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  • 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

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • 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

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    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

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Bulega repels early Razgatliogu challenge in Cremona Race 1

    WorldSBK: Bulega repels early Razgatliogu challenge in Cremona Race 1

    Nicolo Bulega enjoyed a thrilling battle with championship rival Toprak Razgatlioglu in Race 1 at Cremona before blasting off into the distance to win in front of his home fans and senior Ducati management.

    After denying Sam Lowes back-to-back pole positions, Bulega launched away from pole position in the first WorldSBK race at Cremona but was pursued by Razgatlioglu.  Come the final corner of lap 1 Razgatlioglu muscled his way past to herald the start of a titanic fight for the win, however things would peter out around one-third distance…

    On Razgatlioglu’s first visit to the Cremona Circuit after injury ruled him out of last year’s event, the Turkish rider had a great opportunity to take advantage of the pressure that might have been affecting Bulega.  Not only was the Italian rider racing for an Italian factory on home soil, but Ducati had some of its senior MotoGP personnel in attendance to keep an eye on the man that might bring the WorldSBK crown back to them this year if recent form is to be believed.

    Everyone in attendance was treated to a great battle between the two that seemed to be going Razgatlioglu’s way in the first few laps before the two almost collided at the end of lap 3.  The BMW rider’s defence proved successful but Bulega was never far behind and always able to quickly recover from his failed attempts to pass the Turk.

    By the end of lap 6 of 23, Bulega finally made a move stick on Razgatlioglu.  Despite a valiant attempt to retake in an unconventional spot for overtaking through turns 3 and 4, it would mark the end of Razgatlioglu’s time in the lead of the race as Bulega stretched his lead by around 0.3 seconds per lap.

    At the start of the last lap, Bulega was so far ahead that by the time he swept through the notoriously fast turn 1 at Cremona, Razgatlioglu was not even in the same camera shot on the start-finish straight.  Bulega declared this the most important win of his career thus far in World Superbikes and it is hard to see why with all eyes on him and such a crushing performance to rebound from the heartbreak of Assen.

    Someone who was unfortunate not to feature in the fight at the front was Sam Lowes, whose P2 on the grid disappeared almost immediately once the race got underway.  Lowes slipped down the top 10 in the early stages but after running wide on lap 6 he was consigned to 12th place at the chequered flag.

    Alvaro Bautista was in a race of his own in Cremona as he had neither to pace to challenge the front two but more than enough to keep the chasing pack behind.  Andrea Iannone spent the majority of the race in 4th but was passed by Iker Lecuona about halfway through.

    By the time the Honda rider had made it into 4th following a frighteningly close battle with his teammate Xavi Vierge, the Spaniard was already 7 seconds by Bautista.  Rather foolishly, Lecuona pushed too hard for too little of a chance to take 3rd and threw away valuable points for a guaranteed 4th in a self-induced crash on lap 15.

    Iannone was left to fend off Vierge and Remy Gardner while Danilo Petrucci tried his best to make progress but could only manage 7th.  The Italian rider was unable to repeat his 2024 feats around the Cremona Circuit and started outside the top 10 having been blocked by his compatriot Andrea Locatelli during qualifying (for which the Yamaha rider received a grid penalty and then had an underwhelming race of his own).

    Michael van der Mark came home in 9th while Scott Redding split the Bimota duo, then came Lowes in 12th ahead of Dominque Aegeter, Yari Montella and Garrett Gerloff as the last of the points scorers.  The Tissot Superpole and Race 2 at the Acerbis Italian Round get underway tomorrow and Bulega looks odds on to make it a hat-trick at home.

