One of the best races of the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign took place at MotorLand Aragon, as Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) duelled it out. Banging bars and trading paint, the top two in the Championship were fighting tooth and nail for victory, with the reigning Champion eventually claiming victory by less than half-a-tenth at the Tissot Aragon Round.

THE FIGHT: constantly exchanging positions

The opening lap of Race 1 set the tone for the following 17, with the pair exchanging positions throughout the race. Razgatlioglu got the run into Turn 1 on Lap 1 before Bulega responded and, from there, Turn 1 and Turn 16 were the usual overtaking opportunities, although Turns 7, 9 and 15 were used throughout the race. The pair were separated by just 0.030s across the line as Razgatlioglu made it 13 consecutive victories, while also claiming his first at Aragon.

TOPRAK’S VIEW: “I’m very happy because finally I’ve won at Aragon!”

Discussing his victory, Razgatlioglu said: “I’m very happy because finally I’ve won at Aragon. It was a difficult race for me. We fought a lot in the beginning. I was just focused on winning but this was difficult for me because Bulega was very strong in the final corner. On the back straight and the final corner, the Ducati is the best. I was pushing so hard in the first three sectors to make a gap. In the last 7 or 8 laps, I understood he was riding on the limit. I’m pushing hard every lap, in every corner. I’m trying to stay calm. In the last races, I was riding alone. This weekend wasn’t like this. Everyone watched a nice race! Nicolo was very strong here. I didn’t have a strategy, I just focused on riding in front of him and my pace. My pace wasn’t very strong today. Conditions were a bit hotter than yesterday. I tried to not make mistakes and finally I won. It was close but I wasn’t focused on that, just winning the race!”

BULEGA SAYS: “I had fun… it’s still P2, so I’m not completely happy!”

Giving his view of the fight, Bulega said: “It was a good race, I had fun. It’s still P2 so I’m not completely happy. We have to work because, in some parts of the track, I lose some time to Toprak and BMW. We’ll try to find a solution on the exit of the corners because, in the first metres, I lose a little bit. I tried everything! I did the fastest lap of the race on the last lap, tried to catch and beat him on the last lap but it was not enough. I was so close. In the last metres, I was starting to believe that the victory was possible, so I was a bit angry after the chequered flag.”

STATE OF PLAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP: another five-point gain for ‘El Turco’…

Razgatlioglu led Bulega by 39 points heading into the Aragon Round and, after Race 1, that gap has extended to 44 points. It puts the #1 in a position where he doesn’t need to win any of the remaining eight races to claim this year’s title, although his mindset won’t be like this. For Bulega, he’ll need someone to get in between him and Razgatlioglu if he’s to pull off an incredible comeback in the title fight.

Will they repeat their Race 1 fight on Sunday? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now only €9.99!