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Tag: Alvaro Bautista

  • WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu withstands Bulega pressure to seal 2025 WSBK Championship in Jerez

    WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu withstands Bulega pressure to seal 2025 WSBK Championship in Jerez

    A controversial crash in the Tissot Superpole Race in Jerez that led to borderline violent scenes from the Turkish fans coupled with a crushing treble of race wins from Nicolo Bulega was not enough to prevent Toprak Razgatlioglu from wrapping up his third WorldSBK title at the Pirelli Spanish Round.

    Tissot Superpole Race

    All Razgatlioglu had to do to wrap up the championship was finish in the top 7 of the morning’s 10-lap race.  This should not have been difficult and it was fully expected that ‘El Turco’ would seal the deal before the final full-distance race of the year in the afternoon.

    A promising start that left him challenging Bulega on the first lap saw Razgatlioglu pushed wide by Bulega at turn 5 in a similar but more consequential move to the one that occurred at the start of Race 1 yesterday.  Razgatlioglu was unable to rejoin and thankfully his BMW was not too damaged, although there were obvious concerns about reliability for Race 2.

    Razgatlioglu’s exit meant that BMW’s efforts to clinch the Manufacturers’ Championship had taken a serious blow with them being left 19 points down on Ducati with one race to go.  Bulega was immediately placed under investigation and was docked with a single long-lap penalty, but he was so far out front and so fast that his lead was barely compromised.

    Bulega’s dominant win cut the gap to 22 points and although the only way he could win the championship was victory in Race 2 with Razgatlioglu lower than 13th, the anger towards the Ducati rider was palpable as many expected things to have been wrapped up in the morning.  Loud boos and jeers were directed towards Bulega when he arrived in the paddock and there were rumours of the ardent Turkish support getting particularly aggressive towards anyone trying to calm them down.

    Additional security was deployed and social media went mental demanding justice for Razgatlioglu.  The BMW team shielded Razgatlioglu from any press intrusion until after Race 2 as the WorldSBK paddock geared up for its first final race showdown since 2014.

    Well behind Bulega came Alvaro Bautista who dispatched Andrea Iannone for 2nd on lap 4 at turn 6.  The Italian was able to hold on to 3rd place ahead of a squabbling Xavi Vierge and Alex Lowes, the latter running wide on the last lap to cost him 4th place.

    Andrea Locatelli passed an impressive Tarran Mackenzie for 6th place on the penultimate lap while Iker Lecuona and Micheal van der Mark rounded out the crucial top 9 spots that set the grid for Race 2, with Razgatlioglu trapped down in 10th.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Race 2

    Amidst the fallout of the Bulega/Razgatlioglu incident, some hugely unfortunate news broke from the medical centre.  Jonathan Rea crashed out at high speed with Remy Gardner at turn 3 and unlike his accident at turn 4 yesterday, this one left him with an injured knee and he was declared unfit for Race 2.

    Rea was therefore left unable to contest his final WorldSBK race in which Yamaha were running a celebratory livery.  A despondent Rea was caught on camera watching the race with his family from their garage following a huge outpouring of support and appreciation in the paddock towards the Northern Irish 6-time World Champion, who may be seen testing next year in plans that are yet to be revealed.

    Starting in 10th, the only real fear for Razgatlioglu was if his bike broke down or he was caught up in a melee in the midfield.  The Turk methodically made his way up to 3rd place and settled there to win the championship by 13 points as Bulega clinched a treble of race victories.

    Bulega first had to ignore the pressure by the critical fans and even some of his fellow riders, and he lost the initial lead to his teammate Bautista who was obviously determined to repeat Chaz Davies past feat of winning his last race with the aruba.it Ducati team.  Through his strong point of turn 5 that let him set up a move into turn 6, once Bulega was past Bautista it was a done deal and all the focus switched to Razgatlioglu.

    With 12 laps to go Razgatlioglu was already up to 3rd, having dealt with Locatelli, Vierge, Lowes and Iannone who had been battling all weekend in Jerez for positions just below the rostrum.  It was a fairly underwhelming race overall once Razgatlioglu settled into his rhythm and the laps wound down to confirm him as a 3-time WorldSBK Champion ahead of his blockbuster move to MotoGP next season.