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Locatelli takes maiden win amid double Bulega retirement

    WorldSBK: Locatelli takes maiden win amid double Bulega retirement

    Andrea Locatelli inherited a first WorldSBK victory in Assen after the frighteningly fast Nicolo Bulega suffered mechanical problems in both the Tissot Superpole and Race 2 to leave the championship leader pointless on Sunday at the Pirelli Dutch Round.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE

    Rain was falling as expected on Sunday morning at the TT Circuit Assen, with the warmup and Tissot Superpole being a wet affair for the WorldSBK riders.  With the qualifying session on Saturday also setting the grid for the Superpole race, Sam Lowes had a second shot at converting his maiden pole position while Razgatiloglu and Axel Bassani were not affected by any grid penalties unlike in Race 1 yesterday.

    As the sun started to break through the clouds by the 11am race start time, Bulega once again shot from second into the race lead ahead of Lowes as he had done in the first race on the previous day.  Lowes fell to ninth by running wide at turn 1 in the tricky conditions, which left Razgatlioglu to chase Bulega for the race lead.

    Andrea Iannone did well at the start to jump into third, a place that he eventually lost to his fellow Andrea – Locatelli – who had taken an impressive second place the day before.  Things only got worse for Iannone, who ran wide then later crashed his satellite Go Eleven Ducati bike.

    Razgatlioglu made a move on Bulega for the lead at turn 5 on the 2nd lap.  The gap between the top two in the race and the championship ballooned to almost one second by the end of the lap as the BMW rider best adapted to the tricky conditions.

    Lowes began to recover from his off at the start and made it back to the podium by the end of the 10-lap affair.  The marcVDS Ducati rider had to try twice on the same lap to get past Alvaro Bautista’s factory bike, and then easily inherited second when Bulega ran wide at turn 1.

    As it transpired, Bulega had an issue with his Ducati Panigale V4R that dropped him out of contention.  The results from the top nine in the Tissot Superpole Race determine the starting grid for Race 2, from which the championship leader would have to start from 10th place.

    With Razgatlioglu, Lowes and Bautista coming home on the podium, home hero Michael van der Mark tried valiantly to take P4 from Locatelli but came up short.  Scott Redding had a respectable ride to 6th after passing Remy Gardner in the closing stages.

    Yari Montella and Tarran McKenzie also did well in the wet to start race 2 from row 3.  With Bulega mired on row 4 and Razgatlioglu taking a chunk of points from his rival with his 12 points for the win, it set up a fascinating final race in the afternoon.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    RACE 2

    With Bulega stuck in 10th place for the start of the 21-lap Sunday afternoon race, his rivals ahead knew that there was a real chance to capitalise on the championship leader coming from so far back.  Razgatlioglu and his BMW team opted to use hard tyres to give himself more grip for the end of the race when the inevitable pace of Bulega would come to haunt him, or at least that was the thinking…

    The hard tyres simply never worked for Razgatlioglu as Bulega predictably deployed his superior pace to methodically work his way towards the front of the grid. Once again Sam Lowes had a difficult start from the front row, while Bautista passed Razgatlioglu for the initial lead.

    The race developed into a train of the top 7 bikes by about ¼ distance, with Bulega at the back of the pack having risen calmly from 10th.  Locatelli had swooped past Razgatlioglu on the 2nd lap, while Remy Gardner had a thrilling start to run as high as 2nd himself.

    As Locatelli and Gardner fought tooth and nail for P2, Razgatlioglu continued to fall down the order.  After Locatelli had finally dealt with Gardner to cement 2nd on lap 7, the Yamaha rider had enough pace to reel in Bautista for the race lead.

    Once Locatelli had passed Bautista, Bulega was ready to seize on his teammate and then overtook Locatelli for the lead at the halfway point.  That was the last anyone saw of Bulega until it all went wrong for the second time in one day.

    While Bulega stretched his lead the race settled down with Locatelli, Bautista, Gardner, Lowes, Bassani and Razgatlioglu the order.  Then Bulega tragically retired once again with just 2 laps to go after such a stunning ride in Assen that went unrewarded.

