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.
