Razgatlioglu claims first WorldSBK title for BMW

Tissot Superpole Highlights: Bulega smashes lap record to take pole

For the fourth time this season Nicolo Bulega headed the times in the Tissot Superpole session. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider smashed the WorldSBK lap record at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto with a time of 1’37.596. Bulega qualified on the front two rows of the grid in all 12 Superpole sessions, including nine front row starts, to win the Tissot Superpole Award for the 2024 campaign

Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) final stint was interrupted by a yellow flag but the Turkish rider still qualified second. It was the eighth time this season the BMW Motorrad star qualified on the front row

Race 1 Highlights: Bulega wins Race 1 but Toprak and BMW claim the spoils

History was made in the opening race of the weekend with Toprak Razgatlioglu clinching BMW’s first WorldSBK Championship. By finishing second Razgatlioglu has opened an unassailable lead of 41 points over Bulega. In the early stages of the race Razgatlioglu gave chase to Bulega at the front of the field but when the gap stretched to over one second at one third distance he made sure to settle for the points needed to seal the title.

Bulega led every lap and set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 2 in a perfect performance by the Ducati rookie

Having raced at the front at the Portuguese Round last weekend Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was once more in the thick of things throughout the race. Locatelli made a scorching start from sixth position and spent the race in third spot. He was under pressure throughout from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Iker Lecona (Team HRC) but withstood the attacks to finish on the podium for the fourth time this season

Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished sixth after a race long fight with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) that saw the duo run nose to tail from Lap 2 onwards

Championship Standings Highlights
The top three in the standings are now confirmed with Razgatlioglu ahead of Bulega and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Ducati were confirmed Manufacturers Champions. With two races remaining the Italian manufacturer holds a 40 point lead over BMW.
More on worldsbk.com

P1 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I’m really happy because we have taken another win. It was the maximum I could do today. Congratulations to Toprak and BMW for a fantastic season. They’ve been very strong in every race. I started this weekend very fast from the beginning, and I had a really good feeling from the first lap. I was able to push the way I wanted, and that was the key. The most important thing for me is when I can ride the bike the way I want. I’m able to ride with my natural riding style. That’s when I can be faster, and that’s what happened today. I hope tomorrow we can have another great race and finish the championship on a high note. Winning the last race of the season is important for the mentality going into next year.”

World Champion (P2) | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“It hasn’t been an easy season for me. When I signed with BMW, some people said that my career was over but now we are World Champion. Everyone now understands my potential on the bike and that the BMW is a winning bike. I’m really happy. I want to say thanks to my team who have worked so hard every weekend! We are World Champions!”

P3 | Andrea Locatelli | Pata Prometeon Yamaha
“We deserved this podium. We’re always close to making a podium. In the last part of the season, we’ve made a step forward and been fighting in the top five and now we’re back on the podium. We were close in Estoril, but we were unlucky. I was really struggling with the bike yesterday but today we did an amazing job, and the confidence was there since Superpole. We had an amazing Race 1. Let’s try to do even better tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:

Bulega wins Race 1 in Jerez de la Frontera but Razgatlioğlu, second, is mathematically WorldSBK Champion. In WorldSSP as well, victory for Manzi but the title goes to Huertas.

On Saturday of the Jerez de la Frontera weekend, Toprak Razgatlioğlu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team – Ducati) mathematically earned the World Champion titles for WorldSBK and WorldSSP respectively.

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba it Racing – Ducati) won WorldSBK Race 1 ahead of the Turkish BMW rider with different tyre choices for the rear: the former on standard SCX and the latter on the SCX development solution in D0820 specification. With this result, the gap in the overall standings was reduced to 41 points, but with only 37 left up for grabs in tomorrow’s race, Razgatlioğlu is already champion mathematically.

The situation is similar in WorldSSP as well, where today’s race was won by Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), but third-place finisher Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team – Ducati) clinched the WorldSSP Champion title. Both riders raced on SC1 tyres at the front and SCX at the rear.

Giorgio Barbier
Pirelli Motorcycle Racing Director

Congratulations to new World Champions Razgatlioğlu and Huertas

“The performance of the SCQ rear today in qualifying was brilliant. The rain that fell over the past few days washed the rubber off the asphalt, consequently reducing grip, so the six tenths of a second improvement made by Bulega compared with the previous all-time track record is a result we are proud of. Obviously, the news of the day is the world titles earned by Razgatlioğlu and Huertas, and we wish to congratulate them wholeheartedly. Toprak had an extraordinary season in which he showed his skill at exploiting each option we provided to the maximum, always being able to find the one that best suited him. He won just as often in the first part of the season using standard tyres as he was able to then squeeze the best out of the development solutions in the second part. Even when he made an unpopular choice, like using the SC0 for Race 1 in Estoril, he found a tyre that suited his style and which performed well for the win. He demonstrated a noteworthy ability to interpret the available solutions and, on our part, we confirmed our ability to consistently offer high performance solutions in the allocations. Congratulations to BMW as well for their first world title and to Adrian Huertas who is WorldSSP World Champion.”