    Locatelli was left to inherit his first victory in the Superbike World Championship after a record 154 winless attempts.  Meanwhile, a frustrated Razgatlioglu lost a further two spots at the end to Alex Lowes and Iker Lecuona to fall to eighth in a race where he could have taken up to 25 points out of the championship leader.

    RACE 2 RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: Ducati

  • WorldSBK: Bulega dominates as chaos reigns behind in Assen Race 1

    WorldSBK: Bulega dominates as chaos reigns behind in Assen Race 1

    Nicolo Bulega rode off into the distance in Assen to take a dominant victory in the first race of the weekend.  There was a tragic result for shock  first-time polesitter Sam Lowes while Toprak Razgatlioglu was only fourth despite running as high as second.

    Ahead of Race 1 in the Netherlands, 3-place grid penalties were dished out to Razgatlioglu and Axel Bassani.  With his main championship rival demoted to sixth, Bulega knew that if he could ace the start and build a big enough gap out front he would be unchallenged for the win… and this is exactly what transpired.

    The pressure that Bulega put onto his rivals by seizing the lead at the start is what may have led to so much chaos behind him.  At the end of the first lap, polesitter Lowes had fallen behind Andrea Locatelli.

    There were faster riders stuck in the middle of the top 10 – notably Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista.  Razagatlioglu was busy fending off a charging Bassani on the first lap but by lap 2 he began to move forward from his grid spot of 6th.

    By the end of lap 2, the reigning World Champion passed Bautista then moved past Petrucci on the next tour.  This left the factory Ducati of Bautista to engage in a thrilling battle with the satellite bike of Petrucci for fifth.

    Once Bautista eventually dealt with the defiant Barni Ducati rider, he seized upon Razgatlioglu’s inability to pass Lowes for third to scythe through on his old rival for fourth.  However, Razgatlioglu got back past them both as they began lap 6 in a brilliant piece of racecraft , then in his haste to make amends Bautista made a clumsy move halfway round the same lap to knock himself and Lowes out of the race.

    The crash meant Bautista has eliminated himself from Race 1 at both of the last two rounds and trails his teammate Bulega by almost 80 points after just 7 of 36 races this year.  As for Lowes, his maiden WSBK pole for MarcVDS would perhaps have been rewarded with a podium finish but it was sadly not to be.

    While Bulega disappeared into the distance with fastest lap and pace that was sometimes as much as half a second better than Locatelli and the others behind, the focus switched to the battle for second.  Razgatlioglu reeled in his old Yamaha teammate with 13 laps still to go, but instead of eating into Bulega’s near 5 second lead he was unable to keep Locatelli out of striking distance.

    As the factory BMW and Yamaha riders duelled for second, Petrucci began to reel them in, while Razgatlioglu’s teammate and home hero Michael van der Mark was fifth. Yari Montella, Bahattin Sofuoglu, Alex Lowes (who rejoined) and Andrea Iannone all crashed out in that order to promote Garrett Gerloff and the Honda duo to 6th, 7th and 8th and all began to catch the second factory BMW rider.

    Locatelli moved Razgatlioglu up and out of the way through the hairpin on lap 12 before Petrucci also took the BMW rider two laps later with a great move through the fast chicane at the end of the back straight.  Despite Razgatlioglu getting back past the Italian at turn 1 on the next lap, Petrucci sealed the deal with three laps to go to take the final spot on the podium.

    Behind the top four, all hell broke loose in the battle for fifth as van der Mark’s pace disappeared as the race wore on and Lecuona asserted himself as the best of the rest.  As van der Mark and Gerloff fell down the order, the Honda’s battled Bassani, Dominque Aegerter and Remy Gardner as the race reached its climax.

