WorldSBK hat-trick at Donington: Toprak Razgatlioglu takes World Championship lead. – AutoMart Canada

Donington Park. “You are the king of Donington Park,” a fan
shouted to Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) on Sunday afternoon – perfectly
summing up the seventh round of the 2025 FIM Superbike World
Championship (WorldSBK). ‘El Turco’ secured pole position and
another hat-trick aboard his BMW M 1000 RR for the ROKiT BMW
Motorrad WorldSBK Team on the legendary British circuit. After
winning race one on Saturday and the Superpole Race on Sunday
morning – which also marked BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s 100th podium
in WorldSBK – he went on to win the second main race as well, taking
over the lead in the riders’ standings. After seven of twelve
rounds, Razgatlioglu now holds a four-point lead over Nicolò Bulega
(ITA / Ducati). His total of twelve wins at Donington Park also sets
a new record. His teammate, Michael van der Mark (NED), suffered a
series of setbacks in the UK through no fault of his own. He
finished 13th on Saturday and retired from both races on Sunday. The
season continues from 25th to 27th July at the brand-new Balaton
Park Circuit in Hungary.

Reactions after the Donington Park round.

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “It was
an incredible weekend for us, putting us back in the lead of the world
championship – right where we belong. I think a lot of people wrote us
off after the season opener in Australia. I’m incredibly proud of the
team, the engineers at home, the test team, all the mechanics, and
everyone else who puts in tireless effort. No one gave up – everyone
worked to bring us back to the front, to fight for victories again,
and now to lead the championship. Toprak did an unbelievable job. He’s
back in his flow, and you can feel his mental strength. Nothing can
shake him. Everyone works with full focus from the first free practice
to the final race. We are immensely proud of that. Unfortunately,
Mickey had an extremely tough weekend here, and together we will do
everything to bring him back to the front as well. Lastly, on behalf
of all at BMW Motorrad, I’d like to thank the team: to take the triple
win at the home round is just fantastic.”

Christian Gonschor, Technical Director BMW Motorrad
Motorsport: “This weekend at Donington brought unusually warm
conditions, which presented a challenge for the entire paddock so
Friday was initially a process of adaptation for us. We worked very
intensively during the practice sessions to understand the bike under
these conditions and grip levels. That worked out perfectly – the BMW
M 1000 RR was spot on. From FP3 onward, the bike was in an ideal
operating window, and for the rest of the weekend we only needed to
fine-tune it. Toprak’s outstanding Superpole lap and race performances
confirmed this. Unfortunately, Mickey’s weekend was severely impacted
by his unavoidable crash in FP3 – he went down on oil left on the
track following another rider’s engine failure. This triggered a chain
of unfortunate events, requiring a lot of repair and analysis work.
One thing led to another. We apologise to him and are confident he’ll
bounce back in Hungary. It’s a new circuit for everyone, which makes
it exciting. One of the strengths of both our riders is their ability
to quickly adapt to new tracks, so we’re really looking forward to
racing at Balaton Park Circuit.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team: “I’m very happy because before I came here, my biggest
target was the hat-trick. I love this track and I really like riding
here. I’m enjoying it and now I have 12 wins here, so I broke the
record. It’s of course also good to now be in the championship lead,
but I’m not focused on that, I just focus from race to race and on
winning them. The next races are at Balaton which is new for everyone.
We will see there. I hope we will win there, too. The circuit is a bit
difficult but also suits my style a bit. But we will see. We will work
hard and then we are ready to fight for the win again.”

Michael van der Mark, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team: “This has been a very tough one. It seemed that the
odds were against us this weekend. There was this crash on oil I
couldn’t avoid in FP3, then we were struggling with different
technical issues. Everyone worked really hard but the only reward we
got was the points from race one. Now we will regroup and then head to
Hungary; a new track for everyone and I am sure we can turn our
fortunes there again. Toprak has shown the potential of the bike and I
am happy for him and the team for the hat-trick. We all will work very
hard now and my aim is to be back in the mix before we go into the
summer break.”

Facts and figures.

Superpole.

Air temperature: 21°, track temperature: 33°, humidity: 61%,
conditions: dry.

Race 1.

Air temperature: 27°, track temperature: 41°, humidity: 44%,
conditions: dry, laps: 23.

Fastest race lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, lap 6, 1:26.441

Superpole Race.

Air temperature: 21°, track temperature: 30°, humidity: 67%,
conditions: dry, laps: 10.

Fastest race lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, lap 2, 1:25.666

Race 2.

Air temperature: 24°, track temperature: 38°, humidity: 54%,
conditions: dry, laps: 23.

Fastest race lap: Nicolò Bulega, lap 4, 1:25.961

Current riders’ classification (R07/12, after 21 of 36 races).

Current manufacturers’ classification (R07/12, after 21 of 36 races).