Tag: Toprak Razgatlioglu

Jerez, 19 October 2024: Toprak Razgatlioglu has claimed the 2024 World Superbike Championship in his debut season with BMW, marking a historic milestone for both the rider and the manufacturer. The 2024 Champion secured the title at Jerez, where he once again proved to be the dominant force on the track.

Throughout the season, Razgatlioglu consistently outpaced his competitors, amassing 17 victories and 25 podium finishes. This performance not only earned him the Championship but also solidified his place among the WorldSBK’s legends while establishing a formidable new partnership with BMW.

Toprak Razgatlioglu began in the IDM Yamaha R6 Cup and Turkish Road Race 600cc Championship in 2011-2012. Moving to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, he secured a win at Sachsenring in 2014. Later that year, he debuted in the European Superstock 600 Championship with a win at Magny-Cours. Razgatlioglu joined WorldSBK full-time in 2015, claiming the Superstock 600 title in his first season. He competed in Superstock 1000 in 2016-2017, finishing second in his second year. In 2018, he debuted in WorldSBK with Kawasaki. Razgatlioglu won his first WorldSBK title with Yamaha in 2021, making history as the first Turkish rider to win the WorldSBK Championship. Joining BMW in 2024, Razgatlioglu further solidified his legacy by capturing his second WorldSBK title.

By winning his second title, Toprak joins an elite club of multiple-title holders, including Alvaro Bautista, Jonathan Rea, Max Biaggi, Troy Bayliss, James Toseland, Troy Corser, Colin Edwards, Carl Fogarty, Doug Polen, and Fred Merkel. His historic victory also sees him become the first BMW rider to capture the WorldSBK title, further establishing his legacy in the Championship.

Razgatlioglu’s dominance this season was particularly evident during the Pirelli Portuguese Round, where he set a new record with 15 consecutive victories. After a crash in Free Practice at the Motul French Round left him injured, Razgatlioglu was forced to miss two rounds. However, he returned stronger from the Aragon Round onward, securing six podium finishes and extending his lead to 46 points over his Italian rival, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), ahead of the ultimate round of the season. 

Looking ahead, fans can anticipate an exciting conclusion to the 2024 season, with the last two races of 2024 still to be contested. There’s no doubt that the newly crowned WorldSBK Champion will aim to continue his dominance and finish the season on a high note. Razgatlioglu will formally receive his trophy during the prestigious Prize Giving Ceremony, scheduled for Sunday evening at the Prometeon Spanish Round.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:

“What does it like to be the World Champion? Right now, I have no stress and I’m not excited. For me, the season is finished. We have two more races tomorrow, but I’m just going to enjoy them and race without any stress. It’s been a long season. Nobody believed in me or BMW at the start but now everyone understands that we are the World Champions. This is a team effort because everyone worked hard and tried to improve in every race. Finally, we are World Champions and it’s incredible. BMW has never won the title before. I’ve got my second title and BMW has their first World Championship title. I’ll be using the number one next season because BMW deserves it after their first title.”

Rider info

Place of birth: Alanya, Turkey
Age: 28 (born 16 October 1996)
Team: ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
Bike: BMW M 1000 RR

First Race: Australia 2018
Wins: 56
Podium places: 140
Pole positions: 18
World Titles: 2 (2021 Yamaha YZF-R1) (2024 BMW M1000RR).

Race 1 Highlights

• Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) made it eight wins in a row after dominating the 22 lap race. With a winning margin of over five seconds it was a comfortable success for the Turkish star who now leads the championship by 56 points from Bulega
   
• From the second row of the grid Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) came through to finish second. The Italian matched his career best performance in the Superbike class and claimed his second podium of the season
   
• Having opted for the harder front tyre, Iannone rounded out the podium positions. The Italian dropped from second position to fourth position at one third distance but made his way back to the podium
   
• Having started from the second row of the grid Bulega also opted for the harder front tyre. He had a difficult race and ended in sixth position but held on to second position in the championship standings
   
• Having suffered a grid penalty, Bautista spent the majority of the race in sixth position before making progress in the final seven laps. He first picked off his teammate Bulega on Lap 14 and then Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with four laps remaining.

Tissot Superpole Highlights

• Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) smashed the lap record during the 15 minute Superpole session. His time, 1’30.064, left him comfortably on pole position for the fourth time this season
   
• A third front row of the season was Andrea Iannone’s reward for a superb effort in Superpole. The Team GoEleven rider matched his best qualifying performance of the season in second position
   
• A three place grid penalty dropped Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to tenth position for Race 1. The double World Champion ended Superpole 0.953s slower than Razgatlioglu. His teammate, Nicolo Bulega, qualified off the front row of the grid for the first time in 2024.

Key Points:

Pole position: Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
Race 1 winner: Toprak Razgatlioglu
Race fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu 1’31.540s.

P1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“I’m happy. We have won again and we had an amazing lap time in the Superpole session. I pushed a lot on the first lap and then I just found my rhythm. I had a very good pace in the race but during the the last five laps the front was closing, especially on the left corner. After last year, when I crashed at corner two, it’s an incredible win. I want to say thanks to my team because we did an incredible job today! We have two more races tomorrow, and that’s my focus now.”

P2 | Danilo Petrucci | Barni Spark Racing Team
“I’m really happy. I said that we could fight for the podium but when you are in the race you have to fight really hard to get that podium. At the beginning, I had a bit of trouble but then I saw that Nicolo and Andrea were a bit slower going into the corners and I tried to go ahead of them. Andrea gave me a hard time until the end. I know him very well and on the last lap it is always special with him! I tried to close the doors on that lap. I can’t believe I’m here after my motocross accident and now I’m again on the podium! I want to say thanks to everyone who helped me and we’ll try again tomorrow!”