    Bassani made it two crashes for the Bimota Kawasaki team with a self-inflicted crash on the final lap, while Lecuona held off his teammate for fifth in a strong result for Honda.  With rain possibly on its way for tomorrow’s Tissot Superpole and Race 2, Lowes, Bautista and Razgatlioglu in particular will all be hoping they can take the fight to Bulega in better circumstances in the remainder of the Pirelli Dutch Round.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • A Resurgent Toprak… Ducati Under Attack

    A Resurgent Toprak… Ducati Under Attack

    After successive championship titles with Ducati, reigning champion Alvaro Bautista seemed untouchable at one point. Everyone remembers the absolutely insane dual between Alvaro and Toprak at Portimao at the end of last season. For me, it was the best race I’ve ever seen and I’ve been watching motorcycle racing for the best part of two decades, through the glorious Valentino Rossi battles with everyone in sight. Toprak gave everything in that race and still came away second best, Bautista onboard the factory Ducati, ultimately prevailing for a second world championship title.

    Toprak Razgatlioglu Picture courtesy of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

    Fast forward to a new season and a highly motivated Toprak, with a point to prove. Toprak may not come across as a rider with a chip on his shoulder, or appear outwardly angry, at least his demeanour seems to be that of the complete professional. However, it wasn’t that long ago where a test with the MotoGP factory Yamaha team didn’t prove to be as impressive as many thought. Certainly Monster Energy Yamaha Team Manager, Massimo Meragalli was very diplomatic when asked about the lap times Toprak had set. Toprak himself, had been open about his desire to move into the MotoGP paddock and no doubt felt disappointed a move never transpired for the 2024 season.

    Signing a contract with the Rokit BMW Motorrad Factory team for 2024, many thought the move would be a disaster given the form of the BMW team, with both then factory riders Scott Redding, and Michael Vd Mark struggling to reach consistent form. Toprak’s manager and close friend, Kenan Sofuoglu hinted at the nature of these dismissive comments when being interviewed by Eurosport commentator, James Toseland on the grid for the WorldSSP race on Sunday.

    If extra motivation was required, Toprak certainly didn’t look like he needed it over the Misano round. With a first triple win for BMW and a first triple for Toprak since the Indonesian round in 2022, Ducati are now very well aware they’re in a dog fight.

    Toprak Razgatlioglu Picture courtesy of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

    Race 2 saw rookie Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), get an impressive launch off the line securing the hole shot into turn 1. Toprak however, ended up down in 5th. Never one to get ruffled, you always felt the outcome of the race was still well within the grasp of Toprak.

    Hunting down Bulega lap by lap, Toprak was beginning to ramp up the pressure, up to 2nd, Toprak was putting in blisteringly fast laps, a fastest lap of 1:33.3 saw him slash the gap to the young Italian ahead. Towards the halfway point of the race Toprak had caught and passed Bulega and didn’t slow down. With 7 laps remaining, Toprak held a lead of 3.5s to Bulega.

    The final lap saw Toprak with an unassailable lead of 5s, doing a stoppie across the finish line perfectly summing up what we all love about watching Toprak race. A flawless weekend for Toprak and a marker laid down. If there was any further doubt about his achievement you only had to look further down the field for the rest of the BMW’s. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) 12th, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 18th, and Michael Vd Mark (Rokit Motorrad BMW) with a DNF.

    Toprak Razgatlioglu Picture courtesy of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

    In his post race interview, Toprak said that he was “relaxed and enjoying the bike“, however, saying that chatter was affecting him in the final two corners and improvements could still be made. Toprak leads the championship with 179 points, 21 points clear of Bulega in 2nd, something not been done by a BMW rider for 12 years. Up next, Donington Park, and a favourite track for Toprak, no doubt a rather scary thought for the rest of the field given his recent dominance.

    When pressed about the future of Toprak and whether or not he will stay in WorldSBK, Kenan Sofuoglu hinted at a potential move to MotoGP, telling James Toseland “it will happen sooner, rather than later.”

  • A Rea-Marc-Able Career

    A Rea-Marc-Able Career

    Two separate careers to be precise, and what careers they have been.

