The last round of World Superbike Championship brought a unique battle between the two biggest title contender’s of 2023, in Portimao: Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Such battle will remain for a lot of time in the memory of many and Serafino Foti confessed this one was… a test, to his heart.

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team Boss spoke of the battle of «his» rider and the turkish, and confessed this one put on some stress on him: ‘It was an amazing race, incredible! To be honest, my heart was at 1000bpm every corner! For the people in the stands, it was one of the best races of the year’.

He also took the opportunity to praise Razgatlioglu: ‘Toprak, this year, has been so strong. We have a lot of respect for him and to the Pata Yamaha team. Sometimes we lost in some areas on the track, sometimes they lost in other areas. The combination between rider, team and bike is so important’.

Foti then came to say in what areas each rider had more than the other: ‘The positive point of Alvaro was the final corner especially. We checked the data and compared to other riders; he was unbelievably fast. The strong point of Toprak is braking. Some parts of the track, Toprak is favourite and others Alvaro is. The combination is the same because they finished so close!’.

Recall the big battle here:

O conteúdo Bautista vs Razgatlioglu in Portimao «tested» Serafino’s Foti heart: ‘My heart was at 1000bpm every corner!’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) has seen its fair share of team and rider changes, but one of the most anticipated moves has been confirmed: Toprak Razgatlioglu’s switch to the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for 2024. Alongside this significant move, another key question has been answered: Will Phil Marron, Razgatlioglu’s current Crew Chief, follow him to BMW?

The answer is a resounding yes. Phil Marron, who has been a pivotal figure in Razgatlioglu’s career, announced on social media that he would be accompanying the #54 rider from Yamaha to the factory BMW squad next year.

Marron and Razgatlioglu’s professional relationship dates back to 2019 when they collaborated at Kawasaki Puccetti Racing. Marron, with prior experience working with riders like Eugene Laverty, quickly formed a strong bond with Razgatlioglu. Their partnership continued to flourish when they transitioned to the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team in 2020, clinching their first victory with Yamaha at Phillip Island.

The duo’s time at Yamaha has been marked by significant achievements, most notably in 2021 when Razgatlioglu managed to outpace Jonathan Rea from the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, ending Rea’s championship streak. Despite securing 60 podium finishes in 69 races during 2022 and 2023, Razgatlioglu had to relinquish his title last year. Currently, he remains in contention for the 2023 championship against Alvaro Bautista from Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, but Bautista holds a 60-point lead as they approach the season’s final round.

Razgatlioglu’s decision to join BMW was publicized in May, but Marron’s future remained uncertain until now. Pata Yamaha Team Principal, Paul Denning, had previously mentioned that Marron’s contract with Yamaha would conclude this year, leaving him free to decide his next steps. The recent exchange on social media, where Marron confirmed, “Yes I’m following Toprak,” has put all speculations to rest.

O conteúdo Phil Marron joins Toprak at the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for 2024 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

In great shape and about to secure his second title in Superbike World Championship, Alvaro Bautista is standing out as the strongest rider of the called ‘Titanic Trio’ but during his life at the motorcycling competition he also had other fierce rivalries with very know names of the sport.

After the big battle with Toprak Razgatlioglu in Portimao during the past weekend of the WSBK, the current world champion was asked were the turkish stacks up in terms of his career rivals. In his response, the Ducati rider said: ‘I have had many, many riders. Marco Simoncelli, Valentino Rossi… maybe they weren’t all direct for the title but also with Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez’.

With his mind setting him to speak about his MotoGP time more than ever, he then highlighted the situation is different… just like the bikes are: ‘These bikes are different to MotoGP. It’s not easy to fight with him as he’s very aggressive and he can move the bike easily and make manoeuvres very on the limit whilst having a lot of control. Toprak is one of the toughest rivals I have fought with’.

O conteúdo Alvaro Bautista puts Toprak Razgatlioglu higher on his rivals list: ‘He is one of the toughest I have fought with, and there is Rossi, Márquez,…’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, after a series of intense races, has expressed his belief that the BMW has a speed advantage over the Yamaha in straight lines. This perspective has led him to think that he might stand a better chance against the Bautista-Ducati combination in 2024 if he’s on a BMW.

