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  • WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu masters Magny-Cours to seal 12 consecutive wins

    WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu masters Magny-Cours to seal 12 consecutive wins

    After a dominant display in qualifying and Race 1, Toprak Razgatlioglu unsurprisingly rode off into the distance on the Sunday of the French Round to take a 4th consecutive hat-trick and 12th win in a row in 2025 ahead of a demoralised Nicolo Bulega.

     

    Tissot Superpole Race

    Bulega very briefly led the Sunday morning 10-lap race in Magny-Cours before Razgatlioglu secured the win with a clinical move at the tight hairpin halfway round the opening lap to ease home for another victory.  A mistake for Bulega at turn 15 at the end of lap 3 left the Italian behind the Lowes’ brothers, which sealed the deal for any hopes of a battle for the race win.

    Alex Lowes once again came home in 3rd despite running behind his brother Sam in the early stages.  Sam was cycled back to 4th when Bulega came past him and Alex a lap and a half after his mistake, but the MarcVDS rider then crashed out with 4 laps to go with much bigger consequences than yesterday to leave him stranded down the grid for Race 2.

    The best-of-the-rest fight for 4th place became a battle between Danilo Petrucci and Michael van der Mark.  Clearly van der Mark’s contusions from yesterday’s crashes were not slowing him down as he came home a solid 5th behind Petrucci.  Andrea Iannone meanwhile just held off Jonathan Rea, Axel Bassani and Xavi Vierge for 6th.

    Rea was fortunate to even make it to the finish after he had to take avoiding action at the hairpin at one point which led to Alvaro Bautista slamming into the back of him.  Bautista ended up on the floor and – like Sam Lowes – one of the quick riders stuck outside of the top 3 rows for Race 2 in the afternoon.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Race 2

    Razgatlioglu defended his lead at the start of Race 2, Bulega held onto 2nd, and Alex Lowes settled into 3rd to seal the exact same podium for all three events this weekend in Magny Cours.  It was another dominant display from the BMW rider who sealed a 12th consecutive victory and leaves him with a 39-point lead in the championship with just 3 rounds (and 12 races) to go in 2025.

    The action at the start of Race 2 was provided by a fast-starting Rea who shot up to 4th place from 7th on the grid.  Bautista was also riding like a man possessed from a lowly 14th on the grid after another pair of unfortunate crashes in the previous 2 races.

    By the end of the race Bautista was so rapid that he almost caught Alex Lowes for the final podium spot.  It was thrilling to watch the Ducati rider scythe away through the order, particularly against a rejuvenated Michael van der Mark who came home a solid 5th place behind Bautista.

    Alex Lowes had been battling Danilo Petrucci for 4th initially before the Barni Ducati rider lost his pace, while Rea also fell into 6th ahead of Vierge – who himself had initially squabbled with van der Mark.  Rea had challenged Alex Lowes for 3rd for as long as he could, but the Bimota, factory BMW and factory Ducati’s were just a little too quick for the retiring legend to stay in the podium battle for long.

    Behind Petrucci in 7th came Locatelli, Aegerter and Gerloff rounding out the top 10, with only 2 seconds separating those 4.  Tarran MacKenzie and substitute HRC rider Sergio Garcia rounded out the points scorers after solid rides to 14th and 15th places respectively.

    Razgatlioglu was 8 seconds clear of Bulega at the flag and enjoyed a symbolic celebration at the same corner where he crashed at high-speed last year which ruled him out of action for that particular round.  With a 39-point gap at the top of the standings and Bulega seemingly unable to thwart his BMW nemesis like he could do earlier in the campaign, Razgatlioglu is well on his way to a 3rd WorldSBK title ahead of his much-awaited MotoGP move in 2026.

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Attritional Race 1 at Magny-Cours sees Razgatlioglu make history

    WorldSBK: Attritional Race 1 at Magny-Cours sees Razgatlioglu make history

    Toprak Razgatliolu became the first rider since Troy Corser to win at the same circuit on three different makes of bike in the Superbike World Championship in the opening race of the 2025 French Round, which saw another hectic lap 1 mix up the field.

    From pole position sealed with an all-time lap record around the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Razgatlioglu led the field and never looked back at a track that he has already notched up wins on for Kawasaki and Yamaha.  Of course, had it not been for a nightmare crash last season here at Magny-Cours then the record of winning for 3 manufacturers would almost certainly already have been his and Corser’s to share this time last year.