    With a total of 14 World championships between them, Jonathan Rea 6x WSBK champion, and Marc Marquez 6x MotoGP World Champion, as well as both 125cc, and 250cc champions. Both riders have their upcoming birthdays next month in February, with Jonny turning 37, and Marc turning 31. Now in the twilight years of their respective careers, they both still feel they have a point to prove, and perhaps, also prove a few critics and naysayers wrong.

    Jonathan Rea – Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK

    The end of the 2023 season saw an emotional Rea walk away from the Kawasaki Racing Team, an incredibly long partnership that saw him dominate many seasons and claim 6x World titles, becoming arguably their best WSBK rider. The struggles of the Kawasaki team over the past few seasons were well documented and a frustrated Rea could do no more than look on in envy at the sheer flawless nature of Alvaro Bautista’s wins on the Aruba.it Racing Ducati, which saw the Spaniard claim back-to-back championships.

    Prior to the Ducati dominance in both WSBK and MotoGP,  2021 was the year of Yamaha, with both Toprak Razgatlioglu on the R1, and Fabio Quartararo on the M1 claiming their respective world championship crowns. In WSBK that year Toprak was a joy to watch, pushing the R1 to its absolute limits. Rea however, was once again left frustrated with the performance of the Kawasaki, only managing to finish runner up.

    There was a time when Marc Marquez was considered unstoppable on the Repsol Honda RC213V, dominating his rivals and racking up incredible statistics in the process. His 2019 winning season and 6th overall in the premier class, was testament to the absolute insane level of skill he possessed at that time. He won 12 races and finished on the podium in 18 out of 19 rounds, amassing an eye watering 420 points, which was also a points record at that time. Not to mention beating riders like Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Andrea Dovizioso in the process.

    Sadly, subsequent seasons have seen Marc suffer virtually career ending injuries, with many speculating that he’d never return. The fact that he did return, albeit on an under-performing Honda, speaks volumes about his mental resilience and sheer unquenchable desire to continue riding and return to winning ways.

    2023 was not a happy season for Marc and saw him crash a total of 29 times, the most out of any rider across all the classes in MotoGP, according to the MotoGP falls report, published by Dorna media officer, Frine Velilla. That was a figure he himself had not got close to since the season of 2017, where he crashed 27 times.  Similar to Jonathan Rea, a disconsolate Marc could do no more then look on as Francesco Bagnaia, rode his Ducati to back-to-back championships.

    Marc Marquez – Picture courtesy of Honda Racing Racing Global

    As the curtain closed on the 2023 season, both Rea and Marc walked away from their respective teams, buying their way out of lucrative contracts in the process. Rea secured a ride with the Pata Prometeon Yamaha WSBK Team onboard the R1, while Marc, will be joining his brother Alex in the Gresini Racing Team onboard the Ducati.

    As race fans eagerly anticipate the start of the 2024 season, the fact that these two legends of motorcycle racing are still racing, is an absolute bonus to the sport, as well as a credit to the resilience of each of their own characters and the determination to succeed, continuing to push onwards for the next taste of race winning glory.

     

  • Round 12 WorldSBK, Jerez, Spain, Race 2

    Round 12 WorldSBK, Jerez, Spain, Race 2

    The earlier Superpole race saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati), claim his 2nd win of the weekend, could the newly crowned champion make it a treble to close out the season in style?

    Round 12 WorldSBK Jerez, Spain 29.10.2023 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

    Lights out for the last time this season and its Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who immediately attacked and passed to take over the lead. Bautista 2nd,  Toprak (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 3rd, Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 4th, and Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 5th.

    Next lap of the 20 lap race and positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Bautista 4. Aegerter 5. Locatelli 6. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) 7. Gardner (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 8. Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 9. Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) 10. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing).

    With 18 laps remaining, Rea was looking quick out in the lead, and was trying to end his Kawasaki career on a high, he held a gap of 0.7s to Toprak who then posted the new fastest lap with a 1:39.871.