WorldSBK

· The Jerez de la Frontera track offered conditions on Friday similar to those in Estoril one week ago, with difficulty finding sufficient grip on the asphalt for the riders. Therefore, work was focused on testing the different tyre options available and, for this reason, all the slick options available for this round were seen in action.

· The time of 1’37,596, thanks to which Nicolò Bulega (Aruba it Racing – Ducati) took pole position in qualifying, is also the new all-time track record, a full 6 and a half tenths faster than the previous record Jonathan Rea set in 2019. Along with the Ducati rider, four other riders were faster than the 2023 pole position time, done by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba it Racing – Ducati) in 1’38,635.

· First and second place finishers made different rear tyre choices for Race 1: winner Nicolò Bulega (Aruba it Racing – Ducati) opted for a standard SCX, whereas second-place finisher Toprak Razgatlioğlu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) preferred the SCX development tyre in D0820 specification, which 21 other riders also chose. At the front, almost everyone used the standard SC1, with only Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven – Ducati) going against the crowd to use the standard SC2.

⁠WorldSSP

· ⁠In qualifying, all the riders opted for the SC1 front and SCX rear, including pole man Adrian Huertas (Aruba it Racing WorldSSP Team – Ducati), Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura – Ducati) with the second-best time, and Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who was third-best.

· Race 1 was held with asphalt temps at 40°C and sunshine, conditions which left little doubt as to which tyres to choose. In fact, all the riders went with the SC1 front and SCX rear combination, both from the standard Pirelli range. Victory went to Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), ahead of Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team – Ducati) and Adrian Huertas (Aruba it Racing WorldSSP Team – Ducati).

· With just one race left to ride in 2024 and only 25 points still up for grabs, Huertas is mathematically World Champion thanks to the 36-point advantage he currently has over Manzi. This is his first WorldSSP title, which will join the 2021 WorldSSP 300 title he already has in his trophy case.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati:

Ducati secures historic 20th WorldSBK Manufacturers’ Title at Jerez

Ducati has once again made history in the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, claiming its landmark 20th Manufacturers’ Title. This impressive achievement, secured at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, Andalucía also marks the third consecutive title for Ducati since 2021, reinforcing the Italian brand’s status as a dominant force in the world of motorcycle racing.

In 2024, Ducati’s outstanding performance highlighted both its versatility and the wealth of talent across its riders, with five different riders contributing to 14 race wins and an astonishing 56 podiums ahead of the last day of the season. This collective effort has highlighted Ducati’s unrivaled performance throughout the year, with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) both playing pivotal roles in securing the title. While ultimately missing out on the riders’ title to BMW and Toprak Razgatlioglu, Bulega and Bautista proved to be the best challengers finishing 2nd and 3rd in the Championship standings, showcasing Ducati’s strength at the top level.

The 2024 season also saw standout performances from Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven), and replacement rider Nicolo Spinelli (Barni Spark Racing Team). Petrucci’s exceptional form earned him the coveted Best Independent Rider title, clinched during the Estoril Round, further contributing to Ducati’s historic campaign.

As Ducati celebrates its 20th Manufacturers’ Title, the Italian manufacturer continues to push the boundaries of performance and innovation in WorldSBK. With eyes set firmly on the future, Ducati remains committed to maintaining its winning legacy and looks forward to the challenges and triumphs that lie ahead in 2025.
Luigi Dall’Igna (General Manager of Ducati Corse)
“The victory of our 20th Superbike Manufacturers’ Title is certainly something exceptional. It comes in a challenging year, where the regulations and the ever-increasing level of the Championship put us to the test. However, we managed to respond in the best possible way, achieving another historic and important milestone. This year, the Panigale V4 R reached the top step of the podium with five different riders, the same riders who, with their results, helped to accumulate the points that once again allowed us to reach the top of the world. So, thanks to Nicolo Bulega, Alvaro Bautista and Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, to Danilo Petrucci, Nicholas Spinelli, and Barni Racing Team, to Andrea Iannone and Team Go Eleven, and more generally, to all the Ducati riders and their teams. Finally, as always, a heartfelt thanks to all the men and women of Ducati Corse who, with passion and enthusiasm, embraced and overcame the challenges of this season!”