    The man who leapt up to 2nd was Alex Lowes on the Bimota machine, while Nicolo Bulega fell back to 4th also behind Sam Lowes.  Predictably, Bulega would be back into 2nd place after a couple of laps and as usual Razgatlioglu was already comfortably clear by this point while Alex Lowes settled into the final podium spot.

    At turn 9 on what appeared to be quite a clean opening lap of the race, Yari Montella came into the right-hand corner and eliminated both Andrea Iannone and Jonathan Rea.  Rea was able to continue but later retired, while later in the same corner both Xavi Vierge and Alvaro Bautista bizarrely went down themselves (and were at least able to rejoin) to leave 5 bikes on the floor at one point.

    Michael van der Mark avoided the chaos and was finally showing some strong race pace in his morbid 2025 campaign but 2 crashes left him with injured with contusions, just like Iannone from the incident on lap 1.  Garrett Gerloff also slid out at high speed by himself as the race reached the closing stages while Tarran MacKenzie was also forced to retire early on.

    The 15 riders who scored world championship points were the only 15 to have a clean race.  That is except for Sam Lowes, who threw away 4th place with a clumsy crash at turn 13 late on but he was at least able to bring the bike back home in 9th place ahead of an unlikely duo of Bahattin Sofuoglu in 10th and Iker Lecuona replacement rider Sergio Garcia in 11th.

    The attrition meant that Andrea Locatelli was able to come from the pitlane after a crash in quaifying to finish a remarkable 5th place.  Nonetheless, it was Razgatlioglu up front who stole the headlines with a dominant victory that left no one in doubt who was the favourite for Sunday’s pair of races with a 4th consecutive hattrick/treble looking ominous.

     

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

     

  • WorldSBK: Another treble for Razgatliolgu at Balaton Park

    WorldSBK: Another treble for Razgatliolgu at Balaton Park

    The man who won the 800th and 900th WorldSBK races also won the 1000th as Toprak Razgatlioglu triumped in the Tissot Superpole Race in changeable conditions before dominating Race 2 to take back-to-back trebles following his Donington Park success a fortnight ago.

    Tissot Superpole Race

    On late Sunday morning at Balaton Park, conditions were mixed.  The rain had subsided in time for the race start but there was a split of riders risking it on slicks and others on intermediate rubber.

    As it turns out, the slick tyres were not as much of a risk as the intermediate rubber overheated in the drying conditions.  Despite only being a 10-lap affair, there were several passes for position throughout the grid as some of the riders on intermediates went forward before falling back and others could not find any performance at all while the slicks improved as the race progressed.

    Nicolo Bulega was one of the riders to run intermediates and had a nightmare 10 laps that saw him come home 13th and starting in 10th for Race 2 as his championship rival Razgatlioglu kept his cool to pick up another victory.  Although he held the lead from pole position at the start, by lap 3 the Turkish rider had fallen to 3rd and had to contend with Alvaro Bautista coming from 4th but by the halfway point was back at the front and never looked back as his slick tyres got up to temperature.

    The two riders to pass Razgatlioglu for 1st and 2nd were Danilo Petrucci and then Sam Lowes.  The intermediate tyres were working well for those such as Petrucci, his teammate Yari Montella and Alex Lowes but as the race wore on their advantage disappeared.

    Montella crashed out after making up 6 places at the start and Andrea Locatelli lost 3 places with a trip through the gravel trap on lap 4.  Locatelli at least remained clear of the thrilling battle for the final points positions down to 9th that set the grid for Race 2.

    Tarron MacKenzie has replaced Scott Redding on the MGM Bonovo Ducati for this round and at one point the Scotsman attempted to pass Ryan Vickers and a fading Petrucci into turn 1.  Ultimately, Vickers came home 7th ahead of MacKenzie and Jonathan Rea disposed Petrucci of 9th for an all-British row 3 in Race 2.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Race 2

    Razgatlioglu was briefly overtaken for the lead by Bautista at the start of Race 2 before the Turkish rider reasserted the lead at the end of the back straight on the 1st lap.  From there, the BMW rider rode off into the distance helped by the squabbling for 2nd place that delayed his rivals.

    Bautista, Sam Lowes and Locatelli began fighting for 2nd but it was not long before Bulega blasted up the order from 10th to join in.  The runner-up in the championship was up to 5th by the end of lap 2 and so began a 4-way fight for 2nd place as Razgatlioglu disappeared up front.

