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DEFINING STORIES, ROUND 2: Razgatlioglu takes the grid for a ride at the ‘rollercoaster’ for his first hat-trick of 2025

Friday, 8 August 2025 05:52 GMT

    • After a sputtering start at Phillip Island, ‘El Turco’ reminded the grid of the pace that earned him the #1

    Portimao’s Pirelli Portuguese Round couldn’t come soon enough for 2024 defending Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) after a thumping courtesy of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) in the preceding Australian Round. Just over a month after the #11’s hat-trick effort Down Under, the WorldSBK took the grid to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, a welcome venue for Razgatlioglu, as he has always excelled at the circuit with its many heavy braking zones and verticality, which give many riders a hard time.

    STARTING THE COMEBACK: resisting Bulega’s challenges

    Preceding Saturday’s Race 1, ‘El Turco’s woes looked like they might continue in Round 2’s Free Practice 1, as his tech issues continued and prevented him from completing a single Lap in FP1. By Saturday afternoon and the Tissot Superpole session, he and his team looked to have gotten to the bottom of the electronic issues that had been plaguing them, and he took his first pole position of the season by setting a 1’39.081s lap time, 0.245s faster than Bulega, who would start Race 1 behind him in P2. Race 1 foreshadowed what would be some of the best racing yet seen from the title rivals. Jumping ahead to take the holeshot, Bulega led the first laps of the race, with the #1 getting his nose in front at points but unable to maintain the position from the Ducati’s imperious top speed on the straight. The pair traded overtakes, never more than a half-second between the two. By the final lap, ‘El Turco’ led, and while Bulega held close to him, the Italian wasn’t able to outgun the defending Champion on the run to the line, providing Razgatlioglu with his first win of his title-defending season by a mere 0.067s

    GOING THREE FOR THREE: a hat-trick apiece in 2025

    The Superpole Race began similarly to Race 1, with Bulega steaming off the line to claim the holeshot. However Razgatlioglu struck at Turn 3, the heaviest braking corner on the circuit, on Lap 5. Glued to ‘El Turco’s shadow, ‘Bulegas’ refused to fade away, and similar to his Race 1 strategy, he attempted to snipe P1 from the #1 on the exit of the final corner; however, he again lacked the pace, finishing an even-closer 0.055s behind the Turk. Race 2 was a tale of two halves, as a red flag was waved on Lap 10 after Jason O'Halloran (Pata Maxus Yamaha) crashed at Turn 1. After the restart, the pair commenced their dance, seen twice before on the weekend, with Bulega out in front early after nailing the holeshot. Race 2, however, saw both riders throw caution to the wind, Toprak reclaiming P1 early on Lap 2, before Bulega divebombed back into first on the entrance to Lap 3’s Turn 1. The race’s final five laps were a stunning display of courage and control, as the pair refused to roll over and traded overtakes, until Buelga’s tyres began to fade quickly, leaving the #1 to sail ahead and win by a margin of almost four seconds. Razgatlioglu's win saw him pass ‘King Carl’ Fogarty for third-most in all-time WorldSBK wins with his 60th time topping the podium.

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