The frustration was evident for Razgatlioglu after losing to Alvaro Bautista at Portimao. In both the Superpole Race and Race 2, he was overtaken in the final corner, first being pushed inside and then outside. His anger towards these overtakes led him to vent his frustration on his Yamaha R1, blaming it for the lack of acceleration and power to counter the Ducati.

Razgatlioglu has committed to BMW’s WSBK project for the 2024-2025 period. Reflecting on the M 1000 RR after the Portugal round, he stated, “Everyone knows that the Ducati is the best bike, and I ride a Yamaha. It seems the BMW is faster in a straight line, so maybe I have a better chance. If I adapt quickly, I believe I’ll have a better shot at winning here and on other tracks.”

Razgatlioglu further emphasized, “Everyone knows that the Ducati is the best bike, and I ride a Yamaha.” The 2021 Superbike champion is convinced that he can better counter the Bautista-Ducati combination with the BMW, especially in straight lines. However, straight-line speed alone won’t be enough, as Bautista’s cornering skills, aided by his unique riding style, are also formidable. For Toprak, the challenge will be to adapt his braking style to the M 1000 RR, similar to what he’s achieved with the Yamaha R1 over the years. Garrett Gerloff has already cautioned that this won’t be an easy task.

BMW is determined to provide Razgatlioglu with the best possible conditions. The company has invested heavily in him and their Superbike project. Their goal is to clinch the championship title, a feat they haven’t achieved since joining the competition. The closest they came was with Marco Melandri in 2012.

Razgatlioglu has received assurances from BMW, which has already initiated internal changes and plans more for the future. It remains to be seen if these efforts will be enough to overcome Bautista and Ducati in 2024.

O conteúdo “The BMW is Faster than the Yamaha” – Toprak Razgatlioglu aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Last weekend in Portugal, on sunday, Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu starred one of the greatest battles of the World Superbike Championship so far and it was so close that even made the spaniard to think that he might crash if the turkish rider did too. A crazy duel that ended up with the Ducati rider to win right at the end.

The #1 spoke of the fierce battle he had with his Yamaha rival: ‘Basically, Toprak had nothing to lose and he tried everything. Sometimes when I was behind, I tried for a couple of laps to not stay so close to him to cool down the front tyre. When you are too close, especially in the flowing section, the temperature comes up and you lose a bit of performance, so I wanted some space. I tried to close the doors a lot but he always put the bike inside! It’s normal, I expected this from him. It was great because we saw a Toprak without anything more than that’.

It was such a close race and with both so close to each other than many times, he added: ‘He did his best in every moment and many times, I thought: «Shit, if he crashes, I’ll go down with him». He entered on the limit and almost every time, I had to pick the bike up otherwise we’d touch. I enjoyed it; I didn’t just stay in second until the end or try and get points for the title. I wanted to fight with him and beat him. It was like a normal race, not a race that can decide a lot of things’.

Bautista also tried to predict the #54’s moves to take the lead and ultimately win: ‘In Spain, we say: «The devil knows more for being old than for being the devil». I expected this move from Toprak, he knew I’d try on the last corner on the inside and already, in the morning, I was on the outside but he was using all the kerbs and I changed the line! In Race 2, I kept the outside because I thought maybe he’ll close the corner. Instead, I saw him not open more the gas more to stay inside, so then I said: «He’ll close the corner». So, I went full throttle with the bike spinning a lot and I can carry more speed exiting on the outside’.

O conteúdo Alvaro Bautista had a stunning duel with Toprak Razgatlioglu that even came to scare him: ‘He had nothing to lose; If he crashed I would too’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

This weekend’s Superbike Race 2 on Portimao had one of the most exciting battles so far in the championship with Alvaro Bautista taking the best out of Toprak Razgatlioglu right at the end. Both riders fought every lap for the lead, in a stunning duel that made the Ducati rider super happy.