    Sam Lowes bullied Bautista out of 2nd place but the Spaniard was defiant and repassed the satellite bike as his teammate Bulega made it into 4th past Locatelli then the two factory Ducati’s swapped places.  With 16 laps still to go, Bautista then ran wide at the same spot that Tito Rabat had a crash in qualifying earlier in the weekend that destroyed his biike but thankfully left the Spaniard unhurt.

    To rub salt into Bautista’s wounds, his rival for 3rd in the championship – Petrucci – made it past Locatelli for 4th.  Bulega and Sam Lowes (minus his fairing on one side) settled into 2nd and 3rd while Razgatlioglu continued to lap slightly quicker way out front.

    Vickers was having his best WorldSBK race to date but was dealt a long-lap penalty for course cutting through a chicane then not losing at least 1 second through the sector not long after he passed Xavi Vierge for 6th.  When Vickers went to serve the penalty, he braked too late and went off into the gravel, had to retake his long-lap, then crashed out of 14th.

    Alex Lowes was the big mover in the closing stages as he made up a place when Vickers went down, another when he overtook his teammate, then made it around Vierge for 6th.  MacKenzie lost 10th at the end to Yari Montella, while Rea was a lowly 12th.

    Razgatlioglu’s 15th win of the season stretched his lead to 26 points over Bulega as the championship goes into its summer break.  Bulega will be worried after back-to-back trebles for his BMW rival but the title battle will race on with 4 rounds left to go starting in September.

     

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu wins Balaton Park opener marred by early pile-up

    WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu wins Balaton Park opener marred by early pile-up

    Toprak Razgatlioglu extended his lead in the championship with a win from pole at the inaugural WorldSBK race at Balaton Park in Hungary that required a restart after 1/3 of the field went down together at turn 2 on the opening lap.

    The maiden race at the techincal anti-clockwise circuit in Balaton – which will play host to the 1000th Superbike World Championship race tomorrow – led to a concertina effect through the first 2 corners on the opening lap.  Andrea Iannone made a mistake that took himself and six – and nearly seven – others into the gravel trap at turn 2.

    Iannone was slapped a double long-lap penalty for triggering the pile-up in what is far from his first such punishment this year.  The Italian’s mistake led to a violent chain reaction that took out Garrett Gerloff, Remy Gardner, Iker Lecuona, Ryan Vickers and the Barni Ducati teammates Danilo Petrucci and Yari Montella.

    Amazingly, all bar 3 riders took the restarted 20-lap race but 3 have been declared unfit for action in tomorrow’s pair of races. Gardner, Lecuona and Vickers missed the restart and although the latter is fit to ride again, Gerloff has been grounded after a valiant effort under duress that saw him salvage 9th.

    On the thankfully clean restart Razgatlioglu was challenged by Andrea Locatelli but the BMW rider quickly cemented his lead.  Locatelli had stolen the lead on the original start but in the 2nd running was immediately pressured by Sam Lowes.

    Having qualified off the front-row of the grid for the 1st time this year and after losing the championship lead to Razgatlioglu last time out in Donington Park, Nicolo Bulega had his work cut out but swiftly made his way forwards.  As has happened before this year, by the time Bulega cemented 2nd place, his title rival was several seconds clear and the Ducati frontman had to bank the points for runner-up spot.

    The Ducati that arguably could have finished 2nd was Sam Lowes.  The MarcVDS rider had passed Locatelli for 2nd after 5 laps but promptly lost the front-end at turn 2 just as he began to lap slightly quicker than Razgatlioglu.

    Just like a fortnight ago in Donington Park, a solid result went begging for the despondent Brit but his front-row qualifying and leading pace has at least been promising to see.  His exit undoubtedly made Bulega’s rise to 2nd place easier.

    Despite Locatelli’s best efforts in another race where he was clearly the best Yamaha, the Italian fell behind Bautista into 4th just before the halfway point.  The factory Ducati duo had shown pace to move forward from their starting positions of 4th and 7th respectively but there was not enough pace to catch Razgatlioglu and the order was clearly settled by half-distance barring any disasters.

    Locatelli finished ahead of Petrucci and the latter still holds 3rd in the championship ahead of Bautista thanks to a great recovery drive having been caught in the turn 2 melee.  Alex Lowes ran Petrucci close before a crucial mistake in the closing laps saw him cede position while Rea slipped back into the frenetic battle for 7th.

    There was contact and frequent position changes in the duel over 7th between Montella, Gerloff and Xavi Vierge but Rea took himself out at turn 1 with 6 laps to go.  To add insult to injury, the Yamaha rider then slid out at the fast turn 4 after rejoining to continue his nightmare 2025 season.