P3 | Andrea Iannone | Team GoEleven
“I’m really happy about today because we recovered a lot from yesterday. After FP1, we were 15th in the classification. My team believed in me and I want to thank them for believing we can achieve a great result today. It was a really difficult race because the temperature was really high. With Danilo in front it made it difficult for my tyre temperature and it wasn’t easy in the braking points for corners. Danilo rode faster than me today, Toprak was unbelievable but I didn’t give up and I tried my best. We’ll try a little more tomorrow!”

Assen, 21 April 2024: Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) shared the spoils on Sunday in Assen. In the ten lap Tissot Superpole Race Bautista led the field home after a stunning comeback ride saw him come through the field to take the lead from Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) on the penultimate lap.

Starting from pole position, Bautista led the majority of the first half of Race 2 but with spots of rain in the air the field closed up. Razgatlioglu choose this as his moment to pounce but with Bautista retaking the lead before Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) mixed it in.

The Turkish moved into the lead for the final six laps but was under pressure throughout the closing stages. Bautista would finish less than a second behind the race winner with Gardner able to claim his first career podium. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) finished in fourth position ahead of Locatelli.

When WorldSBK returns to action there will be just six points separating Bautista and Razgatlioglu with Bulega a further eight points adrift after a difficult weekend. The Italian finished Race 2 in eighth position.

P1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu  | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“Grid position isn’t important because it’s the race that matters. I enjoyed this race. At the start there was a bit of rain. I stayed close just to watch the guys and understand what to do. I needed a good pace and I passed people step by step and finally I was in the lead! We made a mistake in the Superpole Race with the tyre so I used the SC0 tyre in the afternoon and it worked well. I want to say thanks to my team’s hard work this weekend because finally we have won in Assen! I’ve never won here before and also for BMW they hadn’t won here. I’m very happy today!”

P2 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I’m really happy with how the whole weekend has been. To finish all three races on the podium in these conditions is a pleasure. Race 1 was really tricky and I enjoyed the Superpole Race a lot. There was some light rain in the afternoon and it was a bit difficult. I tried to keep a little bit of margin and I think second position was good. I’m really happy and we are building my confidence with the bike.”

P3 | Remy Gardner | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
“It’s been two years without a podium for me so yeah I’ve definitely had some really hard times. Obviously, everyone knows my GP story and then we didn’t get a podium last year when I moved to WorldSBK. It’s been a big challenge for me and I just want to say thank you to my girlfriend and my team and everyone that has believed in me. Finally it’s so good to be back on the podium again and I can’t wait to go to the next race already.”

WorldSBK Race 2 Results

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.625s
3. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +1.022
4. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +3.120s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +3.217s
6. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +5.174

Championship Standings

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 123 points
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)  117 points
3. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 109 points

WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race Results

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.686s
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +7.403s
4. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +7.551s
5. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +8.177s
6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +9.114s

San Juan, 16 October 2021: The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship descended on the Circuito San Juan Villicum for the Motul Argentinean Round and it was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) who claimed Race 1 honours after a 21-lap encounter after transferring his scintillating Friday pace into Saturday action, claiming the 50th podium of his career on his 25th birthday.
 
Both Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), decorated in a special 1990s livery to mark a special anniversary for Kawasaki, got quick starts from second and fifth on the grid respectively to lead the race into Turn 1, while polesitter Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) found himself on the ground at Turn 1 after crashing, with the Briton falling to the back of the grid.
 
Out in front and Rea had put pressure on Razgatlioglu for the lead of the race before the Championship leader opened up the gap to Rea to just over three seconds at the end of Lap 8, with the pair holding station until the end of the race. Razgatlioglu’s win meant he claimed the 50th podium of his career while Yamaha claimed their first podium at San Juan Villicum. Rea’s second place meant he claimed Great Britain’s 810th podium, while it was only the second time Rea has not won at the Argentinean venue.
 
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed the tenth podium of his WorldSBK career with third place after passing Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) at around half-distance of the race. Bassani had started from the front row for the first time in his WorldSBK career but fell back at the start before fighting back into third, before Rinaldi was able to pass him. Rinaldi’s podium was Ducati’s 980th podium in WorldSBK.

P1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) “This weekend, we are very strong and on Friday I said I need to win at this track. In 2019, I had just third place. I am really happy today. Thanks to my team. They did an incredible job this weekend and we are very strong. Also, it is my birthday today, and it’s a fantastic day for me. Tomorrow I will try again.”   P2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) “I made a really good getaway and tried to do my rhythm, tried to forget about the guys at the front. Toprak had an incredible pace so I just tried to focus on myself. I really made a big mistake yesterday and I lost all of FP2 to understand, so this race was a little bit of research, let’s say, for tomorrow. No regrets, I did my best out there and hopefully tomorrow we can make some changes to be a little bit closer to the front.”   P3 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) “It was a difficult race because it was so long and so hot. But we made a good race because we were able to have a good pace. Unfortunately, I had a bad Superpole but I’m happy and I want to dedicate this podium to my team.”

WorldSBK Results Race 1 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.295s 3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +9.417s 4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +12.808s 5. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +13.980s 6. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +15.007s  Championship Standings (after Race 1, Round 12) 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (503 points) 2. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (474 points) 3. Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (431 points)