Now just two points away from securing the title, Bautista spoke of how he wasn’t expecting to be so successful in Portimao, while not forgetting to address the battle he had with his Yamaha rival Razgatlioglu: ‘A really exciting weekend. I certainly didn’t expect to score a hat-trick and what makes me particularly proud is that I won fighting every corner with Toprak, who I congratulate because he was a really tough but always fair opponent. I have to admit that I enjoyed it very much: he never allowed me to match my pace, attacking me on every lap. I stayed focused, trying not to make mistakes’.

As he didn’t managed to finish race 2 with a seven point advantage over the turkish, the title decision was then set to be decided in Jerez, from 27 to 29 of october:

–The championship? I’ll tell you the truth: it’s only fair that the title is awarded at Jerez and I hope many fans come for the round.

O conteúdo ‘It makes me proud fighting with Toprak Razgatlioglu in every corner, he is tough but a fair opponent, I enjoyed the battle’ – Alvaro Bautista aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

In the aftermath of the recent race, Toprak Razgatlioglu voiced his frustrations and observations about the performance disparities between his Yamaha and the Ducatis. Despite his evident disappointment after finishing Race 2, Razgatlioglu should take solace in the fact that he still has opportunities to clinch the championship title in Jerez.

The Yamaha rider had a face-off with Ducati’s Álvaro Bautista throughout the Sunday race. He remarked, “I was faster in the corners, but also on the exit because his acceleration was incredible. When I had him in front during the early laps, I noticed his bike accelerates even when skidding after a turn, whereas mine doesn’t if it skids even slightly.”

Comparing the power between the two bikes, Razgatlioglu stated, “I believe it depends on the power, but also on the skidding. Álvaro doesn’t throttle before me. He goes wide in full power, skids, but his bike remains fast. During the Superpole, it was about the track line because he had more grip than me.”

Razgatlioglu was filled with adrenaline during the race, pushing himself to the limit, especially in the last four laps. He said, “I felt I was at 200%, especially in the last four laps. I was there with Álvaro and kept pushing hard because I told myself my place was first, not second. I focused on winning the race and tried to overtake him again.”

Discussing his strategy, he shared, “My plan was to immediately attack him if Álvaro didn’t go wide in the last two laps. But he went wide in turn 5, and I overtook him. However, I went slightly wide in turn 7, and he overtook me again in the last turn.”

It’s evident that Ducati’s performance is unparalleled. Razgatlioglu candidly stated, “Everyone knows Ducati has the best bike. I ride a Yamaha, and we’re battling against the best bike… It’s better I don’t speak. It seems BMW is faster on the straights, so we should have more chances to win here and at other circuits if I could adapt to the bike immediately.”

O conteúdo Toprak Razgatlioglu on Yamaha vs. Ducati: “Better I Don’t Speak” aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

What a battle between Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu in Portimao in race 2! Lap after lap the rivals exchanged the lead, but in the end the championship leader was stronger and beat his opponent on the finishing straight, as happened so many times today. The spaniard now has one hand on the title, but the decisions are postponed until the Jerez round.

First matchpoint for Bautista in the World Superbike Championship, with the spaniard “only” needing to finish the race seven points ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu to become champion with one round still to go.

Razgatlioglu got the best start and took first place in the race straight away, ahead of Bautista and Andrea Locatelli, when Xavi Vierge crashed. Jonathan Rea and Scott Redding were also involved in the incident.

Hafizh Syahrin was still the first to drop out of the race, as Vierge remained on track despite falling behind the competition.

On the second lap Michael Rinaldi wanted to leave a good image in Portugal and climbed to third place, behind his teammate and the #54.

The battle between Razgatlioglu and Bautista was lively, with the spaniard overtaking his opponent but the latter soon returning the move and inheriting the lead. Less than two tenths separated the riders. Rinaldi was 1.6s behind.

Bautista briefly retook the lead when he hit the Yamaha rider on the straight, but at the next corner he was back at the front of the race.

With four laps completed only 0.091s divided the #1 from the #54, so it was no wonder that Bautista was back at the front of the race on the following lap.

