DEFINING STORIES, ROUND 12 – Razgatlioglu seals third WorldSBK title with podium finish
Despite having to start from the fourth row, ‘El Turco’ methodically moved his way up the order to claim his second consecutive title
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in 2025 went to a final-race decider between Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) after the drama of the Tissot Superpole Race. That left ‘El Turco’ starting from the fourth row but he climbed through the order as he wrapped up the title in the first final-race showdown in more than a decade.
FROM P10 TO P3: Razgatlioglu’s path to the title
The Turkish rider needed just three points to secure the Championship ahead of Bulega, who needed to win and hope ‘El Turco’ scored just a couple of points. The Ducati rider faced early pressure from teammate Alvaro Bautista but soon found himself in P1 as he ended the season with a hat-trick. Behind, all eyes were on Razgatlioglu to see if he remained in the points-scoring places. It was slower progress than you’d perhaps expect from the #1, who was P8 on Lap 1, P6 on Lap 2, P5 on Lap 4, P4 on Lap 6 and P3 on Lap 9; where he remained until he crossed the line and secured the title.
HISTORY MAKER: Razgatlioglu bows out with more records
Race 2 at Jerez was Razgatlioglu’s last in WorldSBK as he prepared for the move to MotoGP, and he made sure he walked away in style. He became only the fourth rider – after Carl Fogarty, Troy Bayliss and Jonathan Rea – to take three or more WorldSBK titles. He finished as the rider with the second-most wins (78), podiums (173) and fastest laps (66) – all behind Rea’s 119, 264 and 104 respectively. His 21 wins in 2025 meant he scored the second-highest number of wins in a single campaign, only behind Bautista’s 27 in 2023, while he set the record for most consecutive wins with 13 in both 2024 and 2025.
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