    Iannone had slipped back while running in 7th to fend off Mackenzie and Lecuona, who swapped places by the end of the race.  Michael van der Mark was a lowly 13th in his final WorldSBK race as BMW lost out on the Manufacturers’ Championship to Ducati.

    Bautista did more than enough to secure 3rd place overall in the World Championship which arguably should have gone to the Independent Champion Danilo Petrucci, who was ruled out of the last 2 rounds (6 races).  The only retirements from the race were Lukas Tulovic through a crash and Garrett Gerloff brought his underwhelming season with Kawasaki to close by retiring into the pitlane.

    In any other year, Bulega would have been World Championship, but the critical retirement while leading Race 2 in Assen for example when Razgatlioglu was further down the order will be a painful pill to swallow.  As for Razgatlioglu, he heads to MotoGP having left his mark on a championship that will simply never be the same without him, or indeed Jonathan Rea…

     

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    2025 WorldSBK Riders’ Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    2025 WorldSBK Manufacturers’ Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Title goes to final day as Bulega wins Jerez Race 1

    WorldSBK: Title goes to final day as Bulega wins Jerez Race 1

    Nicolo Bulega kept his faint hopes of winning the 2025 Superbike World Championship title alive after a controlled victory in Race 1 at the Pirelli Spanish Round well clear of Toprak Razgatlioglu.

    Facing the possibility of losing the championship to Razgatlioglu on Saturday in Jerez if the BMW rider won the race, Bulega had set a blisteringly quick lap record during qualifying to snatch pole position.  It had looked clear since the first practice sessions on Friday that Bulega had the edge and he did what he had to do to prolong the title fight for another day.

    For the first time since 2014, the WorldSBK Championship will be settled on the final day of the season thanks to Bulega’s efforts today.  The Ducati rider raced clear of the chasing pack and by the time Razgatlioglu had recovered from his underwhelming start he was clear enough to manage the gap behind.

    Sam Lowes should have been starting on the front row but was sadly declared unfit as the chest injuries he had hoped to recover from by now flared up again.  This promoted his brother Alex to the front row.

    The two championship contenders very nearly came together about halfway around the 1st lap, with Razgatlioglu being pushed out slightly wide by Bulega at turn 5.  The Turk ran even wider at the end of the following straight to let Andrea Iannone slip by into 2nd place.

    By lap 3 Razgatlioglu moved back in front but Bulega was already 3 seconds clear.  This gap would remain roughly the same for the remainder of the race as Razgatlioglu had to bank the 20 points for 2nd.

    All Razgatlioglu has to do to wrap up his 3rd WorldSBK Championship tomorrow is finish in the top 7 in the morning’s Tissot Superpole Race.  The only realistic path to the title for Bulega is if he wins both races and Razgatlioglu fails to score in both, with the BMW ride 34 points clear ahead of the Sunday showdown.

    A huge crash for Jonathan Rea at turn 4 thankfully left the Yamaha rider uninjured and fit to compete in his final World Superbike races tomorrow.  As the race stalled out front, the capacity crowd around the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto were treated to their home hero Alvaro Bautista’s bid for the podium.

    The order settled after the 3rd lap with Bulega up front, Razgatlioglu clear of the chasing pack in 2nd, then Iannone, Lowes, Xavi Vierge, Remy Gardner, Andrea Locatelli and then Bautista.  The latter’s rise through the order was captivating to watch, particularly as he made his bid for the podium in the 2nd half of the race.

    Having moved past the slower Yamaha duo of Locatelli and Gardner, Bautista had a fight on his hands with the Honda of Vierge and Bimota of Lowes who were squabbling over 4th.  With 9 laps to go the Spaniard scythed up the inside of both in one fell swoop at the first corner in a thrilling pass for 4th and all 3 riders then began to close in on the slowing Iannone.

    2 laps later, Bautista made another lunge at turn 1 but ran wide and nearly lost the front end of his bike at turn 2 while battling Iannone for the podium.  He fell to 5th behind Vierge with Lowes right there as well in 6th, but Bautista was soon back into 4th just a few corners later.

    Bautista eventually made it past Iannone with plenty of time to spare but the battle for 4th raged until the very end.  Iannone and Vierge were swapping positions out of the last corner and into the first on the penultimate lap but the defiant Italian held on as his future remains unclear beyond this weekend.

