"We have to accept P2 and remember that we showed we are back in the game." – BMW and factory Ducati teams on their Race 2 duel at Most
Hear from the Ducati and BMW teams on the thrilling finish to Race 2 at Most
Sunday Afternoon’s Race 2 at Most’s Czech Round saw the latest chapter written in Toprak Razgatlioglu's (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega's MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rivalry. Before the encounter, Razgatlioglu had commanded the weekend, earning pole position on Friday, then topping Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race to set up a second Most hat trick in two years. Race 2 looked as though Toprak would make it so, the #1 overcoming a blazing jump off the line from Bulega at lights out to claim P1 in Lap 14. Razgatlioglu looked as though he would from there pull away, as by Lap 18, there was more than half a second between them. Just a lap later however, that margin was cut to just 0.279s, culminating in the #11 catching Toprak by the final corner, and shot around the defending champion on the home straight to steal the race win for himself.
FINDING ANOTHER GEAR: Both riders have taken a huge jump from last year. If you compare Most’s times to last year, the top two’s total race time was 27 seconds faster than in 2024”
The win was the first time a rider aside from Razgatlioglu had won at the Autodrom Most in two seasons, and importantly for the Championship points picture, he prevented the defending Champion from claiming his 11th win at the Czech venue. If anyone was going to accomplish that feat this season, it was bound the be Bulega, who has been on an amazing run so far in 2025. Not yet halfway into the season, Bulega has already superseded his six-race win benchmark from last season. Ducati Team Manager Serafino Foti has been very pleased with the development he has seen from his #11 rider; however, he was also full of praise for his rider’s Turkish rival.
On the weekend, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team Manager Serafino Foti said, “It was an amazing weekend, it was difficult because Nicolo had a really big crash, and we weren’t sure how he was going to be feeling for the race; but he never gave up. We improved the bike throughout the weekend, race by race, and the final corner was an amazing moment. Nicolo did a great job. Toprak was so strong in the first two sectors, but in the third and fourth, we were a bit stronger. The faster corners in the last sector are always strong for him. Both riders have taken a huge jump from last year. If you compare Most’s times to last year, the top two’s total race time was 27 seconds faster than in 2024.”
A TOUGH BREAK: “Race 2 was breathtaking for sure for everyone; not the ending we were hoping for but a small technical issue in the end prevented us from having a triple on the weekend”
While nonetheless a strong race, The P2 for Razgatlioglu was a tough pill to swallow as Bulega on his day is a very difficult rider to pull back points on, and as it stands currently, Toprak has to claw back 32 points on his Italian rival to overtake his Italian rival in the Riders’ Championship. While the Turkish rider has now more than half a season to catch ‘Bulegas’, the focus from Toprak and head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport Sven Blusch is clear to see.
On the weekend and looking ahead from there, Blusch said, “It was definitely an intense race weekend, and we had put a lot of effort into the prior test at Most. It was an important race weekend for us to show to show that we can keep up the pace and that we can win on our own. I think Toprak managed that perfectly and showed the potential of our bike. I’m proud of our whole team and our test team in that we managed to close that gap. Race 2 was breaktaking for sure for everyone; not the ending we were hoping for but a small technical issue in the end prevented us from having a triple on the weekend. In the end, that’s racing, that’s what the fans want to see, obviously it would have been good if the technical issue came 10 meters later, but we have to accept it and remember that the most important thing was that we showed that we were back in the game. We’re looking forward to next weekend, so let’s see what happens in Misano!”
How will the two manufacturers fare at Misano? Will Toprak score another hat-trick in Ducati’s back yard, or will Bulega expand his title lead? WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!