    Axel Bassani joined the fight at the bottom of the top-10 as Iannone recovered to 13th after falling out of the points-paying positions following his long-laps.  Tomorrow will be a historic day for the championship as it celebrates a millennium of races at the Hungarian Round that has so far gone all Razgatlioglu’s way.

    Race 1 Results

      Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Championship lead finally changes as Razgatlioglu dominates Donington

    WorldSBK: Championship lead finally changes as Razgatlioglu dominates Donington

    Toprak Razgatlioglu has finally knocked Nicolo Bulega off the top of the World Superbikes championship lead in 2025 after a comfortable treble victory around Donington Park – a circuit he has now secured 12 victories at – as his Ducati nemesis had to settle for consecutive runner-up spots.

     

    Tissot Superpole Race

    Alex Lowes was declared unfit for Sunday’s action after his crash from the lead yesterday in Race 1.  In the slightly cooler conditions, the World Superbikes grid was hoping for a much cleaner race than yesterdays and things immediately went smoother as they all made it through turn 1 safely.

    Once again, Jonathan Rea shot through from the 2nd row of the grid to take 2nd place behind polesitter Razgatliolgu into Redgate on lap 1.  Bulega slid to 4th while Andrea Locatelli ran in 3rd.

    The only casualty on the 1st lap was Michael van der Mark, whose miserable season continues.  By the 2nd lap, Locatelli was back down to 5th as Bulega moved ahead to challenge Rea for 2nd and Sam Lowes then passed him for 4th.

    The battle between Rea and Bulega over allowed Razgatlioglu to stretch his lead out front as the Yamaha and Ducati ran the latter half of the Donington Park lap side-by-side on the 2nd lap.   The entertaining battle came to an end as Bulega prevailed and it became clear that Rea’s ultimate pace was not enough for him to secure a podium.

    Another great piece of racing occurred between Ryan Vickers and Yari Montella.  The latter made a mistake that lost him positions and the former had enough pace to fight within the crucial top-9 positions in the Tissot Superpole Race – which sets the grid for Race 2.

    Alvaro Bautista – like Sam Lowes – was making up for lost time from the previous day’s crash.  The Ducati rider passed Locatelli for 4th and secured a much better grid spot for Race 2 later in the day.

    Behind the top 6 and starting Race 2 where they finished were Danilo Petrucci, Garrett Gerloff and Andrea Iannone.  It seemed as if Vickers would be in the top 9, but on the 8th out of 10 laps he ran wide at the final corner.

    Iker Lecuona and Scott Redding both had technical issues that forced them out near the end while Locatelli made it past his teammate Rea at the chicane on the last lap.  Razgatlioglu’s 11th win around Donington Park cut the gap to Bulega to just 1 point ahead of the full distance race in the afternoon where he looked all set to snatch the lead in the championship.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Race 2

    For the third time this weekend, Razgatlioglu made the hole shot to Redgate as Bulega suffered another sluggish getaway.  It was Sam Lowes, fresh from a home podium in the Tissot Superpole Race, who inherited 2nd place at the start.

    Bulega again fell as low as 5th and had to repass Locatelli, then set about his teammate Bautista who had also passed him in the early stages.  The Ducati teammates fight over 3rd then became a battle over 2nd as Sam Lowes crashed out at high speed at the start of lap 4 but thankfully without any obvious injuries like his brother Alex had a day earlier.

    After Bulega made it past Bautista the battles at the front of the grid settled down as Razgatlioglu had covered off any vulnerability by acing the start and settling into a comfortable rhythm.  There was however a battle for 4th featuring Locatelli, Petrucci, Iannone and Gerloff.

    Locatelli held a gap of just under a second to stay out of range from Petrucci as Iannone made a mistake at the chicane that dropped him out of the fight and behind Dominique Aegerter with 8 laps to go.  Vickers was a couple of seconds behind holding Remy Gardner at bay for 9th, both of whom had made up several spots since the start.

    Meanwhile, van der Mark had yet more mechanical trouble as his nightmare weekend in Donington continued with another retirement on Sunday as his teammate romped to a triple victory.  The only threat to Razgatlioglu was a track limits warning but it did not advance into a penalty.

