The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s indescribable, unstoppable, lightning-in-a-bottle three-time Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is set to ride off into the sunset and take on a new challenge in MotoGP in 2026. He could hardly have ended his career on a higher note, however, as he rode away from the final round of the season with his third WorldSBK title in tow as he set off towards his next opportunity in MotoGP.

TOUGH SLEDDING EARLY ON: “We didn’t do a good weekend there, and I was thinking immediately that winning the Championship was going to be very difficult”

Toprak Razgatlioglu ’s 2025 title defence campaign set off from dire straits. Hampered by an off-season injury to his right index finger, suffered after an enduro bike crash, he had even less time than he otherwise would have had to get to grips with his new 2026 BMW M1000 RR homologation after a rainy set of preseason testing days mitigated the progress that could be made. By the opening weekend of the season, the unfamiliarity of the #1 with his platform was clear to see. While he managed a P2 to open the season, he didn’t score in the Tissot Superpole Race and was forced to retire from Race 2 as his newly homologated bike struggled with rear grip. A return to Europe to his beloved ‘Rollercoaster Round’ at Portimao helped Razgatlioglu to focus on what he can control, and as he did so, his results improved.

On the early stages of his season, Razgatlioglu said: “In the winter, I always enjoy riding the enduro bike, but I crashed and broke my finger. I had an operation, which meant I missed some testing. They also changed the rules, and we weren’t able to do much testing on our new bike with the new chassis; we had to go right into Phillip Island and the first races. The bike didn’t work well there; there was less grip, it was turning poorly, it felt like a completely different bike. We didn’t have a good weekend there, and I was thinking immediately that winning the Championship was going to be very difficult. The bike felt like it had changed a lot, and I even said to myself, ‘This year we aren’t going to win the Championship. After we returned to Europe, especially after Assen, I was completely destroyed. In the Tissot Superpole Race in the wet conditions, it was perfect, but in dry conditions the bike wasn’t working again; it completely destroyed the tyres. After that, I just stopped thinking about the new rules and the new bike; I just focused on my job, and I started to see that the more I just focused on my job, the more I was finishing on the podium and winning races. Especially when I finished the signing with MotoGP, it helped me relax more. When I was riding, I started to enjoy it again, especially in Misano where I had a hat trick. That round was very important to me, Ducati is very strong there normally and all the bosses were coming there. I needed to beat Ducati there; I was thinking that if I could beat them there, it would break them a little bit. The plan worked, I won the races in Misano and then went on to win many races. “

RESPECT BETWEEN RIVALS: “This year we did many good races together, especially at Portimao and Aragon, which was very special, we were fighting with him”

Despite his early-season woes, Toprak would not have had much of an issue in the Championship once he found his stride had it not been for his primary rival of the last two seasons, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati). He struck in the midst of Toprak’s struggles to take a season-opening hat trick, before confounding him at Most to prevent a hat trick, and taking the last two races at Aragon to end his record-tying 13-race win streak. While Toprak frequented the top of the podium, the spectacle the pair put on, round after round, particularly in their Portimao photo finish and their overtake-laden dogfight at Aragon, set this season apart from other historic rivalries.

On his Championship rival, Razgatlioglu said: “I think Bulega is very strong, every race weekend. Last year, we weren’t fighting a lot with him; this year, we were fighting with him every weekend. He and Ducati are improving a lot. I respect him because last year, in his rookie season, he did an incredible job. This year, he was coming a lot harder. He started strong —yes, Assen was a tough weekend for him—  but after Assen, he was always at the front. This year we did many good races together, especially at Portimao and Aragon, which was very special, where we were fighting with him.“

ONE RACE TO DECIDE THE TITLE: “Over a 20-lap race, anything is possible, a technical problem, a crash, and everything would have been destroyed for me, that stressed me out a bit”

Arriving at the final round of the season at the Circuito de Jerez,#1 held a 39-point lead over Bulega, considerable, but by no means unassailable. The track is one of the #11’s strongest circuits, and Toprak’s lukewarm start to the weekend did little to calm the nerves. He was outpaced by Bulega by more than half a second in the Tissot Superpole, yet it was not yet time for serious concern, as with his points margin, Bulega could outpace ‘El Turco’ all weekend and still see the Turkish rider crowned. That exactly took place in Race 1, shrinking the #1’s lead to 34 points, only just preventing Razgatlioglu from clinching the title. The Superpole Race is where the weekend’s drama exploded. Entering Turn 5 of the opening lap, Bulega and Toprak made contact, and with so much lean angle, Toprak was sent sprawling. Bulega won the race, much to the chagrin of the Turkish fans in attendance, and Toprak took time to compose himself and refocus before the final Race 2. With wracked nerves, his BMW team set to work repairing the bike, but they had no track time to know if it had an issue before taking to the circuit for the decisive Race 2. With his margin cut to 22 points, he needed just to score three points, but nothing was guaranteed. After some sheepish early laps, Razgatlioglu settled in, finding his rhythm to make his way back up the grid to finish P3 for a podium close to his gilded Championship campaign.

On his Jerez weekend, Razgatlioglu said: “The Friday at Jerez was not a good start to the weekend. In the test, the bike felt perfect, but on race weekend, it felt completely different. I don’t know why. On Saturday we improved the bike; I had good pace and finished in at least second position. On Sunday, I came in a more relaxed state. When the Tissot Superpole Race started, on Turn 5, Bulega touched me and I crashed. I was really angry after the crash. I battled with him many times, but we never touched. This time, I was really surprised. Afterwards, I tried to relax, because Race 2 was very important to me. I needed to finish in the top ten to get the world title. That’s not easy sometimes, because over a 20-lap race, anything is possible: a technical problem, a crash, and everything could have been destroyed for me, which stressed me out a bit. After lights out, I was riding more calmly. If I felt someone pushing me, I planned not to fight them. After more laps, I began to see that the podium was possible.“

THIRD TIMES’ THE CHARM: “I had been dreaming of this moment all season. Doing the burnout there in front of everyone, with the perfect view, I really enjoyed it there”

Turning onto the final straight and seeing the checkered flag, Razgatlioglu and his team felt the weight of a season of title defence expectations dissipate, further encumbered by the revelation of his move to MotoGP, as he pulled into pit lane and etched a black rubber circle into the tarmac before embracing his friends, team and family, it hit him that he had accomplished something sensational. While this paddock will miss him as he will miss it, his name will forever be in the company of legends like Troy Bayliss, Carl Fogarty and Jonathan Rea, the only riders to have more than two World Championships.

On his emotions after winning the title, Toprak said: “After the race finished, the rest of the team and I relaxed, the job is done. We had an amazing season. I didn’t win this Championship alone, I never say I am World Champion, I always say we are World Champions. For me, it was the best celebration in the pit lane. I had been dreaming of this moment all season. Doing the burnout there, in front of everyone with the perfect view, I really enjoyed it. I always had one dream: to be Superbike World Champion. I have always said I hope to become a World Champion one day, but now that I have gotten a third, this is incredible. I would have accepted just one, but now I am a three-time World Champion, it’s amazing. I’m happy to have gotten the title, but I am a little bit sad to move to the MotoGP paddock. I feel like I was born in the WorldSBK paddock. I know everyone. I’m enjoying every race weekend. Whenever I’m around the paddock, I can talk with anyone. This is a really good feeling for me, and I’ll really miss that. Thank you very much to all of WorldSBK.”

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