Eight rounds completed. Two riders fighting for the title. 2025 in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has been unmissable as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) duel it out for this year’s crown. It’s been ebbing and flowing between the pair but heading into the summer break, it looks like the momentum is with the reigning Champion…

ROUND 1 – PHILLIP ISLAND GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT

Winners: Bulega (Race 1, Superpole Race, Race 2)

Championship top three: Bulega (62 points), Bautista (36, -26), Iannone (35, -27)

The season kicked off with a bang in Australia as Bulega added a hat-trick to his record after a debut win there in 2024. It was a tough round for Razgatlioglu, though, whose second place in Race 1 was followed up with two non-scores on Sunday. He finished 13^th in the Tissot Superpole Race after running wide at Turn 4 on the opening lap while he retired in Race 2 with a technical issue on his bike. Advantage Bulega after Round 1…

ROUND 2 – Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

Winners: Razgatlioglu (Race 1, Superpole Race, Race 2)

Championship top three: Bulega (111 points), Razgatlioglu (82, -29), Petrucci (60, -51)

What better way to respond to your rival’s hat-trick than with one of your own? That’s exactly what ‘El Turco’ did when WorldSBK headed to Europe, although Bulega didn’t make it easy for him; following him closely through all three races with Razgatlioglu just holding on despite Bulega’s challenges.

ROUND 3 – TT Circuit Assen

Winners: Bulega (Race 1), Razgatlioglu (Superpole Race), Locatelli (Race 2)

Championship standings: Bulega (136), Razgatlioglu (115, -21), Locatelli (107, -29)

Assen followed Portimao and there was even more drama. Bulega had the advantage over Razgatlioglu all weekend but two technical issues resulted in ‘Bulegas’ not scoring points on Sunday after winning Race 1. In the Superpole Race, Razgatlioglu won his first race in the rain, but he struggled in Race 2 and could only manage P8. Somehow, he outscored Bulega during the weekend…

ROUND 4 – Cremona Circuit

Winners: Bulega (Race 1, Superpole Race, Race 2)

Championship standings: Bulega (198), Razgatlioglu (164, -34), Bautista (125, -73)

Home soil was Bulega’s turn to bounce back from disappointment, and he did with a hat-trick at a circuit he didn’t expect to be so quick at. Razgatlioglu followed him home in all three races as the #11 stopped the momentum Razgatlioglu had been building over the previous few rounds.

ROUND 5 – Autodrom Most

Winners: Razgatlioglu (Race 1, Superpole Race), Bulega (Race 2)

Championship standings: Bulega (252), Razgatlioglu (221, -31), Petrucci (146, -106)

The Autodrom Most has been a modern classic ever since its 2021 debut and this year was no exception. Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race were won by Razgatlioglu as he looked to make it back-to-back hat-tricks in Czechia, but Race 2 went down as an all-time classic after the pair battled all the way to the line. It looked like Razgatlioglu had it under control heading into the final lap but ‘Bulegas’ clawed back the gap into the final sector, the pair almost hitting at Turn 20 before Bulega got a better exit out of Turn 21 to win a race to the line. An absolutely epic showdown between this year’s top two.

ROUND 6 – Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”

Winners: Razgatlioglu (Race 1, Superpole Race, Race 2)

Championship standings: Bulega (292), Razgatlioglu (283, -9), Petrucci (179, -113)

It had been a while without a true twist impacting one or both of the title contenders, but the second visit to Italy provided that – first in Tissot Superpole, and then the Superpole Race. Bulega set the fastest time in Superpole but was penalised three places for slow riding, meaning he started Race 1 from P4. Razgatlioglu won the race, Bulega was second. For the Superpole Race, ‘Bulegas’ started from P1 but his race was over as soon as it started after he was wiped out by Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) at Turn 1, handing Razgatlioglu 12 points over his rival. That meant Bulega started from P10 in Race 2 and, while he could battle to P2 at the flag, he couldn’t stop a Misano treble for Razgatlioglu.

ROUND 7 – Donington Park

Winners: Razgatlioglu (Race 1, Superpole Race, Race 2)

Championship standings: Razgatlioglu (345), Bulega (341, -4), Petrucci (209, -136).

With nine points separating Razgatlioglu and Bulega heading into Donington, it was the Turkish star’s chance to take the Championship lead for the first time this season – and he duly did so, winning all three races ahead of Bulega and giving himself a four-point lead over the #11 after a 13-point swing. It was still too close to call…

ROUND 8 – Balaton Park Circuit

Winners: Razgatlioglu (Race 1, Superpole Race, Race 2)

Championship standings: Razgatlioglu (407), Bulega (381, -26), Petrucci (233, -174)

In just three rounds, Razgatlioglu had clawed a 31-point deficit into a 26-point lead. A hat-trick at the new Balaton Park Circuit, including a victory in WorldSBK’s 1000^th race, meant he was on course to gain 13 points over Bulega as a minimum. However, in the Tissot Superpole Race, the Ducati rider made a wrong call on tyres, opting for intermediates rather than slicks, and finished in 13^th place. Suddenly, it became a 22-point swing and ‘El Turco’ had more than a feature length race win’s worth of points in hand.

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