DID YOU MISS IT? From Friday crashes to three epic races after an incredible weekend at the Autodrom Most
WorldSBK headed to Most for the fifth time and the venue delivered more stunning racing, including one that will go down as an all-time great race
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship headed to Czechia for the 2025 Motul Czech Round, and the Autodrom Most provided plenty of drama right from the get-go. A crash-heavy Friday disrupted things before an incredible Race 1 where Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) battled for the win in the early stages. That was repeated in Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race, before an all-time classic in Race 2 as Bulega pulled off a last-lap pass on his title rival.
FRIDAY’S ACTION: heavily disrupted FP1…
Free Practice 1 was heavily disrupted by four red flags, including for Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) who had a massive highside at Turn 6. Thankfully, although battered and bruised, the #11 was able to take part throughout the weekend as he secured two podiums and a victory. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and teammate Andrea Locatelli crashed, in separate incidents during the session, as did Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven), whose weekend finished before it had really started after he was declared unfit.
RACING ACTION ON SATURDAY: a must-watch day
Saturday’s Race 1 started dramatically for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), who, as he was avoiding a rider on the inside, was hit from behind by Locatelli before Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) fell too. Locatelli’s bike hit Bautista a second time, which kept the #19 upright before he was able to fight his way from 16th on Lap 1 to claim P5. At the front, there was an early battle between the two Championship contenders, with Razgatlioglu getting one-up on Bulega. In WorldSSP, a new name claimed victory as Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) came from 15th on the grid to beat Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) in a last-lap scrap.
ALL-TIME CLASSIC ON SUNDAY: an epic showdown between Bulega and Razgatlioglu
Race 2 started off in a similar fashion for Bautista, hit by Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) before he collected Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC); Rea was given a double Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding. At the front of the field, both Razgatlioglu and Bulega were displaying incredible pace while not letting each other escape, with the #11 ahead. Razgatlioglu was unable to make moves at ‘conventional’ overtaking corners, so tried at Turn 17, before Bulega responded at Turn 1, and Turn 2 – where he did make it stick. While Bulega remained close, it looked like ‘El Turco’ would stay in P1… but the Ducati rider had other ideas, passing his rival on the final lap on the run to the line in what will go down as an all-time classic.
DON’T MISS OUT ON MISANO: Round 6 comes from the historic venue
It’s been a thrilling first five rounds of the season, and Round 6 comes from the stunning Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. Last year, it was Razgatlioglu territory… but so was Most, and Bulega fought with him all weekend. Can the #11 claim more victories on home soil in front of the Ducatisti or will Razgatlioglu rain on their parade on the Adriatic Coast?
Don’t miss out on the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round – get your tickets HERE!