    Further back, Gardner was under threat from an impressive Tarran Mackenzie in the battle for 8th while Michael van der Mark was 10th. The Dutchman’s team will be hoping he can go out on a high tomorrow as Ducati have opened up an 8-point lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship, although the big story tomorrow will almost inevitably be the crowning of Razgatlioglu for the third time in five years.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Bulega keeps championship alive with Estoril Race 2 rebound

    WorldSBK: Bulega keeps championship alive with Estoril Race 2 rebound

    Nicolo Bulega bounced back with a dominant Race 2 victory at the EICMA Estoril Round to take the 2025 WorldSBK title down to the final round in Jerez next weekend, although Toprak Razgatlioglu still holds the upper hand after a victory in the Tissot Superpole Race.

     

    Tissot Superpole Race

    The start of the 10-lap Sunday morning race saw Bulega snatch the lead, with teammate Alvaro Bautista in 2nd and Razgatlioglu down to 3rd.  Xavi Vierge mounted a brief attack for 3rd, but the top 3 settled after the first corner.

    When Razgatlioglu fell down the order in yesterday’s race, it did not stop him coming back through to the front.  This time he had only fallen to 3rd so predictably the BMW rider was still in contention for the win despite another poor start.

    Within half a lap, Bautista had succumbed to the pressure from Razgatlioglu.  By the start of the 2nd lap, Razgatlioglu made a successful move for the lead however he then ran wide at turn 6.

    This began a half-lap scrap where the positions changed at turns 8, 10 and then turn 1 on the following lap. Ultimately, Razgatliolgu prevailed and after this entertaining battle it was a done deal for the win, although Bulega at least kept him honest and under pressure for the remainder of the 10 laps.

    Bautista had slipped back and was locked in a battle with Jonathan Rea.  Rea, his teammate Andrea Locatelli and Vierge were stuck behind Bautista after the former very briefly ran in 3rd in the early stages only to crash out at turn 7 on lap 6.

    Yari Montella also crashed out at turn 7 but was able to rejoin while Michael Ruben Rinaldi pulled into the pits of his own volition and Tito Rabat was eliminated late on.

    Andrea Iannone made the most of Rea’s exit as he moved past Remy Gardner and a fading Vierge to seal 5th.  He was also aided by Alex Lowes eliminating himself when he lost the front of the bike at the first corner on the last lap, securing 4th for Locatelli with Bautista broken clear up the road for 3rd with Axel Bassani and Michael van der Mark being promoted into the crucial top 9 that sets grid spots for Race 2.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Race 2

    Thanks to 2 consecutive runner-up spots, Bulega put himself in a position of near certainty going into the final race of the weekend to prolong the championship battle into Jerez.  However, what the Italian pulled off on Sunday afternoon in Estoril was a real warning shot to his rival ahead of next week’s showdown.

    Once again, Bulega made the hole shot to turn 1 and was followed by Locatelli from 4th on the grid.  Bautista was 3rd, a jump-starting Iannone 4th and Razgatlioglu down to 5th from pole position.

    Predictably, Razgatlioglu’s fightback began on lap 2, passing Bautista for 4th at turn 1.  He did not really need to pass Iannone on-track who would soon be docked with a double long-lap penalty (far from his first this year) but did so anyway at the penultimate chicane of the Estoril track later on lap 2.

    There followed a forceful move on Locatelli by Razgatlioglu at the final chicane, which Iannone also took advantage of.  It was not long before the Italian departed the fight but Bautista and Locatelli had passed him before he dived off the racing line for his penalty.

    By this stage, Bulega was already 1.5 seconds clear of Razgatlioglu.  Surprisingly, the gap did not come down and later in the race Razgatlioglu was caught by the trackside cameras shaking his head as he came out of the last 2 corners.

    It appeared that the hot conditions were causing Razgatlioglu to struggle for rear grip and he had to settle for 2nd place 5 seconds down on a jubilant Bulega.  The race was hardly a classic, but it reignited hope that Bulega was not yet down and out in 2025 as he and Bautista sealed the Teams’ Championship for aruba.it Racing – Ducati.

    Rinaldi and Tarran Mackenzie both crashed out while Lecuona slid out with 8 laps to go.  The fight for the final podium spot was a more muted affair once Alex Lowes (who started 10th) passed Locatelli for 4th on lap 5 but was unable to catch Bautista, as Rea faded to 9th after another promising race start.