    Bulega was in bigger trouble than the leader as his teammate Bautista put on a charge to close right up to him on the final lap.  Bulega just held on from Bautista as Razgatlioglu came home 3 seconds clear of the Ducatis and took the championship lead for the first time this year with a record 12th victory at the Prosecco DOC UK Round.

    Further down, Iannone made it back past Aegerter for 7th but Vickers fell backwards once again and came home 11th.  Scott Redding was behind in 12th, completely unable to replicate the pace he had shown in Race 1 the previous day while British wildcard Tommy Bridewell retired.

    Lecuona’s Honda finally held together for a race distance at the 3rd attempt this weekend to take 10th behind Gardner, then came the two Brits.  Vickers and Redding were the meat in a Honda sandwich as Montella and Rea trundled home as the last of the points scorers.

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Brits impress on home soil as Razgatlioglu wins Donington Race 1

    WorldSBK: Brits impress on home soil as Razgatlioglu wins Donington Race 1

    Toprak Razgatlioglu took a historic 10th victory at Donington Park to slash the championship deficit to Nicolo Bulega to just 4 points under sizzling Leicestershire sunshine as the home heroes did their best to put on a show for the British crowd.

    Having started on pole position at a track that is amongst his favourites on the World Superbikes calendar, Razgatlioglu took a comfortable 10th victory around Donington in Race 1 at the Prosecco DOC UK Round.  However, the Turkish rider had a couple of unlikely challengers in the opening stages.

    Starting in 4th place – his best of the season – Jonathan Rea shot through into 2nd place and very nearly took the lead into Redgate on the 1st lap.  Halfway around the lap, Rea’s dream start was thwarted by Alex Lowes and halfway round lap 2, Lowes snatched 1st place from Razgatlioglu on his Bimota.

    Sadly, Lowes time in the lead was cut short when he crashed going through the fast Craner Curves at the start of lap 4.  Lowes was far from the only fast rider to exit the race early on as three Ducatis from three different teams went down in a scary accident at the first corner on lap 1.

    Yari Montella and Sam Lowes came together, collecting Alvaro Bautista on the outside of Redgate corner.  This is far from the only time Bautista has been caught in a crash in the midfield after the start of a race this year as the Spaniard’s poor qualifying form keeps leaving him vulnerable.

    By one quarter distance in the race, one quarter of the field was already out. Only 16 riders made it to the finish, while it was not just crashes but mechanical problems probably onset by the heat that led to Iker Lecuona’s Honda gearbox giving up.

    As some unfortunate riders dropped out, others rose to the fore.  Scott Redding had leapt up 8 spots after the 1st lap but his compatriot Ryan Vickers, who like Rea was enjoying his best qualifying of the year at home in Donington fell down 7 spots.

    After Alex Lowes took himself out of the lead, Razgatliolgu had enough pace in hand to increase the gap to Bulega behind each lap.  Bulega had fallen as low as 5th but was back into 2nd place fairly quickly as Rea started to fade, but had no answer to his BMW rival who won by 6 and a half seconds.

    Rea settled at the back of a four-way fight for 3rd behind Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Locatelli and Redding.  Behind them came Dominique Aegerter and Garrett Gerloff both running comfortably in their respective positions while another four-way battle ensued over 9th place.

    Although Redding appeared to have the most pace and made it into 4th before Petrucci started to pull clear a little, a mistake at the Melbourne Hairpin towards the end dropped him to 6th place at the flag but it was still a positive race for the Brit who had been back racing in the British Superbike Championship just 6 days earlier at Knockhill.  In the battle for 9th, Vickers and Michael van der Mark tripped over each other too much and slipped behind Andrea Iannone and Xavi Vierge.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Points gap to Bulega slashed by Razgatlioglu after Misano treble

    WorldSBK: Points gap to Bulega slashed by Razgatlioglu after Misano treble

    Toprak Razgatlioglu has slashed the championship points lead of Nicolo Bulega after the BMW rider romped to a treble of victories in Misano and his Ducati rival went pointless in the Tissot Superpole Race.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE

    With Bulega now able to start on pole position having served his 3-place grid penalty in Race 1 yesterday, he was keen to get the hole-shot into the first corner.  However, Axel Bassani (gambling on qualifying tyres for the half-distance event) got a much better launch but went into turn 1 too fast and eliminated himself and Bulega on the spot.

    Thankfully neither of the Italian riders were injured on home soil and were able to race again in the full-distance race in the afternoon.  Bulega was fuming that Bassani did not immediately offer an apology and the latter was dealt a double long-lap penalty for Race 2.

