Toprak Razgatlioglu Secures Back-to-Back WorldSBK Titles with BMW
Toprak Razgatlioglu has successfully defended his WorldSBK Championship crown for BMW Motorrad after defeating rival Nicolo Bulega during a tense season finale in Jerez, Spain.
The Turkish superstar came into the last round of the season with a comfortable 39-point lead over Bulega, the only rider able to deny him his shot at back-to-back titles on the BMW M 1000 RR.
After finishing behind Bulega in Race 1, Razgatlioglu’s title aspirations were dramatically complicated in Sunday morning’s Superpole Race when light contact with his Italian rival dumped him into only his second DNF of the season.
It meant the title race would go down to a final race shootout, but while Bulega would go on to reel off a triple victory at the Andalusian venue, third for Razgatlioglu was enough for him to wrap the championship up in his favour.
The result represents Razgatlioglu’s third career WorldSBK title (2021, 2024 and 2025) and comes as he prepares to depart the series in favour of a high profile – and highly anticipated – transition to MotoGP for 2026.
A Fond Farewell for BMW Talisman Razgatlioglu
Razgatlioglu’s latest title serves as further vindication for BMW’s move to sign the Alanya rider ahead of the 2024 WorldSBK season.
The German marque made its WorldSBK debut way back in 2009 with the BMW S 1000 RR but was yet to win a title coming into the 2024 season. More than that, BMW had celebrated just a single race victory since 2013.
However, the signing of Razgatlioglu – already a WorldSBK Champion with 39 wins to his name – was seen as a major coup for the manufacturer and a significant step towards breaking its title duck.
And so it proved, Razgatlioglu scoring 18 wins – among them 13 achieved consecutively – en route to the 2024 WorldSBK Championshi to deliver a coveted first title for BMW in dominant style.
He’d prove similarly devastating in 2025, Razgatlioglu achieving a further 22 wins on the BMW M 1000 RR to successfully defend his and the manufacturer’s crown.
With Razgatlioglu graduating to the MotoGP premier class next season, BMW Motorrad’s efforts will be headed up by an all-star line-up of Danilo Petrucci and newcomer Miguel Oliveira.