DEFINING STORIES, ROUND 11 – "Some riders didn’t respect the Championship fight"
Razgatlioglu had his first match point at Estoril but Race 2 didn’t pan out as he expected, leading to a furious reigning Champion…
The Circuito Estoril played host to the penultimate round of the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and it was full of drama. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) headed to Portugal as the Championship leader but Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) had closed the gap and the action ignited under the autumnal Portuguese sun…
A DOUBLE FOR RAZGATLIOGLU: Race 1 and Superpole Race victories for the #1
Razgatlioglu stopped Bulega’s momentum growing even more as he claimed victory in both Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race, but one key part of the race meant ‘El Turco’ had to fight hard for those wins. At the start, he dropped down the order, being forced to fight on track with his rivals before going on to claim victory; and it would be the Race 2 start that would put Razgatlioglu in a vulnerable situation…
ELBOWS OUT: Bulega victorious as Razgatlioglu battles
In Race 2, Bulega quickly moved to the head of the field as he claimed victory, while Razgatlioglu had to battle his way through his rivals again. This time, though, it was trickier in the race where he had his first match point. The main talking point came when fighting Andrea Iannone, who battled hard with the reigning Champion, although was facing a penalty for a jump start; something that irked Razgatlioglu.
THE FALLOUT: Both sides give their story…
Speaking to the media after the race, Razgatlioglu said: “Some riders didn’t respect the Championship fight at the beginning. Congratulations to Iannone. He got a penalty and did a good job. I was surprised as I passed him, he tried to pass me again but if you get a penalty, why are you trying to fight with me? I understand that maybe it’s because he’s riding a Ducati.”
For his part, Iannone responded a week later at Jerez: “I started before him and I always rode in the other Championship (MotoGP), and I’d never find it possible to talk to another mate like this because it’s without respect. He has an idea but it’s a completely stupid idea.”
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