    Razgatlioglu was very fortunate to have avoided the chaos at turn 1 and after his main rival went down the half-distance race was a foregone conclusion.  The Turkish rider came home 4 seconds clear of an impressive Alex Lowes (also on qualifying rubber) in 2nd place who secured the first podium finish for Bimota in 25 years that arguably might have gone to his teammate if not for the accident at turn 1.

    The rival Yamahas of Andrea Locatelli and Remy Gardner squabbled over 3rd place on lap 1 and their resulting battle left the latter vulnerable to Danilo Petrucci.  Unfortunately for Petrucci’s teammate and compatriot Yari Montella he crashed out while chasing Iker Lecuona for the final points-paying position in 9th.

    Andrea Iannone was given yet another double long-lap penalty for jumping the start having already been found guilty of the same offence twice before this year.  That ruled him out of the fight for points, where the man with the most pace on Sunday morning was Alvaro Bautista.

    Bautista was determined to improve his grid position for Race 2 by finishing in the top 9 of the Tissot Superpole Race and eventually made it past Gardner for 5th.  Gardner then slipped behind Sam Lowes and Jonathan Rea, who was finally showing some promising pace in his injury-affected 2025 campaign.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS

     

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    RACE 2

    Having dropped 12 points to Razgatlioglu in the Tissot Superpole Race and consigned to starting in 10th for Race 2 of the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, Bulega had a point to prove on Sunday afternoon.  The championship leader had made it into 2nd place with 17 laps still to go, but it was already too late to catch Razgatlioglu up front who won by a dominant margin of almost 10 seconds.

    Once Razgatlioglu survived the first lap in the lead from pole position the ‘treble’ never looked in doubt.  This was the second time in as many years that Razagtlioglu had won all three races in Misano and he has now cut the points gap to Bulega down to just 9 points at the halfway point of the season.

    In the sweltering Sunday afternoon heat that was 3 degrees hotter than Race 1 a day earlier, Locatelli, Petrucci and Alex Lowes were once again the riders who ran behind Razgatlioglu.  Bautista took some time to get up to speed but after being passed by his charging teammate the Spaniard began his pursuit of the podium.

    Around the halfway point of the race, Bautista engaged in battle with Locatelli for 3rd and sealed the deal with a move at turn 10.  It was particularly important for Bautista to have a good result as it was revealed ahead of the Misano weekend that negotiations between himself and his factory Ducati team had broken down over a 2026 contract.

    Gardner and Montella suffered a high-speed crash while Jonathan Rea slid out of 9th to end his encouraging weekend on a low.  Likewise, Alex Lowes crashed out of 6th after his and Bimota’s breakthrough podium finish earlier in the day but recovered to finish 14th.

    The double long-lap penalty for torpedoing Bulega in the Tissot Superpole Race cost the other Bimota of Bassani any chance of a good result after such a strong qualifying earlier in the weekend, while Iannone’s nightmare weekend continued with a crash two laps from home.

    The attrition left Locatelli ahead of Petrucci in 4th, with the Italian struggling to keep the Lowes brothers and the Lecuona behind.  Once Alex Lowes slid off, Petrucci just held on ahead of Lecuona and Sam Lowes for another solid result that helps keep him narrowly ahead of the factory Ducati of Bautista in the championship.

    There was a monumental gap between Sam Lowes in 7th and Garrett Gerloff in 8th.  The fight over P8 however was absolutely thrilling.

    Gerloff prevailed over Xavi Vierge, an under-pressure Michael van der Mark and an impressive Ryan Vickers but the race-long fight for 8th also featured Iannone and Scott Redding before they both crashed out with less than 2 laps to go.  The battles further down the grid compensated for the lack of action at the sharp end as an ecstatic Razgatlioglu gets ever more motivated to switch to MotoGP next year as the reigning World Superbike champion, but Bulega is far from beaten as the season concludes its first half…

    RACE 2 RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu lays down marker in Misano Race 1

    WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu lays down marker in Misano Race 1

    After inheriting pole position but falling to third at the start, Toprak Razgatlioglu fresh from the news of his move to MotoGP calmly retook the lead of Race 1 at the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round to ominously breeze past home hero Nicolo Bulega.

    In the 30 Degrees Celsius Saturday afternoon sunshine, there was some great action on lap 1 as Bulega shot through from 4th on the grid (having been penalised three spots after going fastest in Superpole) to take the lead through the fast turn 11 from Axel Bassani.  Bassani had stolen the lead after Razgatlioglu ran wide through the long left-hander of turn 5 while Dominique Aegerter and Bahattin Sofuoglu both went down at the same spot seconds later.

