Balaton Park.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) dominated the premiere of the FIM
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) at the brand-new Balaton
Park Circuit in Hungary. Just like at Misano (ITA) and Donington
Park (GBR), ‘El Turco’ was unstoppable on his BMW M 1000 RR from the
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Lake Balaton. He secured pole
position and won all three races – often with a commanding lead and
with the fastest lap each time. His victory in the Superpole Race on
Sunday morning was historic as it marked the 1000th race in WorldSBK
history. In the riders’ championship, Razgatlioglu extended his lead
from four to 26 points. In the manufacturers’ standings, BMW,
currently in second, reduced the gap to leader Ducati to just 16 points.
His teammate Michael van der Mark (NED) finished 12th in the first
main race. In the Superpole Race under changing conditions, he was
unlucky in the tyre lottery and ended up 15th. He was 16th in the
second main race. Van der Mark is travelling directly from Hungary to
Japan, where he will compete in next weekend’s Suzuka 8 Hours, the
third round of the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC),
with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. WorldSBK now heads into
the summer break, with round nine of the season scheduled for the
first weekend of September at Magny-Cours (FRA).
Reactions after the Balaton Park Circuit round.
Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “It was
a truly historic weekend for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. Celebrating a
win in the 1000th WorldSBK race with Toprak at the debut of the new
Balaton Park Circuit, achieving another triple victory, and extending
the championship lead – this is simply fantastic for us. Huge thanks
to the entire team on site, the crews in Munich and Berlin, and all
BMW employees and fans who supported us. We’re on track and already
looking forward to Magny-Cours. We’ll also use the summer break to
intensively support Michael van der Mark and bring him back into the
top ten. But first, our full focus together is now on the Suzuka 8
Hours, where we’re already heading. We are confident that Mickey, with
his experience as a four-time winner of that race, will be a great
asset to our FIM EWC team.”
Christian Gonschor, Technical Director BMW Motorrad
Motorsport: “It was a wonderful weekend – not only because of
our success, but also because of the great atmosphere here. It was
fantastic to race in Hungary again after such a long time. Great
people, a great track, and excellent infrastructure: we really enjoyed
it. The circuit suited Toprak well; there’s a lot of stop-and-go,
which plays to his strengths and those of the bike. His skill,
combined with the strengths of our BMW M 1000 RR in braking and
acceleration, created a perfect combination. We celebrated another
triple win, and the championship battle remains tight. It’s also
important that we made significant progress in the manufacturers’
standings and are just 16 points behind now. We’re very happy and
looking forward to a short but intense summer break, to come back
all-in at Magny-Cours.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team: “For me, it has been an amazing weekend. That was a new
track for everyone and we started the weekend strongly on Friday. I
quickly adapted to the circuit and we did a very good job. I am very
happy for that! The Superpole Race was a little bit difficult because
there were many wet patches, we had just one dry line and some corners
were also still wet. But we did a very good job, no mistake, I was
just riding and focused on the pace. That race was very important for
me because I had won the 800th and the 900th and now also the 1000th
WorldSBK race so this was a very special race for me to win. I am not
focused on the championship, I just focus in every race to win it. The
next races will be at Magny-Cours. Last year I did not ride there, and
I am looking forward to go there. I will try to get another hat-trick
there. Like Portugal, this is one of my favourite tracks. We need to
win there, in France, and at Estoril, as I think that Ducati will be
very strong at Aragón and Jerez. Now we have a longer break and I will
enjoy some holiday but I also need to work a lot. We have increased
our lead in the championship but everything is possible in the races
so we need to try to get as many wins as possible.”
Michael van der Mark, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team: “I was looking forward to racing here in Hungary as it
is always exciting to enter uncharted territory and it’s fun to learn
new circuits. Race one was pretty solid and that made me confident for
Sunday. Unfortunately, the unpredictable weather in the Superpole Race
made the tyre choice a real gamble. We opted for intermediates, but
could see during the race that everyone who made the same choice
seemed to struggle. In race two, I unfortunately had a small crash
that dropped me to the back of the field but it’s time to put that
Sunday behind me. I am on my way now to Suzuka, to a race that I
really love. I will give my very best to help BMW Motorrad Motorsport
and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team to achieve their big goal:
to win the Suzuka 8 Hours as the first European manufacturer.”
Facts and figures.
Superpole.
Air temperature: 27°, track temperature: 37°, humidity: 56%,
conditions: dry.
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Time |
|
1. |
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
1:38.357* |
|
2. |
Sam Lowes |
Elf |
Ducati |
1:38.834 |
|
3. |
Andrea Locatelli |
Pata |
Yamaha |
1:38.843 |
|
4. |
Nicolò Bulega |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
Ducati |
1:38.969 |
|
5. |
Danilo Petrucci |
Barni |
Ducati |
1:39.080 |
|
19. |
Michael van der Mark (NED) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
1:40.150 |
* New all-time lap record
Race 1.
Air temperature: 32°, track temperature: 41°, humidity: 45%,
conditions: dry, laps: 20 (after red flag).
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Gap |
|
1. |
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
– |
|
2. |
Nicolò Bulega |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
Ducati |
3.738 |
|
3. |
Álvaro Bautista |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
Ducati |
6.002 |
|
4. |
Andrea Locatelli |
Pata |
Yamaha |
13.993 |
|
5. |
Danilo Petrucci |
Barni |
Ducati |
16.174 |
|
11. |
Michael van der Mark (NED) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
33.236 |
Fastest race lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, lap 7, 1:39.732 (new record)
Superpole Race.
Air temperature: 21°, track temperature: 27°, humidity: 83%,
conditions: wet, laps: 10.
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Gap |
|
1. |
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
– |
|
2. |
Sam Lowes |
Elf |
Ducati |
2,810 |
|
3. |
Álvaro Bautista |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
Ducati |
7,251 |
|
4. |
Andrea Locatelli |
Pata |
Yamaha |
10,216 |
|
5. |
Xavi Vierge |
Honda |
Honda |
10,509 |
|
15. |
Michael van der Mark (NED) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
30,438 |
Fastest race lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, lap 9, 1:40.649
Race 2.
Air temperature: 22°, track temperature: 30°, humidity: 79%,
conditions: dry, laps: 21.
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Gap |
|
1. |
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
– |
|
2. |
Nicolò Bulega |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
Ducati |
10.317 |
|
3. |
Sam Lowes |
Elf |
Ducati |
13.154 |
|
4. |
Danilo Petrucci |
Barni |
Ducati |
18.297 |
|
5. |
Andrea Locatelli |
Pata |
Yamaha |
18.752 |
|
16. |
Michael van der Mark (NED) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
1:17. 954 |
Fastest race lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, lap 7, 1:39.384 (new record)
Current riders’ classification (R08/12, after 24 of 36 races).
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Points |
|
1. |
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
407 |
|
2. |
Nicolò Bulega |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
Ducati |
381 (-26) |
|
3. |
Danilo Petrucci |
Barni |
Ducati |
233 (-148) |
|
4. |
Andrea Locatelli |
Pata |
Yamaha |
218 (-189) |
|
5. |
Alvaro Bautista |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
Ducati |
217 (-190) |
|
15. |
Michael van der Mark (NED) |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
BMW |
70 |
Current manufacturers’ classification (R08/12, after 24 of 36 races).
|
Pos. |
Manufacturer |
Points |
|
1. |
Ducati |
425 |
|
2. |
BMW |
409 |
|
3. |
Yamaha |
238 (-187) |
|
4. |
Honda |
151 (-274) |
|
5. |
Bimota |
139 (-286) |
|
6. |
Kawasaki |
67 (-358) |