The final race of The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship took to the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on Sunday afternoon for Race 2, and it was newly crowned Champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who sealed his remarkable season with a victory. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was aiming for a triple win but was denied it by the #54, as Dutchman Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed the final spot on the Spanish podium.
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The second race of the day got underway under clear blue skies at Jerez, and it was Bulega who had the hole shot off the line, closely followed by Razgatlioglu and Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in third. Eager to achieve his first win of the Spanish weekend, the #54 Turkish rider overtook Bulega on lap three into Turn 1, whilst the battle for third spot saw three riders abreast as they battled for a podium result. Van der Mark came out on top as Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) hunted him down.
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Andrea Locatelli rode a strong opening race, catching the podium group, however a block pass from Lowes whilst they battled for fourth saw the Italian run out wide onto the track, losing positions, and ending up in sixth on lap four of the race. 2023 World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ran wide when fighting within the top six, falling to tenth. He managed to recover as a few laps passed, however then crashed out of contention on lap 10. A near crash for Iannone also at the halfway point saw him demoted to sixth as he clipped the rear tyre of van der Mark whilst attempting to take third position, but both remained upright.
BULEGA V TOPRAK: Rivals close in on final laps
Back at the front and with seven laps of race distance remaining, Bulega found some late race pace and closed the gap on Razgatlioglu, but the #54 proved too strong, with the #11 Ducati rider unable to find a way of getting through to take first position. Iannone managed to recover from his earlier mistake, overtaking into fourth position ahead of Lowes, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and BMW’s Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW).
RED FLAG: Toprak achieves BMW’S first Jerez victory
The 20-lap race was to be unexpectedly cut short with four laps remaining as Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) suffered a technical issue when his bike poured smoke and potential fluid on the track, with the race red-flagged and declared as a full result as more than two-thirds distance had been completed. As a result Razgatlioglu took the win, with Bulega in second and #54’s teammate, van der Mark completing the rostrum. Andrea Iannone led Lowes and Petrucci across the chequered flag to complete the top six, whilst Gerloff and Locatelli claimed seventh and eighth. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and Italian Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) completed the top ten for Race 2. Razgatlioglu claims his 57th career win after he was crowned the 2024 title winner on Saturday, and adds to the BMW weekend celebrations as he achieved their first win in Jerez.
The top six from WorldSBK Race 2:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.545s
3. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +10.938s
4. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +12.399s
5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +13.522s
6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +13.948s
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, BMW – 1’39.246s
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