    Alex Lowes put a move on Andrea Locatelli for 4th on lap 2 but just seconds later his Bimota teammate Bassani crashed out, as did Andrea Iannone.  This left Razgatlioglu free to chase after Bulega and the two left Lowes behind on track, with the gap already being at 4 seconds by lap 4.

    By the 5th lap, Razgatlioglu was confidently closing on Bulega and easily swept past in a move that saw him encounter little defence.  Bulega simply had to accept that his BMW rival was a cut above the rest at the circuit where the Turk had performed a hat-trick one year ago and the race was ultimately settled at this point.

    Danilo Petrucci had passed Locatelli for 4th and set about catching Lowes for 3rd.   It appeared that Petrucci had sealed the deal but with 6 laps to go Lowes retaliated, only for the Italian to get back ahead a couple of corners later in an interesting duel for the final spot on the podium.

    Behind the top 4 came Locatelli who held off Alvaro Bautista for 5th then Sam Lowes and Yari Montella were behind and closely contested 7th place.  Scott Redding sandwiched the Honda duo with Jonathan Rea, Ryan Vickers, Garrett Gerloff and a returning Michael Ruben Rinaldi rounding out the points scorers.

    RACE 1 RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

     

     

  • WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu dominates Race 1 in Most

    WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu dominates Race 1 in Most

    Toprak Razgatlioglu lived up to his imperious reputation at the Motul Czech Round with a dominant victory in Race 1 well ahead of an injured Nicolo Bulega, whose effort was remarkable after a highside in practice.

    Despite losing his lead from pole position to Bulega at turn 1 on the 1st lap, Razgatlioglu was quick enough to stick with his Ducati rival as the race developed.  Within just a handful of laps, the BMW rider muscled his was back past at turn 1 to assert a lead that he would stretch to 6 seconds by the end of the 22-lap race in Most.

    Bulega suffered a horrific highside in practice on Friday and was thankfully declared to fit to continue competing in the Czech Republic.  Second place while still recovering from his crash was a solid effort at a track that is known to be one of Razgatlioglu’s strongest.

    Despite the BMW’s comfortable victory on Saturday in the Czech Republic, the second factory Ducati of Alvaro Bautista had some scintillating pace as he fought through from towards the back of the grid.  The 40-year-old underperformed in qualifying with 10th place and then had to slow up going through the tight right-left at turns 1 and 2.

    Andrea Locatelli and Michael van der Mark crashed out as the field concertinaed up behind Bautista, who had to slam on the brakes.  Once he had recovered from the chaos, Bautista started to unleash laptimes that were second only to Razgatlioglu and he eventually recovered to 5th.

    Had the race been another lap longer, that might well have been P4.  Bautista had caught Sam Lowes at the end of the penultimate lap and passed him into turn 1 on the final lap before just running out of time to snatch 4th from the other Lowes brother – Alex.

    The Lowes brothers had contested 4th from the very start of the race but were unable to challenge Danilo Petrucci on the satellite Barni Ducati.  Petrucci’s race was a comfortable ride to 3rd, not challenged behind and unable to trouble the top 2.

    Unfortunately, Petrucci’s chief independent rival – Andrea Iannone – was declared unfit to race.  Behind the top 6 came Iker Lecuona, whose teammate Xavi Vierge had a long battle with Yari Montella for 7th but came off worse.

    Jonathan Rea ran as high as 6th but settled in 10th as the race progressed, with the Northern Irishman’s future the topic of debate after an underwhelming stint with Yamaha.  This was the best result for Yamaha, although Bahattin Sofouglu had a strong ride to 15th that might have been slightly better if he had not been penalised for cutting turn 1 and being docked with a long lap penalty.

    Heading into Sunday’s action at the Motul Czech Round, Razgatlioglu will be confident of securing another triple-victory.  Bautista will also be confident of a strong showing in the Tissot Superpole race to put himself in a better position for Race 2.

    RACE 1 RESULTS

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  • WorldSBK: Bulega completes hat-trick at home in Cremona

    WorldSBK: Bulega completes hat-trick at home in Cremona

    Nicolo Bulega picked up where he left off the previous day to more-or-less ease to victory in the remaining 2 races at the Cremona Circuit in Italy, with an ardent home crowd and MotoGP figures from Ducati in attendance to witness his historic achievement.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE

    The 10-lap Tissot Superople around the shortest circuit on the World Superbikes calendar was a rapid affair.  The Sunday morning race took just under 15 minutes and was in many ways a repeat of Race 1 from the previous day.

