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The milestone has been reached. The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has now held 1000 races after the Tissot Superpole Race at Balaton Park, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) winning the milestone race. While the landmark has been celebrated with a special trophy for the top three, detailing the previous milestone winners, there’s plenty to look back on the previous 249 races. You can also look back on Races 1-100, 101-250, 251-500 and 501-750.

BAUTISTA STARTS WITH A BANG: a stunning debut in Australia

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) made the switch to WorldSBK in 2019 and got off to a sensational start with the factory Ducati squad. He took a triple in Australia – the first hat-trick in WorldSBK history – winning Race 1 by almost 15 seconds and Race 2 by 12 seconds; both ahead of Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha), then racing for Kawasaki. Australia also marked the start of a new era in WorldSBK with the introduction of the Tissot Superpole Race, a 10-lap race that would determine the first nine positions on the Race 2 grid. Bautista claimed victory in the first Superpole Race, again beating Rea.

RAZGATLIOGLU TAKES HIS FIRST WIN IN RACE 800: from P16 to P1 at Magny-Cours

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) made his WorldSBK debut in 2018 for Manuel Puccetti’s team, and it took him only a year before he was on the top step of the podium. It came at Magny-Cours in Race 1, which was WorldSBK’s 800^th race, from 16^th on the grid as he beat Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea by 0.240s. Remarkably, ‘El Turco’ waited mere hours for his second win, claiming victory in the Tissot Superpole Race – also from 16^th.

REA MAKES HISTORY WITH FIFTH TITLE: a stunning comeback in 2019

WorldSBK’s visit to Magny-Cours in 2019 was a historic one, as Rea secured a record-breaking fifth Championship. He became the first rider to win five titles in WorldSBK, and he had done so consecutively, after pulling off a remarkable comeback against Bautista. After the Superpole Race at Jerez, Bautista was 61 points clear but a series of crashes and retirements plus Rea taking victories meant it swung in the Ulsterman’s favour as he surpassed Carl Fogarty’s record of four Championships.

SIX IN A ROW FOR REA: more history made as WorldSBK returned to Estoril

WorldSBK made a welcome return to Estoril in 2020 and it was the season finale, with a title fight between Rea and Scott Redding, in his rookie campaign. The drama came in the Tissot Superpole session when both riders crashed. Rea just needed a handful of points to secure the title but with Redding retiring from Race 1, Rea made more history with a sixth consecutive crown – his last to date.

THE BATTLE OF MOST: Razgatlioglu takes the fight to Redding

Most was new on the calendar back in 2021 but Razgatlioglu had won the first two races at the Czech venue ahead of Redding. Race 1 was a fight to the line with Redding leading heading into the final two turns, before an aggressive Razgatlioglu move demoted him to P2 and ‘El Turco’ claimed victory. On Sunday, Redding responded with a Race 2 victory – and celebrated the occasion by proposing to then-girlfriend, now-wife on the rostrum. Razgatlioglu would be involved in another last-lap decider in 2025, when he lost out to Nicolo Bulega in an all-time classic race.

THE 900^TH RACE: Razgatlioglu claims victory in Indonesia

Race 900 for WorldSBK took place at Mandalika in 2022, in Race 1, which was won by Razgatlioglu as he claimed victory by more than four seconds ahead of title leader Bautista. The Spaniard had the chance to win the title in Race 1 but results meant it went to Sunday’s Race 2, where the #19 swapped his traditional number plate for a #1. Bautista took the title and then that led to an inspired tyre gamble in Australia a week later in a drying Superpole Race – dropping to 16^th, he eventually claimed victory after an incredible comeback.

RACES FOR THE AGES: Razgatlioglu vs Bautista at Portimao and Jerez

The end of the 2023 season will live long in the memory. While Bautista stormed to a second crown, he was pushed all the way by Razgatlioglu who was determined to take the fight to the Spaniard. In Race 2 at Portimao, the penultimate round of the season, the pair traded positions more than 30 times across 20 laps in the fight for victory. Somehow, in Race 2 at Jerez, it got better. Over 20 laps, the pair traded positions on track almost 40 times – but, even more impressively, the fighting only started on Lap 10… what a way to end a classic season.

RAZGATLIOGLU’S ROSSI-INSPIRED MOVE: a final corner pass in Barcelona

In just his second weekend on the BMW, Razgatlioglu had won Race 1 in Barcelona and backed that up in the Superpole Race… but that was no ordinary win. Trailing on the final lap, ‘El Turco’ channelled his inner Valentino Rossi and passed Bautista at the final corner, going on to take victory in a race no one will forget; with Bautista dropping to P3, behind Andrea Iannone.

THE CLOSEST EVER FINSH: 0.003s between Bulega and Razgatlioglu

The previous smallest margin of victory, recorded in Australia back in 2010, was 0.004s – it was going to take something special to beat that. At Estoril in 2024, that’s exactly what Bulega and Razgatlioglu delivered in the Superpole Race. Razgatlioglu led out of the final corner, but Bulega got the better run, passing the Turkish star on the run to the line – by just 0.003s!

RACE 1000: mixed conditions make it a spectacle

The 1000^th race in WorldSBK history took place at Balaton Park and overnight rain left the track wet for the 10-lap Superpole Race. Razgatlioglu started from pole before Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) took the lead in the first half of the race. ‘El Turco’ responded a few laps later to take the lead and win the race, adding to his 800^th and 900^th race victories in a spectacular showdown in Hungary.

RACES 751-1000 IN NUMBERS

Champions: Rea (2018, 2019, 2020), Razgatlioglu (2021, 2024), Bautista (2022, 2023)
Number of race winners: 13 (top three: Razgatlioglu, 71, Rea, 64; Bautista, 63)
Number of podium finishers: 27 (top three: Razgatlioglu, 161; Rea, 150; Bautista, 120)
Number of riders with fastest laps: 19 (top three: Rea, 63; Toprak, 60; Bautista, 57).
Number of circuits raced at: 21 (top three: Portimao, Aragon, 23; Misano, Magny-Cours, 20; Assen, Donington, 19)

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