautista and Razgatlioglu, switched positions on Lap 4, but the duo gained a second advantage on Lowes out front.

The Turkish rider in particular found incredible raw pace and regained the lead at Turn 1 on Lap 6, but the Marc VDS rider wasn’t ready to give up without a scrap.

Petrucci’s tyre gamble ended due to the dry lines developing on the track, resulting in the Ducati rider dropping down to seventh after only five laps.

He defended seventh for two laps, but the lack of grip saw the British trio of Ryan Vickers, Tarran Mackenzie and Jonathan Rea overtake in the final moments.

Bulega’s tyre gamble, opting for intermediate tyres, proved to be the wrong choice, negatively impacting his qualifying position for Race 2.

Meanwhile out front, as Razgatlioglu took the win, his championship lead extended further to 21 points over the Italian.

Lowes secured his third Superpole podium as he crossed the line 2.8s behind the BMW rider.

Bautista delivered another strong performance, finishing in a world of his own to claim the final step on the podium.

Andrea Locatelli produced a quiet race to finish fourth, closely followed by Xavi Vierge and Axel Bassani.

Vickers, Mackenzie and Rea finished within close proximity after successful moves on Petrucci, as the Italian rounded off the top ten.

Dominque Aegerter and Sam Lowes both overtook Bulega in the final stages despite choosing the same compound of tyre.

Bahattin Sofuoglu and Michael van der Mark crossed the line 14th and 15th, respectively, with the latter half a minute down on his race winning team-mate.

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Toprak Razgatlioglu completed a dominant performance in a dramatic opener to the Hungarian WorldSBK weekend to extend his championship lead. 

The race was red-flagged after seven riders crashed out on the opening lap, but Razgatlioglu responded to the dramatic start to take victory by 3.738s. 

Razgatlioglu made a good start from the pole position, and was able to hold onto the lead going into the first corner.

Andrea Locatelli also made a good start from third and pressurised Razgatlioglu for the lead of the race after the Turkish rider appeared to lose a wing off the right side of his BMW machine.

The concertina-effect down at Turn 2 saw a multiple rider pile-up as Andrea Iannone lost the ran into the back of Danilo Petrucci as both riders crashed out.

Garrett Gerloff, Yari Montella, Ryan Vickers also crashed at the corner, while Remy Gardner and Iker Lecuona suffered minor injuries as a result of the incident. 

Both Bimota riders also entered the gravel while trying to avoid the stricken bikes and riders, but both Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani were able to rejoin the race unscathed. 

The race was red-flagged a few corners later, just as Locatelli made his move on Razgatlioglu, with a restart scheduled as per the original grid positions. 

Ahead of the race recommencing, Iannone was awarded a double long lap penalty for his role in the incident, while Petrucci rejoined the race from the back of the field after missing the deadline to exit the pitlane. 

Vickers was unable to restart the race due to an issue with his MotoCorsa machine, while both Gardner and Lecuona were taken to the medical centre.

Razgatlioglu made the best start the second time around, and unlike the initial start, was able to maintain his lead throughout the first lap over Locatelli.

Lowes also made a decent getaway but lost a position to the Italian in third, though he looked to be the fastest rider on the circuit by the end of the first lap. 

Petrucci also made a fantastic start to the race from the back of the grid and progressed into the top 10 by the second lap of the race.

As Razgatlioglu began to make his mark on the rest of the field, championship rival Nicolo Bulega battled Ducati team-mate Alvaro Bautista for fourth, with the Italian coming out on top at the final corner. 

Bulega immediately closed down the gap to Lowes and Locatelli in front as the Brit and the Italian fought for second place ahead. 

Lowes made his move on Locatelli on Lap 5, which allowed the MarcVDS rider to escape down the road in his bid to track down Razgatlioglu at the front.

One lap later, Bulega made his move on his compatriot to take the final spot on the podium, as Locatelli was demoted to fourth. 

Lowes had taken two tenths out of Razgatlioglu’s lead after moving into second place, but a mistake at Turn 2 saw him crash out of contention.

Following Lowes’ error, the battle for the final spot on the podium appeared to be between four different riders, as Bautista made an overtake on Locatelli.

The battles down the order continued, as Jonathan Rea, Vierge, Montella and Gerloff all fought for seventh position. The Spanish rider was the first to make his move past the six-time World Champion.

The riders in the third group managed to hold their position until Rea crashed out of eighth position. Although the Northern Irishman was able to rejoin, he crashed again at Turn 4 to end his race. 

Further up the order, Bimota’s Lowes ran wide while trying to defend his fifth position from the fast-charging Petrucci, which allowed the Italian an easy opportunity to make his 16th overtake of the race.

At the front, Razgatlioglu crossed the line to seal his 70th WorldSBK victory by almost four seconds to extend his lead in the standings by another five points.

Bulega was able to close the gap to the Turkish rider but finished a distant second, while team-mate Bautista completed the podium in third. 

Locatelli maintained fourth position, two seconds clear of Petrucci after a fantastic display from the back of the grid. 

Lowes took the flag in sixth, as Montella came home in seventh after creating a gap to the group behind. 

Vierge completed the race in eighth position, while Gerloff bested Axel Bassani to the line to round out the top 10. 

Michael van der Mark fended off a late challenge from Dominique Aegerter to finish 11th, with Iannone completing a comeback ride in 13th after serving his double long lap penalty. 

Tarran Mackenzie returned to the championship with MGM Bonovo after Scott Redding departed from the team, as the Scotsman sealed 14th position. 

Bahattin Sofuoglu rounded out the points finishers in 15th.

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Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated the first-ever WorldSBK qualifying session at Balaton Park to claim pole by over half a second. 

On the championship’s first visit to Hungary since 1990, Razgatlioglu set the benchmark with a time of 1:38.357 to outqualify Britain’s Sam Lowes.

Tito Rabat suffered a heavy crash at Turn 8, which forced the red flag to be thrown out with less than three minutes on the clock. 

The session was restarted as the riders were given one lap to challenge Razgatlioglu at the top of the timesheets. 

Although some riders improved, the Turkish rider improved his lap time by another hundredth to clinch the first-ever pole position at the Balaton Park circuit. 

Lowes improved his final lap time to move second but was unable to challenge Razgatlioglu, as Andrea Locatelli set the final lap of the session to complete the front row. 

Nicolo Bulega was unable to challenge Razgatlioglu’s time and will head the second row of the grid ahead of Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona. 

Double World Champion Alvaro Bautista qualified in seventh to start on the third row of the grid and will be joined by Andrea Iannone.

Xavi Vierge suffered a crash after setting his first lap time of the session and qualified in ninth, as Jonathan Rea rounded out the top 10. 

Remy Gardner improved on his final lap to move into 11th, while Alex Lowes crashed at Turn 1 on his final flying lap and could only qualify 12th. 

Dominique Aegerter ended the session in 13th, outqualifying Garrett Gerloff in 14th. 

Bahattin Sofuoglu completed the top 15 and rounds out the fifth row of the grid. 

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