    Bulega led from pole position ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista while Sam Lowes once again fell back from the front row of the grid.  Razgatlioglu tried his best to stick with Bulega but by as early as lap 3 it was evident that the latter was managing to pull away at the front.

    While Bulega stretched out his lead, Razgatlioglu kept him in sight but was unable to close in while Bautista once again settled in 3rd.  Andrea Iannone was hit with a double long-lap penalty for narrowly jumping the start and found himself in 9th after serving his punishment, having been in contention for 4th before it.

    Sam Lowes held onto 4th ahead of an Xavi Vierge, with the two faster riders of Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci running out of time to make up more positions.  Crucially for Petrucci he was able to secure 6th place in the race and the same spot on the grid for Race 2 to make up for his shambolic qualifying in the Superpole on Saturday.

    As for Lecuona, he crashed out on lap 9 to make it 2 retirements in 2 races so far in Cremona despite having some scintillating pace.  After the Honda rider crashed out, Andrea Locatelli, Iannone and Michael van der Mark were those who rounded out the top 9 and inherited those same places for Race 2.

    Given how short the race was, the independent Ducati riders Scott Redding and Gabriele Ruiu gambled on running the qualifying tyre but were unable to make much progress.  Redding fell short of the crucial 9th place require to get a better grid position for Race 2, coming home in 11th while Ruiu was 21st.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE RESULTS

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    RACE 2

    It became known that Lowes was suffering from illness this weekend and this was perhaps why he once again went backwards at the start of the 3rd race of the weekend.  Despite Bautista starting on the front row, he was unable to challenge Bulega and Razgatlioglu who once again held 1st and 2nd places at the start.

    Just as in Race 1, Razgatlioglu scythed up the inside of Bulega with a block pass at the final corner of the 1st lap.  Bulega then stalked his rival for another 3 laps before an unsuccessful move at the end of the back straight on lap 4, which he converted successfully at the same spot a lap later to retake the lead.

    Unsurprisingly, that was the last Razgatlioglu or anyone else saw of Bulega.  In front of a 45,000 strong home crowd and senior figures from Ducati’s MotoGP management, the 25-year-old delivered while the pressure was on to secure an emotional hat-trick that will live long in the memory for him – and his stunned competitors.

    Razgatlioglu nonetheless did well to bank three 2nd place finishes this weekend as he noted Bulega’s superior speed on corner exits, but even Bautista on the other factory Ducati was unable to get close to his teammate.  At least Razgatlioglu was much closer to Bulega in Race 2 than he was in Race 1, with one mistake by Bulega probably enough to put himself under pressure from the BMW rider, however the Italian was peerless around Cremona.

    After Bulega retook the lead the main action was taking place further down the order.  Petrucci was able to take move from up from 6th into 4th after dispatching Lowes and Vierge.  Of course it was still a disappointing weekend for the man who won all 3 races at Cremona last year, and the gap to Bautista in 3rd suggests that 4th may have been the maximum that the Italian could have hoped for anyway.

    The battle for 5th was a thrilling and borderline disastrous affair between the factory Honda duo and Lowes.  Lecuona was again coming through from the midfield and after a tough battle with Locatelli he had around 6 laps to catch and pass his teammate and Lowes up ahead.

    By the time Lecuona became a factor in the battle for 5th, time was running out.  Some very aggressive racing between the two teammates saw them almost collide at the final corner, then Vierge made contact with Lowes coming onto the start-finish straight.

    A thrilling final lap saw Lowes valiantly retake P5 with just 3 corners to go while Vierge had to settle for 7th behind his teammate – a damning result giving their grid positions.  Locatelli was 8th on a difficult weekend for Yamaha, with Michael van der Mark and Remy Gardner rounding out the top 10.

    A hat-trick of wins for Bulega and 3 straight 2nd places for Razgatlioglu sees the Italian rider stretch his lead in the World Championship to 34 points heading to Autodrom Most for Round 5 in a fortnight’s time.  By then, it would not be a great surprise if Ducati has their fuel-flow slightly restricted to try and peg back Bulega in particular, but the concessions system in WorldSBK might not be enough to stop the 25-year-old from running away with this year’s title if the Acerbis Italian Round was anything to go by.

    RACE 2 RESULTS

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