In the space of two laps the Ducati spaniard gained 0.507s on Razgatlioglu while Rinaldi was 1.997s behind. At this point Bautista had 60 points more than Razgatlioglu in the live championship accounts.

The turk didn’t give up and not only recovered the gap to the spaniard, but overtook him shortly afterwards. It was all over for now.

With ten laps completed, that was the top ten in Portimao:

Remy Gardner dropped out of the race, as did Loris Baz a few laps ago. Razgatlioglu was once again in the lead, proving that this race was going to be hard fought… but Bautista showed the power of the Panigale V4R on the straights and was able to move into the lead afterwards.

It was constant: on every lap the two rivals swapped positions. Rea, recovering, was already 12th with six laps to go. It was Rinaldi who benefited from this, now 1.3s behind when he had been twice that.

At the start of the 16th lap, the leader in Portimao was Bautista, who invariably moved to the front on the finishing straight.

With two laps to go, the duel continued. Rinaldi remained in third with 1.6s, Garrett Gerloff was fourth and Locatelli fifth.

O conteúdo Bautista wins epic battle with Razgatlioglu and puts a hand (and a half) on the Superbike title aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The Superbike World Championship is in Portugal this weekend for another round on the 2023 calendar. And after a very lively Friday, with some surprises, the Superopole was no different.

Jonathan Rea showed a very strong pace, reaching the 1st place of the grid, with a lap that put him only 0.010s from the record of the Algarve circuit in a Superbike, a record that belongs exactly to the six-time world champion. At his side was his team-mate Sam Lowes, who managed to take second place in qualifying, the day after learning who his new team-mate will be in 2024.

Opening the second row was Andrea Locatelli, who despite the 3rd position will be forced from the last place of the grid, after a penalty applied, for not having removed his Yamaha from the track in Aragon, when it began to lose fluids and were shown the respective warnings. Behind him, in 4th place, Toprak Razgatlioglou managed to surpass Alvaro Bautista who went no further than a 5th place.

In sixth, and best Honda, was Iker Lecuona, who saw his teammate qualify only 14th. Garrett Gerloff, who even closed FP1 in first place and FP2 in second, did not go beyond 12th position in Superpole.

With the Kawasaki showing excellent pace and Razgatlioglu in urgent need of points to prevent Bautista from reclaiming the title, the first race of the weekend in the biggest category of the SBK world championship promises to be quite lively and could offer surprises up front, although a three-way fight with Rea is expected once again.  Bautista and Toprak fighting for the top spot on the podium.

O conteúdo Rea and Lowes dominate, Yamaha lurking and Bautista just 5th aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is heating up as the season nears its conclusion. The Pirelli Portuguese Round at Portimao has already shown signs of being a spectacular event. On the first day, Alvaro Bautista of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati took the top spot, setting a strong pace that left many trailing.

Factory Ducatis had a commendable performance with both Bautista and his teammate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, showing their prowess. Bautista led for most of the FP1 session and continued his dominance in the afternoon, setting a time of 1’40.476. Rinaldi, on the other hand, secured the third spot by the end of the day.

Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, a 13-time winner at Portimao, managed to secure the fourth position. His teammate, Alex Lowes, who had missed the Aragon round, finished the day in 14th place.

Garrett Gerloff of Bonovo Action BMW was the star of the day. After topping the FP1 session, he finished the day in second place on the combined times. His performance has undoubtedly put BMW in the spotlight, with Michael van der Mark of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team finishing in sixth.

However, the day wasn’t as fruitful for Toprak Razgatlioglu of Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK. Despite his past successes at Portimao, he finished in the eighth position. His teammate, Andrea Locatelli, was just ahead in seventh.

Team HRC had a challenging day with Iker Lecuona finishing in 11th and Xavi Vierge in 17th. The day was filled with intense moments, including an incident between Lorenzo Baldassarri of GMT94 Yamaha and Gerloff.

The top six after WorldSBK’s Friday at Portimao are:

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’40.476s
2. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +0.287s
3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.351s
4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.542s
5. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.546s
6. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.771s

O conteúdo Bautista Dominates, Gerloff Shines, and Toprak Struggles on Day 1 at Portimao aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.