MotoGP WSBK
Published on March 29, 2025 at 17:40 PM by Corsedimoto

WSBK Superbike Portimao Race 1: Toprak Razgatlioglu and Nicolo Bulega put on a show, but the victory goes to a Turk!

Superbike riders Toprak Razgatlioglu and Nicolo Bulega gave us a magnificent show during the first race in Portimao.

Incredible confrontation between the world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu and its challenger from Ducati, Nicholas Bulega. Verdict almost at the photo finish. Andrea Locatelli, in full progression, brings Yamaha to the podium.

De Paul Gozzi / Corsedimoto.com

Superbike has rediscovered a duel of yesteryear: Toprak Razgatlioglu had set the tone in Portimao with a series of qualifying records, but he had to sweat blood and water to get the better of a Nicholas Bulega belligerent. A breathtaking spectacle, the Turk winning the arm wrestling by just 67 thousandths of a second. Forget the Ducati Cup, this World Championship has a wonderful flavor. Third place for a Andrea Locatelli superlative with the Yamaha trying to emerge from limbo.

Bulega, hand-to-hand combat rediscovered
 The modern motorcycle is based on preconceived ideas. Many have claimed that Nicholas Bulega was strong on the open track, but this had to be verified by a direct comparison. Against the most "bulldog" Superbike rider of all, Toprak Razgatlioglu, the Ducati rider showed his claws, calling into question a race-1 which, after the Superpole, could have been a BMW monologue. But no, " Nic " he responded blow for blow, trying until the end. It took the best version of the world champion to keep him at bay, and only just. Toprak Razgatlioglu considers Portimao his backyard, beating him here would have been a fatal blow to the number one's considerable confidence. Nicholas Bulega is not only extremely fast, he is also a very fine strategist. He will still have two shots at his disposal on Sunday.

Toprak, who invents your gags?
 Nicholas Bulega maintains a 37-point lead in the World Championship, so he has limited the damage as much as possible. Toprak Razgatlioglu wanted and had to win: after the technical crisis and the Phillip Island controversy, this was the answer he wanted to give. He had spoken of a "Ducati Cup", contesting the rejection of the chassis " special " that BMW would have liked to continue using, but in reality on more conventional tracks than the one in Australia, it seemed that the German four-cylinder lacked nothing. In fact, it won. The only discordant note in an exhilarating afternoon was the tasteless joke to which Toprak Razgatlioglu delivered after his arrival: wearing the cardboard wings of a fighter jet, with two missiles on the sides, which is not in good taste these days. This sketch was much worse than the one in Donington, when he mocked Ducati for asking for an MOT on his bike.

Bautista, another zero
 Ducati's moral: thank goodness Bulega is here. Because Alvaro Bautista, the former leader, immediately clashed with Scott Redding, ruining a possible podium. Andrea Locatelli took advantage of it, a just reward for a rider who never gives up and who, silently, tries to get Yamaha out of its misery, an enterprise so far failed by Jonathan Rhea, sidelined by a fracture and who should return in two weeks at Assen, barring further complications. Danilo Petrucci took the thirteen points for fourth place, paying nearly ten seconds to the two unleashed drivers in front. An eventful Saturday for Andrea Iannone who started from the sixth row due to a poor qualifying and another penalty, and then moved up to seventh place. This is certainly not what the former MotoGP rider aspires to.

WorldSBK Superbike Race 1 results in Portimao:

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Paul Gozzi

Superbike Toprak Razgatlioglu Nicolo Bulega