    Next lap and both Rea, and Toprak had got away from the rest, with Bautista in 3rd barely just hanging onto the back, such was the pace being set by Rea, who went on to set the new fastest lap with a 1:39.744. Further back Remi Gardner went through on Locatelli into turn 9 to move up to 6th.

    With 16 laps to go, drama for Rea who lost the front end into the tight turn 2, it was a slow enough crash, and he was able to pick the bike up and rejoin at the back of the field. A disappointing way to end his 9 year career with Kawasaki, as he had been looking so good up until that point. Positions were as follows: 1. Toprak 2. Bautista 3. Aegerter.

    With 14 laps left, Toprak was making the most of his newly acquired lead and held a gap of 0.9s to Bautista behind.

    Approaching half race distance and as has been the story all season long, once the fuel levels have reduced, and his tyres have been managed, Bautista starts to post faster lap times. This was the case again, and he was reeling in Toprak lap by lap, with the gap cut down to 0.3s.

    Just at half race distance and Bautista lined up a move on Toprak out of the straight, and into turn 1, Toprak successfully defended. Meanwhile the battle up front had allowed both Aegerter, and Rinaldi to close in on the leading pair.

    Next lap of the 20 lap race and positions were as follows: 1. Toprak 2. Bautista 3. Aegerter 4. Rinaldi 5. Gardner 6. Petrucci 7. Locatelli 8. Redding 9. Oettl (GoEleven Ducati) 10. Bassani.

    Meanwhile at the front, Bautista continued his assault on the Yamaha R1, this time with a rehearsed block pass into the final corner, but could not make it stick, and Toprak retained the lead.

    Next lap and this time Bautista does take the lead with a superb cut pass under Toprak.

    Round 12 WorldSBK Jerez, Spain 29.10.2023 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

    With 7 laps remaining, and with shades of the amazing battle between the two at Portimao, the lead was once again being swapped multiple times, this was shaping up to be another intense fight to victory between the two champions.

    Next lap and Toprak ripped the lead back, before Bautista cut under Toprak into turn 5 to retake the lead. The intense battle for the lead had now allowed both Gardner, and Petrucci to join the melee, and the group at the front was now made up of 6 quality riders. Toprak back into the lead before the start of lap 5.

    With only 4 laps left Toprak was still defending his lead. Meanwhile further back a mistake from Rinaldi, meant he dropped several positions down to 6th. Bautista 2nd, Aegerter 3rd, Gardner 4th, Petrucci 5th.

    Onto the final 3 laps and Gardner was now losing contact with the trio ahead of him, such was the scorching pace being set. Toprak held a lead of 0.3s.

    Next lap and Bautista, becoming ever more desperate, once again attacked Toprak into turn 1, the Turkish rider was able to defend to hold onto the lead.

    Onto the final lap and Toprak was in the lead, followed by Bautista in 2nd, and Aegerter in 3rd. Approaching the final corner Bautista tried the block pass, infamously used by Valentino Rossi against Sete Gibernau in a MotoGP race there. Bautista slammed hard on the brakes, dived up the inside of Toprak, but Toprak knew it was coming, and squared the corner off accelerating hard out of the corner and narrowly beat Bautista to the line in a drag race. The Turkish rider’s elation however would be short lived, as race direction subsequently demoted him one position, for exceeding track limits on the final corner.

    Round 12 WorldSBK Jerez, Spain 29.10.2023 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

    That meant that it was indeed a treble for the newly crowned champion Alvaro Bautista, and what a season he had. Toprak 2nd, Aegerter 3rd, Gardner 4th, Petrucci 5th, Rinaldi 6th, Oettl 7th, Redding 8th, Locatelli 9th, Gerloff 10th.

    Result top 5:

    1. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
    2. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
    3. Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
    4. Gardner (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
    5. Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing)

    Championship top 3:

    1. Bautista – 628
    2. Razgatlioglu – 552
    3. Rea – 370