The 2024 season of WorldSBK Superbike World Championship is coming to an end, but Jerez promises us a high-tension finale between Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicholas Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), even if the first is the big favourite, with a 46-point lead over the second…
But the Turkish pilot does not intend to play the grocer and, on the contrary, hopes to end in style.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team):
“In 2021 I had the same thing… P3 is enough for me, but I'm still looking for P1”
Toprak Razgatlioglu said ahead of a round where he hopes to be crowned champion for a second time: » I feel good because we are coming back to Jerez. Last year I lost the race in the last corner. It will be completely different this year on the BMW. My goal is to win the race. A margin of 46 points is a very big gap. If I finish the race in P2 or P3, I will win the championship. I know that, but my goal is always to win the race. In 2021 I had the same goal. P3 was enough for me too, but I am still looking for P1. I hope we get it because it is important for me. When I signed for BMW, everyone said I was crazy many times, but now everyone is starting to believe in BMW and in me. This is the last round and we almost got the title. I hope we will be world champions. It has been an incredible season for me to drive the BMW and nobody believed me. It's incredible for my career and also for BMW, which has never been world champion on two wheels."
Speaking about sharing his birthday with his title rival, Nicholas Bulega, and his former teammate Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha), Toprak Razgatlioglu said : "We didn't celebrate it together, and neither did Bulega... He was born in 1999, I was born in 1996, but Locatelli has the same birthday as me! Everything is the same, you just have to check the time. It's not just Bulega and Locatelli, there's also Casey Stoner and Charles Leclerc. It's just a birthday, we're getting old... I'm not happy!"
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
"Toprak is a champion, Alvaro is a double champion. To be among them for my first year is fantastic"
A title contender in the final round of his rookie season, Nicholas Bulega said he was very proud of his year 2024: » It’s incredible, I’m really happy because we come here after a good weekend in Estoril. I have a good feeling with my bike and Jerez is a circuit that I like a lot, one of my favourites, so I’ll try to do my best. It’s very difficult, but I think I have to try to fight for the victory, especially because I need extra motivation for next year. It’s a surprise for me to be here at the last round and to be able to say that I’m still fighting for the championship. I never thought about that when I signed this contract, nor when I won the first race. I’m very proud. It’s incredible. It’s my first year and I’m fighting with a lot of champions and guys who have been here for a long time. Toprak is world champion, Alvaro is double world champion. It’s fantastic to be in the middle of them for my first year.
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven):
“I wanted to stay in this paddock… the racing here is incredible!
Just after securing his future, Andrea Iannone said : » It's good news for me and for the team. It was my priority, I wanted to stay in this paddock. The races here are extraordinary. I think it's the best choice for me for next year and we will try to improve things compared to this year. Next year we will have more potential. My management has worked to improve the level a little bit. I think we have a little more support from Ducati. My goal for next year is to improve everything a little bit, we have everything to be stronger. I always want to improve, always be on the podium, but it's not easy. My dream is to fight for first place in every race or for the podium. It's not easy, the level is really high here. I'm confident. I really liked Race 2 in Estoril, it was incredible, completely crazy. I really enjoyed, for the first time this year, the sensations that such a bike gives me. It was for eighth place, but we fought for fifth."
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
"There is nothing I can do... if we can fight for victory, that will be good"
Before the home race, Alvaro Bautista spoke about the help he could give Bulega and his desire to win again: »I have very good memories here. I took my first 125cc victory here in 2006, and last year we won the WorldSBK title. In the past I went to the last round with a chance of the title, but I was in a different position. I was leading with a lot of points and it was easy to get the title. For Nicolo the situation is different. It is his first year in WorldSBK and he is second in the championship with a big difference in points. It does not all depend on him, but on Toprak's results. He can be proud because in his first year he managed to get to the last round with some chances. On Saturday, if nothing extraordinary happens, the difference will be too big and Toprak could be champion. Here I cannot help Bulega. In Estoril I could help not to take more points away from Nicolo. Here I cannot. In the same situation as in Estoril, I can attack Nicolo because, even if he is second, he has less chance of winning the title. I can't do anything. If we can fight for the victory, it will be good. Otherwise, I will be happy without it if I can do my best in all the races."
Iker Lecuona (Team HRC):
"We started from scratch... we finished the year with a good base, so we will start next year on that basis"
Back on the podium in Estoril, Iker Lecuona wishes to end the year 2024 in style: »I am really happy with this first podium of the season and second place in WorldSBK. After all the injuries, all the work at home and on the track, we are happy to have this result. I always said that this circuit was one of the worst for us, or one of the ones where I had the most trouble in the last two years. It seems that we are quite fast. I think since the summer we have done a good job on the bike; the pace has improved during the weekends. My strategy with my team leader, the feeling on the bike, everything has improved a lot. When we started this year, I had a lot of injuries, but we also did not have a clear base on the bike. We started from scratch. This year we finished the year with a good base, so we will start next year with this base which is quite good. »
Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha):
“The most difficult season of my entire career… I hope to take a good step forward in 2025”
A delicate season for Jonathan Rhea ends in Jerez, and the six-time champion said: "I'm looking forward to Jerez. Part of me is really excited about Jerez and trying to finish the season in a good way, and another part of me wants to completely forget about this disappointing and difficult season as a whole and refocus on season 25. It's good because we're coming off a good weekend in Estoril. From what I understand, the base setup we have now is very similar to the one we first used in November last year. With all the changes we've made, we're back to a good base setup. I feel like I was more optimistic coming here than I was coming to Estoril, but ultimately Estoril has been a positive. In all honesty, when I first rode the Yamaha, I loved the feeling it gave me. The grid wasn't full at the test, but I still felt pretty fast. I couldn't imagine that this season would be the toughest of my career. We know we're going through a tough time, but I really feel like better days are coming. I know Yamaha is working really hard behind the scenes to improve the bike in every aspect. I think there's reason to be optimistic and that we can be more competitive next year. It's just about putting all the pieces together, all the marginal gains. I'm going to work on myself, try to improve, because I don't feel like the team or the bike are exploiting my full potential at the moment."
Superbike Jerez
Superbike Jerez
Superbike Jerez
Superbike Jerez
Superbike Jerez
Superbike Jerez