    Vierge settled in 6th while Gardner and Axel Bassani fought with Rea for 7th.  van der Mark was 3 seconds back in 10th and was being caught by Garrett Gerloff and a resurgent Iannone.

    The gap now stands at 36 points between Razgatlioglu and Bulega (with BMW and Ducati even closer in the Manufacturers’ Standings) ahead of the Jerez showdown in a week’s time.  Should Bulega prevail in Race 1, the championship will go down to the final day, and the battle for 3rd overall has intensified as Danilo Petrucci’s absence this weekend saw him lose positions to Bautista and Locatelli in the standings.

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

  • WorldSBK: Match point to Razgatlioglu after Estoril Race 1 win

    WorldSBK: Match point to Razgatlioglu after Estoril Race 1 win

    Toprak Razgatlioglu put one hand on the 2025 Superbike World Championship trophy after winning race 1 at the EICMA Estoril Round, with there now being a possibility that the Turkish rider can win his third title in the class tomorrow if he outscores Nicolo Bulega by 21 more points – ahead of the Jerez finale next weekend.

    Starting from pole position with a new lap record around Estoril, Razgatlioglu was pipped to turn 1 by his title rival Nicolo Bulega.  However, five riders crashed and left a chaotic scene at the first corner that necessitated a red flag being flown by the end of the 1st lap.

    The race was interrupted after Tetshuta Nagashima, Bahattin Sofuoglu, Axel Bassani and Michael van der Mark went down together at turn 1 without any serious injuries, while Tarran Mackenzie narrowly avoided going down after also being hit.  Nagashima is a wildcard for Honda HRC this weekend, while Danilo Petrucci, Sam Lowes and Michael Ruben Rinaldi had all been declared unfit prior to the race.

    All of the riders were thankfully able to restart the now 20-lap race.  Razgatlioglu had a nightmare getaway dropping to 5th while Alvaro Bautista shot into the lead ahead of his teammate Bulega.

    For Razgatlioglu, it was imperative that he passed the Yamaha duo Andrea Locatelli and Jonathan Rea in case the Ducati duo escaped up front.  However, the BMW rider made it back into the lead by as early as lap 3…

    When Razgatlioglu moved clear of the Yamahas, Bulega and then Bautista by turn 1 on lap 3, he was able to immediately stretch his lead.  Bulega had to battle past his teammate to stop Razgatlioglu blasting off into the distance, but the consequence of his move at turn 6 left Bautista vulnerable to Rea.

    As has so often been the case in 2025, Razgatlioglu was able to control the pace and came home 2 seconds clear of Bulega.  The gap had been stretched in the first half of the race and steadily came down in the second, but this may have been down to a tyre offset from a swtich made during the red-flag period and Razgatlioglu had enough in hand over the closing laps to respond to Bulega’s pace to give himself a narrow shot at wrapping up the championship after Race 2 tomorrow.

    There was at least plenty of action in the battle for the final podium spot which eventually went to Bautista.  On lap 8, Rea made a mistake by running wide at the first corner but was able to close right back up to Bautista, with the latter then slipping up on lap 12.

    Bautista’s error just after half distance allowed Alex Lowes to close in for the podium battle.  Thankfully for the Ducati rider Lowes slowed down Rea’s assault and Bautista was able to come home 2 seconds clear for 3rd place but a whopping 15 seconds down on the race leader.

    Sadly for the outgoing Rea, there was to be no podium result as he slipped behind both Lowes and Locatelli on lap 15 of 20.  On the following tour an impressive Locatelli got past Lowes into turn 1 to seal 4th while Bautista had gotten clear of the battle behind.

    Xavi Vierge (who replaces the retiring Rea next season) nearly caught the bike that will soon be his and Andrea Iannone was right behind at the chequered flag.  In 9th came Remy Gardner ahead of a charging Garrett Gerloff with Tito Rabat the other big mover from his starting spot.

     

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Bulega bounces back on Sunday in Aragon

    WorldSBK: Bulega bounces back on Sunday in Aragon

    Nicolo Bulega bounced back on Sunday at the Tissot Aragon Round to keep the Superbike World Championship battle rolling on into the last two rounds after a pair of hard-fought victories against Toprak Razgatlioglu, whose record-breaking winning streak he has finally ended.

