The MOTUL World Championship FIM Superbike finds himself at the Estoril Circuit for the EICMA Estoril Round, and with him come the statements from Thursday's debriefings.
This weekend, the penultimate bike from the series, could well be the one for consecration, with the title at stake between Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with the two riders separated by only 36 points.
There are potentially 124 left to register, and there is no room for error in this final phase...
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu has an impressive record at Estoril: he has always qualified on the front row and has always finished on the podium, 12 times. He won the first two races since pole in 2020 and last year's two long races before Nicholas Bulega, for a total of 4 victories (last year he finished 2nd behind Bulega during the Superpole Race), establishing a record with Jonathan Rea. He also signed the pole here in 2020 and last year, still sharing this circuit record with Rea.
Before the action begins on the track, here are the main statements from this first day at Estoril.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) : “I’m very happy because we’re finally back in Estoril! We’re normally strong here, I really like this circuit and it looks like the weather will be nice too. We’re 100% ready to fight again this weekend, and we’ll see who wins.”
I remember that in the Tissot Superpole race, Nicolo had better acceleration than me with his SCQ tire, but I didn't expect his grip to remain so strong in the last two laps. In the long races, I was alone. I'll never forget that race because it was so close: we finished very close, a real photo finish.
We'll see again this weekend. He'll be riding at over 100%, and I think it'll be a very exciting race for everyone. In motorsport, anything can happen. Everyone is focused on Nicolo, but it's the same for me: if I make a mistake or have a technical problem, I'll be in trouble too. I'm not thinking about that, I don't think he'll have a problem or a crash, I'm focusing on our duel. He's a fast rider, and we'll both try to do our best. I hope we have a good fight and a good race. I'm not waiting for him to make a mistake: if he finishes second every race, we'll have to wait for Jerez. But I'm focusing on winning. I need to win again. I couldn't do the hat-trick here last year, so I want to try for it this time."
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
“We arrive here after Aragon, where the weekend was good for us. We are very motivated to stay at the front in Estoril. Honestly, last year was good, but not exceptional: I finished second twice and won the Superpole race. It was my first year, I was still learning a lot. Now I feel more ready, more comfortable, so I will try to be faster than last year.”
I remember Toprak had a very strong pace. I was only faster than him in the last two corners, and I kept telling myself that I had to stay with him and beat him in the last corner, because that was my only strong point. This victory gave me confidence for the future; it was very important for me."
Third in the general classification, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) can no longer fight for the title, but he still has to defend his place on the final podium, despite having been injured in training...
Explaining his hand injury and discussing his future BMW teammate for 2026, Miguel Oliveira, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) said: "Apart from my hand, I'm in good physical shape. Last Friday, I was working out in the gym with elastic bands. One of them broke, and I was near a metal wall: I hit my hand against it. It wasn't a big shock, but I have three screws, and a small fracture of the fourth metacarpal. I'm sorry, because riders often get injured in motocross or elsewhere, and I injured myself in the gym doing shoulder exercises!
It's not what I needed, but I can't afford to lose this 30-point lead over Locatelli. There are six races left, so 30 points isn't much. These two rounds will be very important. We want to finish third in the Championship and best independent team, like last year. I hope to achieve both of these goals and conclude my adventure with Barni with these kinds of results.
I haven't spoken with Oliveira yet, but we were with the same manufacturer in 2021 at KTM. I had the opportunity to get to know him, he's a great guy, I'm happy to have him with us. When he's fit, he can beat all the other riders. I can't wait to start working and riding with him."
Estoril Superbike Estoril Superbike
