Toprak Razgatlioglu identifies cause of 2025 WorldSBK turnaround

After starting the 2025 WorldSBK season in difficulty with the BMW M1000 RR and struggling to match the pace of Nicolo Bulega, Toprak Razgatlioglu entered the summer break with a 26-point championship lead – a turnaround he put down to adjusting his “focus”.

Razgatlioglu came into this season as the reigning World Superbike Champion and with the same team and manufacturer as in 2024, but after the first three rounds he had scored only four wins, all but one in Portimao, and had been outpaced by Nicolo Bulega at Assen, the Italian getting unlucky with technical retirements.

Bulega then commanded the Cremona round, and was able to take a win off Razgatlioglu in Race 2 at Most where the Turkish rider had been dominant in the past.

But the reigning champion was back on top at Misano for round six, and he now hasn’t been beaten since – entering this weekend’s French Round at Magny-Cours on a nine-race win streak.

“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t have a good start,” Toprak Razgatlioglu told WorldSBK.com ahead of the Magny-Cours weekend.

“I felt some technical problems at Phillip Island.

“I almost crashed in the Superpole Race because I couldn’t feel the brakes, and it sent me wide. I was lucky that I didn’t crash there because there were riders close by.

“Later, in Race 2, we had another technical problem and retired from the race.”

Forgetting about 2024 was an important step that Razgatlioglu took in rediscovering his form from Misano.

“At the start of the season, I couldn’t help but feel like this was not my bike; I was always saying this,” he said.

“The 2024 season was incredible for me: the first year with BMW, winning the title, breaking many records, and the bike was working.

“When we started the 2025 season, however, the bike didn’t feel like it did last year.

“I was constantly thinking this, but I found that when I started to just focus on my job and forget about last year, I started to win races.”

Although he now carries the points lead, Razgatlioglu is not yet writing off Nicolo Bulega, and says he expects the championship battle to run to the final round in Jerez.

“The team is working very hard, we’ve come back from second place, and we lead the championship, but I’m not focusing on that,” Razgatlioglu said.

“Bulega has improved a lot this year; he knows his bike’s potential. He is riding calmer, his pace is very good, better than last year.

“He’s also understanding better which tyres are better for him.

“Every race weekend, he’s very strong.

“If we weren’t fighting with him, he would be riding alone.

“If we continue how we are, it looks like the championship will come down to Jerez.

“But this is motorsport; anything is possible, a technical problem, a crash, anything could happen to either of us.”