     

    Tissot Superpole Race

    As with Race 1 yesterday, Razgatlioglu established a pattern of passing into turn 15 but Bulega would retaliate through the long final corner of turn 16.  This first occurred at the end of lap 1 then again on laps 2, 4, 5 and 9.

    When both realised they would have to get a little more creative to pass each other, turns 7 and 12 became passing hotspots.  Razgatlioglu preferred the former and Bulega the latter.

    Behind them was Alvaro Bautista who made it into 3rd place but still had Sam Lowes sticking with him.  Dominique Aegerter, Yari Montella and Tito Rabat collided at turn 5 on the opening lap but it was an otherwise clean 10-lap affair.

    The TV direction had no chance to much of the action further down the grid as the titanic battle constantly played out at the front.  With 3 laps to go, Bautista had broken free of Sam Lowes after the Brit made a small mistake and it looked as if the Spaniard could possibly make it a 3-way fight for the win or at least try and take some points off Razgatlioglu to help his teammate.

    The other notable thing to happen on lap 8 was that there was no overtakes between the top 2.  Razgatlioglu was preparing himself for a late lunge and it came at turn 7 on the penultimate lap.

    However, Bulega was back ahead at turn 12 before Razgatlioglu slid through at turn 15 and lost the lead again at the end of the straight going through turn 16.  It was all so predictable but heading onto the last lap through the last two corners but going into the last lap it was all to play for.

    Razgatlioglu surprised Bulega with a move into the corkscrew halfway around the final lap.  The BMW rider held the lead right up until the last corner, when the inevitable happened…

    Bulega slingshot his way underneath his rival and took victory by    to avenge his narrow defeat yesterday and ended Razgatlioglu’s winning streak of 13 races to seal his first victory since back in May at Most.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Race 2

    The whole grid made it cleanly around the opening corners of Race 2 as Bautista fell down to 5th behind Andrea Iannone and Jonathan Rea.  Then came the inevitable Razgatlioglu pass on Bulega at turn 15 before the Ducati’s retaliation at turn 16.

    Razgatlioglu had to try something different and one lap later bullied his rival out of the way at turn 14 instead of 15, but again Bulega was far superior through the long left of the last corner.  When Razgatlioglu passed into turn 16 himself on lap 3, by the exit of the corner Bulega was immediately back ahead.

    Thankfully for Razgatlioglu he carried enough speed to retake the lead at turn 1 as it became clear that we were once again in for an absolute classic World Superbikes race.  Bulega was back ahead by turn 16 next time around.

    Meanwhile, Bautista had gotten back up to 3rd place and began to slowly reel in the leaders.  Ultimately, he lost too much time to catch Razgatlioglu and try to take some points off him to help his teammate Bulega.

    At the end of lap 7 Razgatliolgu was again briefly ahead through turn 16 but was close enough to scythe through on Bulega at turn 7 on the following lap.  Bulega struck back at turn 12 and held on until turn 1 on lap 10.

    The defining moment of the race sadly did not come right at the end as it had yesterday or in the Tissot Superpole Race.  After a successful move at turn 7 again on lap 11, the next time around at the same corner Razgatlioglu uncharacteristically ran wide to let Bulega through easily.

    That was it as far as the race was concerned and Razgatlioglu had to focus on repelling Bautista behind to bank the points for 2nd place.  Meanwhile, Bahattin Sofuoglu and Zaqhwan Zaidi crashed out further down the order.

    The next most interesting fight to develop was over 4th place.  With 4 laps to go the battle intensified between Iannone, Rea and Sam Lowes but the latter slid out at turn 14 on the penultimate lap.

    Alex Lowes was around 3 seconds further back and trying to keep Andrea Locatelli at bay with Michael van der Mark close behind.  The latter rider on the second BMW crashed out at high speed at turn 16 on the penultimate lap but thankfully was not too badly hurt.

    The late accidents promoted Garrett Gerloff and Ryan Vickers to the points.  Bulega eased to the line 3.2 seconds clear of his title rival with Razgatlioglu just over a second clear of Bautista so that the championship lead comes down from 39 to 36 points with 2 rounds (6 races) to go in 2025.

    Race 2 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: 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: 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

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    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

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    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • 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

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    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK