In the penultimate weekend of the 2024 World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK), held in Estoril, Portugal, Toprak Razgatlioglu once again imposed himself with great authority, taking pole position and two wins in the main races. The title is now almost assured, with the final decisions to be made at next week’s round in Jerez.
And it was almost another “perfect” round, as yesterday’s Superpole victory fell by just 0.003 seconds to his main championship rival, Nicolò Bulega.
With these results, Razgatlioglu goes into the final round of the season with a comfortable 46-point lead over his rivals, with just 62 points left up for grabs at the Spanish circuit of Jerez, between October 18 and 20.
The Turk was naturally very happy, as he said in an official statement: ‘I am really happy, especially with race two. We did not manage three wins this weekend, but almost, as it was very close in the Superpole race. There, I also used the race tyre because I thought that the Q tyre would drop at the end. I had incredible pace with the race tyre but when I saw the chequered flag I had lost the race. I was surprised that the Q tyre didn’t drop while my tyre started to spin a lot. Nicolo had a big advantage in the last corner and I kept fighting and it was very close’.
Razgatlioglu also stressed the importance of the points scored for the championship: ‘But we got good points for the championship and I won both long races. They are always more difficult because you need to manage the tyre and your pace. I did a very good job. To get the wins again after the big injury is really good for me and now we will see what happens at Jerez. I am pretty relaxed because I have a good points lead. I will just try to enjoy Jerez. I am not feeling stressed because I just need good results there. I don’t need to win at Jerez – and maybe I will win there, too. I know that Ducati is very strong there but we improved a lot after the test and I am ready to fight. if I just need a second position in the last race, that’s okay but I am focusing on winning again’.
The final round of the season promises to be intense, with Razgatlioglu managing his advantage in pursuit of his second world title.