When he signed with BMW a year ago, many thought it was crazy. But time ultimately proved him right. Toprak Razgatlioğlubecause today in Jerez it was proclaimed Superbike World Champion for the second time in his career, thus offering the German manufacturer its first title.
The Turk arrived in Spain with a 46-point lead and in the first race of the weekend he managed every lap perfectly to finish second, behind a Nicolô Bulega who never gave up dreaming of a return.
After being fastest in Superpole and set a ghostly time, with which he lowered the record for which he had held since 2019, the Ducati rider performed a monologue in the race, as he established himself as leader from the first corner and only gave up first place at the checkered flag, with a margin of more six seconds on the already 2024 champion at .
Taking his fifth victory of the season gives Bulega the conviction that next year it will no longer be a surprise if he fights for the title with Razgatlioglu again, because he will no longer be a rookie, but it should rather be considered for all intents and purposes as one of the greats of the category.
Furthermore, it was also a great day for Ducati, because he thus sealed the title of Builders.
Nicolo Bulega, Aruba.It Racing – Ducati
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Toprak did not do any magic this time, but limited himself to putting an end to the dream he built throughout the season with neither more nor less than 17 victories, and which has probably never been doubt even after the accident at Magny-Cours which forced him to miss two laps.
When he crossed the finish line in second place, it was actually almost a liberation both for him and for who achieved the feat they had been chasing all year.
AND the celebration was probably the most successfulbecause a space shuttle “landed” in the Jerez loophole, in which the Turk went to change and reappeared with a golden suit and an alien helmet. And indeed, what he managed to do this year, dominating with a bike that didn't even make the podium last year, really seems to come from another planet.
He completed a podium that contains a statistical curiosity Andrea Locatellionce after a magnificent start with his Yamaha, which took him to a third position which he then maintained until the checkered flag. The curious thing is that the three drivers who finished in the first three positions were born on October 16, so today we can say that they gave themselves a nice birthday present.
He finished in fourth position Alex Loweswho then occupied the same position in the championship standings, surpassing by 7 units a Danilo Petrucciwho will no doubt want to complain, because on the first lap he was hit by the driver of Kawasaki in turn 2 and, in an attempt to return to the track, the driver of the He found himself with his wheels in the air, but tomorrow he will still have the opportunity to make up for it.
After the podium in Estoril, Honda also had a good feeling in Jerez, with Iker Lecuona finishing fifth, about four seconds behind the top three. But his teammate Xavi Virgo It also made a good comeback which allowed it to move up to seventh position, also behind the other BMW of Michael van der Mark.
The top 10 is over Axel Bassani, Dominique Aegerter And Garrett Gerloffwith a Jonathan Réa in the shadows due to a fall during the qualifying session.
The negative rating was Alvaro Bautistawho fell at the start of the race and fell again in the final part. The only positive note for him is that between the two crashes he managed to be the second fastest rider on track after Bulega. So it looks like he could attempt a magical comeback from 15th on the grid tomorrow.
